Jesus calls us to flourish and be fruitful.

Jesus sets out on his way to Jerusalem after the transfiguration. For ten chapters from 9.51 to 19.28, Luke’s gospel follows Jesus on this journey — his exodus or going forth, on which his disciples then and we now accompany him.

These ten chapters include many of the stories and parables only Luke tells: the good Samaritan, the rich fool who dies right after building bigger granaries to store his crops, the parable of the fig tree (this Sunday’s gospel), the prodigal son (next Sunday’s gospel), the rich man and the beggar Lazarus. In these teachings Jesus asks conversion of heart, care of every neighbor, sharing of plenty, and a fruitfulness that nourishes others.

Metanoia (met-uh-NOY-yah) is the Greek word for conversion, a turning from complacency and a turning toward God. Metanoia is John the Baptist’s message when he insists one’s ancestry alone is not salvation; each must commit one’s self to God and neighbor (3.3-8).

Jesus stands with sinners at his baptism and explains to the scribes and Pharisees who criticize him for eating and drinking with tax collectors, “I have not come to call the righteous to a change of heart (metanoia) but sinners” (5.32). Jesus sees finding one lost sheep or one lost coin as reason to celebrate (15.7). He commands his disciples to preach conversion to all nations (24.37).

Luke makes Jesus’ journey from Galilee to Jerusalem more than a geographical move. Our real journeys travel an interior landscape, the turning of the whole heart toward God.

  • What did it mean to you to be signed with ashes as Lent began?
  • What fruit do you long to bear forth in your life? How can you fertilize these hopes?
  • What do you need a third chance to accomplish?

At the beginning of Sunday’s gospel Jesus refutes the common belief of his time (and sometimes ours) that tragedies are punishment for sin. In this theology, God rewards good people with prosperity and punishes evil with tragedy and poverty. Asking why bad things happen to good people is a question that arises out of this reward and punishment theology.

The Galileans violently massacred by Pontius Pilate for taking part in the insurrection against him were no better or worse than others, according to Jesus. Likewise, the 18 on whom a tower fell in Jerusalem were like everyone else. Neither human violence nor natural violence is divine punishment.

The gospel emphasizes mercy, growth, turning toward God. The gardener argues for fertilizing the tree another year. Who likes to cut down a tree? If we think of the gardener as God, then God is nurturing, caring more about another chance for the tree to bear fruit than about threatening to cut it down. If we think of the tree as ourselves or our children, who doesn’t need or won’t give another chance to grow?

In the Old Testament steadfast, generative love is God’s signature characteristic. Sunday’s responsorial psalm provides one of the most famous descriptions of God: “Merciful and gracious is the Holy One, slow to anger and abounding in kindness” (103.8).

Mercy lives visibly in Jesus. As we journey with Jesus to Jerusalem this Lent, Sunday’s gospel calls us to cultivate our capacity to show mercy, to love and care for one another.

  • What feelings do you experience when you hear or see reports of tragedies?
  • When has someone’s showing you mercy made a positive difference?

The parable of the fig tree reveals God’s hope and compassion for people. The gardener, who cares for each tree, pleads for more time and more care. Leave it for another year. A little loosening and manuring of the soil, a little more nourishment, and maybe it will bear fruit.

A friend enjoys getting older and observes, “I’m not right as much as I used to be.” Our daily interactions cultivate conversion. Like the gardener we nourish and encourage one another. Listening to others can cultivate the fruit of compassion or courage or insight. Other believers may freshen our commitments. As humans, we have the gifts of mind and heart to discern what Jesus asks of us.

  • What or whom will you give one more chance to bear fruit in your life? What special care will this require?
  • In what ways are you like the owner of the fig tree? In what ways like the gardener?
  • Create your own parable about giving third chances. Draw on your work life or family interests.
  • What questions or doubts about God are you living with?
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