3rd Sunday of Lent (Fr. Simham)

Be fruitful! 

One of the housebound persons whom I visit every week bought two plants recently. One is an orange tree and another a lemon tree. She saw that they are planted in the front garden and she says they will bear fruit within six months. That is what the salesman said. God bless her desire. And she is already worried how to keep the children away from them. I don’t blame her. All of us who plant trees expect fruits from them.

Even God expects fruits form everything he created. That is the message from the gospel today. When God created Adam and Eve, he blessed them saying “Be fruitful and multiply…” Gen. 1/28. When it comes to human beings, the fruitfulness that is expected is much more than progeny or begetting children. This is what we see in Isaiah 5/1-2 which says about a vineyard where the owner looked for fruits grapes but it yielded wild or sour grapes. Here ‘grapes’ mean more than progeny. And the psalmist in 1/1-3 says the just man is like the tree planted along the running stream giving fruits in due season”. He also means more than progeny here. In another place psalmist says, “They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green.” – Psalm 92:14. So also Jeremiah compares a just man to a tree which does not cease to bear fruit. Jeremiah. 17/7-8. Mk.12/1ff in the parable of the vineyard and tenants A man planted vineyard prepared everything for vine-press and gave it to tenant and then sends at the end of the year for some fruit.

And in today’s gospel the owner of the vineyard expects fruit from a fig tree which he planted in the vineyard. What does all this mean? All these passages suggest that the owner who planted the tree expects fruits; if he does not get, he is even ready to cut down the tree. Even the gardener can rescue the tree only for another year. The message then is clear from today’s gospel that we are expected to bear fruit. Bearing fruit is something nobler than bearing children.

St. Paul writing to Galatians refers these fruits. Gal. 5/22 He says “But the fruits of the spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. These are the nine fruits. We know them and heard about them as fruits of the Holy Spirit in our catechism. Let us call them as spiritual fruits which are expected from all God’s children. They are given by Paul in opposition to the fruits of the flesh which prophet Isaiah refers as wild grapes or sour grapes.

The challenge then for us is to bear more spiritual fruits. How can we bear fruit?

Let us see what the tips are the Divine Gardener gives for us to bear fruit.

First, what the Divine-gardener representing Jesus says that he will do to make the tree bear fruit is this: “I will dig around it. I will loosen the hard soil that is obstructing the roots to reach the source of water. Unless you are rooted in God, streams of living water, you cannot bear fruit. So, he says he will remove all those obstacles that come on our way of receiving this grace. Does it not signify the sacrament of reconciliation or confession which takes away the obstacles that stand between you and the grace of God. This is what he also meant when Jesus said in Jn 15:2 every branch that bears fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Pruning symbolizes forgiveness and confession where you are pruned.

Secondly, the gardener says, “I will manure it.” Manure gives the strength that is needed for bearing fruit. It contains all the energy needed for the tree to bear fruit. Does it not symbolize the sacrament of holy communion that gives the spiritual strength to bear spiritual fruits, fruits of the spirit. Is not the Holy Communion our real spiritual food? This is what he meant When Jesus said, ‘Abide in me.’ To draw strength from him or to feed on him.

Buddha was once threatened with death by a bandit called Angulimal. “Then be good enough to fulfil my dying wish,” said Buddha, “Cut off the branch of that tree. One slash of the sword and it was done! “What now?” asked the bandit, “put it back again,” said Buddha. The bandit laughed and said, “you must be crazy to think that anyone can do it.” On the contrary, it is you who are crazy to think that you are mighty because you can wound and destroy, which is not true.

Yes! The divine gardener Jesus Christ not only gives us another year to be fruitful, but also enables us, through his sacraments, to bear fruit – fruit in abundance! This is the good news for today. God bless you!

Fr. Showreelu Simham