And he told them this parable: “There once was a person who had a fig tree planted in his orchard, and when he came in search of fruit on it but found none, he said to the gardener, ‘For three years now I have come in search of fruit on this fig tree but have found none. [So] cut it down. Why should it exhaust the soil?’
He said to him in reply, ‘Sir, leave it for this year also, and I shall cultivate the ground around it and fertilize it; it may bear fruit in the future. If not you can cut it down.’” (Luke 13:6-9 NABRE)
God is a patient gardener, always cultivating the ground around us. And we are like fig trees who need tending, but who may in time produce good fruit. The parable of the barren fig tree presents a story about the continuing patience of God with those who have not yet given evidence of their repentance.*
We are called to recognize our own need for God's grace and mercy. Until we do, God waits patiently for us. He is not inactive however. He is continually creating opportunities for us to know him by others around us. Let us choose to grow in God's divine garden and yield the fruit we were meant to produce.
Today, I will pray for patience, remembering how patient God is with me.
Saint Anthony Claret, nineteenth-century missionary, religious founder, social reformer, queen’s chaplain, writer and publisher, archbishop and refugee, known as the "spiritual father of Cuba," pray for us.
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