Why did I think of Herod when I saw these flowers during our first visit to Sheringham to plan our Creation Walk?
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Still in Luke 13, Jesus tells a parable of a fig tree. I’m not sure whether there are any fig trees in the park, but there are lots of other trees, some of which you might notice are being specially cared for by the park gardeners ... I suspect in order to get the best from the trees.
Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it but did not find any. So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’
“‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’”
“‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’”
Reflect on this interpretation of the parable (from Interpreter’s Bible):
The parable of the fig tree invites us to consider the gift of another year of life as an act of God’s mercy. John the Baptist declared that the axe lay at the root, poised to strike (3:9). Any tree that did not bear fruit would be cut down. In Jesus’ parable, however, the gardener pleads for and is granted one more year. The year that Jesus proclaimed, moreover, “the year of the Lord’s favor” (4:19), would be a year of forgiveness, restoration, and second chances.
What would you do if you had only a year left to live, only a short time in which to make up for wrongs done and opportunities missed? How important that year might be! The lesson of the fig tree is a challenge to live each day as a gift from God. Live each day in such a way that you will have no fear of giving an account for how you have used God’s gift.
What would you do if you had only a year left to live, only a short time in which to make up for wrongs done and opportunities missed? How important that year might be! The lesson of the fig tree is a challenge to live each day as a gift from God. Live each day in such a way that you will have no fear of giving an account for how you have used God’s gift.
