Luke 13:1-9

Today’s gospel first speaks of the warning and reminder to respond to God when he calls
upon us for our duties and purpose in life. This is shown through the Call to Repentance, and
not just for those who have greatly sinned, but for all to repent. This is conveyed when
questioned “Do you think they were more guilty than everyone else who lived in Jerusalem?
By no means! But I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did!”. This
highlights the urgency for all to respond and repent while we can, and not to take
repentance for granted, especially so when untimely tragedies may befall us, for we are
blessed with the time that God has granted us for however temporal it may be, and to
cherish and make use it wisely.

This is echoed in the first reading, with Moses and the Burning Bush, whereby Moses is
commissioned by God, as “I have witnessed the affliction of my people in Egypt and have
heard their cry against their taskmasters… I have come down to rescue them from the power
of the Egyptians” and reassured Moses’ initial hesitance with “I AM has sent me to you”,
signifying the empowerment to fulfil our duties we are called upon through God.
And this is continued through the second reading, whereby Paul refers to Moses and those
who followed him as a warning against overconfidence. For “all of them were baptised into
Moses …All ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they drank
from a spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was the Christ. Yet God was not
pleased with most of them, for they were struck down in the desert”. This ends with Paul
concluding with “whoever thinks he is standing secure should take care not to fall” followed
by “God is faithful and will not let you be tried beyond your strength; but with the trial he
will also provide a way out, so that you may be able to bear it” referencing the importance
to have faith in the Lord, instead of faith in the confined human and worldly perception of
ourselves and our abilities.

This is expanded upon with the second half of the Gospel reading, regarding the Parable of
the Barren Fig Tree. With the lack of fruits symbolising the lack of repentance by sinners
through “a fig tree planted in his orchard, and when he came in search of fruit on it but
found none” , the gardener requesting the tree be left this year also being Christ cultivating
and nurturing their growth through redemption while delaying the end times via “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”, reinforces again the significance of repenting when
we can and while we can, to stay awake and not take the time we have left for granted, as
did Paul when speaking of Overconfidence in the second reading, and to have faith in the
Lord when he calls upon us, as did Moses with the Burning Bush in the first reading. Similar
to the lifespan of the barren fig tree, we should make the most of our lives, to repent, and
to answer God’s calling for us as best we can, for we may not always have the opportunity
to do so.

Shared by Francis Benedict Lim