Luke 13:8-9. "And he answered him, 'Let it alone, sir, this year also, till I dig about it and put on manure. And if it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down." This is the parable of the fig tree that the landowner (God) wanted to cut down because it did not bear fruit and was taking up space, but the vinedresser (Jesus) convinced Him to give it one more year, promising to tend to it carefully in hopes it would bear fruit the next year.

I think of this parable when I am going through something difficult. It reminds me that Jesus is always interceding for me (and what better advocate could I have?), but also that my difficulties are him digging about my roots and applying the necessary manure. He is trying to get me to bear fruit, and I'd better respond!

I want to explore this parable, though, in a much broader context - that of the whole world, because I think the world is in a time of digging and fertilizing, and I do not believe it has much more time to respond. Jesus told this parable in response to people asking Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. Jesus asked "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered thus? I tell you, No; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish." (Luke 13:2-3). He then gave another example; a tower had recently fallen in Siloam, killing eighteen, and Jesus said those eighteen were no worse than the others who lived in Jerusalem, and "unless you repent you will all likewise perish." (Luke 13:4-5). Jesus is responding to mass casualty events, the kinds of things we hear and see on our newscasts and feeds, and He is saying not to think that we will avoid such things just because we profess to follow Him. We have to truly repent if we want to avoid the same fate (if not of our bodies, then of our souls). The parable of the vinedresser and the fig tree, then, is meant to show us that even with Jesus' intercession and work in our lives, it is up to us to repent in order to bear fruit and avoid being cut down.

I think it is inarguable that the world has morally gone off the rails in many ways and has much for which to repent. Because of this communal straying from God, we have, in large part, stopped bearing fruit, both literally (just look at the birth rates around the world) and figuratively (look at how how many people are actively practicing their faith). I think it is also inarguable, looking back over the last few years, that God is allowing the vinedresser to dig and fertilize the world's roots. Every day we hear of some other tragic loss of life, sometimes in the most horrific of ways, including war, famine, and pestilence - the horsemen we were told to expect when the time of God's justice is approaching! It is true that these things have always happened, but I think it is foolish to deny that they are happening with more severity and frequency lately, and to look at the moral state of the world for an indication of why that might be.

God's time is not our time, but I think it is fairly obvious that He started thinking about "cutting down the tree" some time ago. Mary's messages, including those from Fatima, bear this out. We are now, I believe, in the "year" of mercy the vinedresser has gained for us (Jesus told St. Faustina we were in the time of Divine Mercy, but it was drawing to a close and the time of His Justice would be coming). He is trying to renew us, trying to get us to bear fruit again. There is a lot of painful digging and unpalatable manure involved, but if we do not accept it and truly repent, then we will perish like those who are dying from all the evils we have unleashed into this world.

Jesus does, and always will, intercede for us, but He will not force us to change. We have to do that on our own, and we better do it quickly, before our tree is cut down!