Readings: EX 3:1-8A, 13-15; PS 103: 1-2, 3-4, 6-7, 8, 11; 1 COR 10:1-6, 10-12; LK 13:1-9
There are optional readings for today. These can be found here.
There was a time when I was trying to help an individual. I was trying to be merciful, by listening to help, by staying in contact with them. But no matter what I said or tried to do, it felt like it was either never enough or I said the wrong thing.
In my last conversation with this person, they did say at least I tried. But to me, I always wondered if there was something more I should have done. To some degree, I felt like I was giving up on this individual, like the person in today’s gospel reading,
when he came in search of fruit on it but found none … So cut it down.
But I’ve come to the realization, I was probably not the person with the fig tree, but the gardener. I wasn’t the one to pick the fruit of the tree, but was the one to attend to the tree and provide it another chance.
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.
In our lives, there are times we may feel we are not fulfilling our call from God. But we need to understand, sometimes our purpose is only part of the solution a person needs. By us completing our portion of the total mission, it allows someone else to do their part, and in the end, see the fruit of all the labor.
Take some time to reflect on those times in your life, when you thought you let God down by being unsuccessful in helping someone, where you did not see the fruit of your labor. Think about it from the gardener’s perspective. And you might discover you did make God very happy because of the care you provided.
Recent Comments