You may have been raised believing God is watching and waiting for us to mess up so He can punish us. That seems to have been the mindset of the people of the Old Testament and this idea has survived even to this day. This came from the Old Testament teaching regarding how you were to treat someone who harmed you or your family. “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth”, was what we hear in Exodus, chapter 21. So people related this teaching to how God dealt with us.
But Jesus brought about a new understanding of God the Father. Jesus showed us that the Father loves us beyond our understanding. Jesus, in Matthew chapter 5, verses 38-42 talks about that saying from Exodus. Jesus states we should not resist one who is evil, rather than try to retaliate for what they have done. That certainly doesn’t seem to be the case in our world too often. We tend to fall back on that Old Testament teaching rather than do as Jesus says.
Today’s Gospel passage provides us with a parable about an orchard owner and his fig tree. The owner tells the gardener to cut down the tree as it has not produced fruit. Since the soil in the Holy Land is not fertile if a tree is not producing it is just taking up space and draining nutrient. But the gardener asks the owner to allow him to fertilize around the tree hoping it will finally produce fruit. We can imagine God the Father as the gardener who is willing to allow us, members of His orchard, to have more time so we can eventually produce fruit.
Jesus provides many more parables, many meant to show us the Father and how loving and patient He is. We see in these teachings that God is not the God of retribution but of love! Focus on this during the season of Lent and try to avoid hurting the one who loves us the most by avoiding sin.
Deacon Ray