A devotion for the third Sunday in Lent

We also need to repent for the things we have left undone

by Dan Turk, mission co-worker serving in Madagascar | Special to Presbyterian News Service

Dan and Elizabeth Turk, mission co-workers serving in Madagascar

Luke 13: 1-9

Repent or Perish

Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. 2 Jesus answered, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? 3 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. 4 Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? 5 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”

The Parable of the Barren Fig Tree

6 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. 7 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?’

8 “‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. 9 If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’”

LOUISVILLE — Fruit trees and agriculture are frequent subjects of metaphors and parables in the Bible. People in Madagascar can relate because, just as in Biblical times, most are subsistence farmers, growing most of their own food. People in Madagascar commonly prepare fields using only spades and hard labor. Rice, the staple crop, is almost exclusively planted, transplanted, harvested, threshed and winnowed by hand. People hope to get enough from the harvest to sell some of their crop so they can purchase essentials such as medicine and clothes, and pay school fees. Getting enough money to purchase these items is difficult for many due to the inherent infertility of the soil and the vicious cycle of poverty. In Madagascar many people resort to environmentally destructive practices, like slash-and-burn agriculture and cutting down native forest to make charcoal. As a result, many of Madagascar’s unique animals and plants, including many lemurs, the angonoka tortoise, and the Tahina palm, are currently threatened with extinction.

Fruit trees can be finicky producers of fruit. Often a tree will produce a good crop one year then not much the next. Those who grow fruit trees know that fruit production can usually be greatly enhanced by taking care of the trees, especially in terms of fertilizer, water, and pest control.

The parable of the barren fig tree is about repentance. Usually we think of repentance as something one should do for wrongs one has done. But in this case, the gardener repents for what he did not do: provide adequate care for the fig tree. It may be that the fig tree did not have the genetic potential to produce a good crop of figs but most likely it did not produce figs because it wasn’t getting the fertilizer it needed. This parable reminds us that sometimes we may need to repent for things we have left undone.

In the Fiangonan’i Jesoa Kristy eto Madagasikara (FJKM), PC(USA)’s partner denomination in Madagascar, one of the texts most often quoted when discussing our Christian responsibility to take care of the earth is Genesis 2:15, “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.” In Madagascar, a major challenge for people is getting sustenance for their families from the land while at the same time preserving Madagascar’s amazing biodiversity. In this time of increasing human pressure on both arable land and dwindling natural forests, as we go about our busy lives, it is often easy to ignore our responsibility towards God’s people and God’s Creation in faraway places like Madagascar. Caring for our planet and the amazing things God has created in places like Madagascar should be something we all take part in. Let us take a lesson from the parable of the fig tree and take action to care for the Garden of Eden that God has given us.

To learn more about the ministry of Dan and Elizabeth Turk, visit presbyterianmission.org/ministries/missionconnections/drdaniell-and-elizabeth-turk.