Luke 13:1-9 Looking for fruit on the fig tree

Still Life of Peaches and Figs, Painted by Paul Cézanne (1839 - 1906), Watercolour and graphite on paper © Alamy / Ashmolean Museum, Oxford

Gospel Reading

Some people arrived and told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with that of their sacrifices. At this he said to them, ‘Do you suppose these Galileans who suffered like that were greater sinners than any other Galileans? They were not, I tell you. No; but unless you repent you will all perish as they did. Or those eighteen on whom the tower at Siloam fell and killed them? Do you suppose that they were more guilty than all the other people living in Jerusalem? They were not, I tell you. No; but unless you repent you will all perish as they did.’ He told this parable: ‘A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came looking for fruit on it but found none. He said to the man who looked after the vineyard, “Look here, for three years now I have been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and finding none. Cut it down: why should it be taking up the ground?” “Sir,” the man replied “leave it one more year and give me time to dig round it and manure it: it may bear fruit next year; if not, then you can cut it down.”’

Reflection on the watercolour

When sudden disasters occur, it can be tempting to see them as a sign of God’s judgement. However, at the start of today’s Gospel, Jesus rejects this notion. He is told about a tragedy involving the killing of pilgrims by Pilate, a disaster caused by human cruelty, and he also mentions another event, the collapse of a tower that resulted in the deaths of eighteen people, which seems to have had no human cause. In both cases, Jesus makes it clear that those who died were not greater sinners than anyone else. He acknowledges that innocent people can die tragically and without warning. Jesus teaches therefore that the fragility of life should prompt us to turn to God every day, to repent and seek a deeper relationship with Him. Such unexpected events can serve as moments for reflection on our spiritual lives. In the parable of the fig tree, which follows, Jesus illustrates God’s patience. Rather than resembling the vineyard owner who wished to cut down the unproductive tree, God is more like the gardener who argued for giving the tree more time to bear fruit. God is patient and continuously grants us time. He offers us the opportunity to grow and become the person he calls us to be, allowing our lives to flourish with the fruits of the Spirit, just as the fruiting fig tree. Our watercolour by Paul Cézanne depicts a simple bowl filled with peaches and figs. Paul Cézanne often painted still lifes featuring everyday objects like bowls of fruit, including figs, because he was interested in exploring form, colour, and composition rather than merely depicting the objects themselves. They were not just subjects but tools for examining the relationship between shapes, light, and perspective. The simplicity of the objects allowed him to focus on the fundamental elements of painting—how colours interact, how light affects perception, and how objects relate to one another in space.

by Father Patrick van der Vorst