The summer fruiting of our lives

It is true. The fig tree in my neighbour’s back yard has started to grow supple and the leaves are out. No sign of fruit as yet, but definitely heading towards it. Summer is near.

That little parable of Jesus’ seems out of place, sitting between his warnings of the day of reckoning that is to come. The impending fig season would have been highly anticipated by his listeners. They would have been looking forward to the ripening of a beautifully sweet and abundant fruit to delight in, following the lean and plain food of the winter harvest.

So, why does Jesus use this parable to tell us of the time to come when all creation will reach its fulfilment? Our usually images of the end times are apocalyptic. This image is not entirely misplaced. The last book of the Bible, the Book of Revelations, is certainly full of dark and ominous visions—of wars and trauma, the final battle between good and evil.

But we need to be careful not to see the future God has in store for his people in terms of images of disaster and destruction. Why? Because those images have already been played out for us, in the passion and death of Jesus himself. What will come to be Christ has already traversed. He took onto himself all that should have belonged to us. Our future, when it is lived in Christ, is not death and annihilation.

As Jesus said, ‘heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.’ We who live by his words, and dwell in his life, are destined to share his glory. The fruit of our lives, lived in Christ’s life, is properly an image pointing to the summer fruiting of our lives.

But let us stay attentive. The figs growing on the tree need to be nurtured towards their harvest. They are prone to disease and damage. They need protecting. We need to stay close to Christ, who protects us. Our path to fruition remains one of personal repentance and shared reconciliation. The cross, where Jesus took all our sin to be sacrificed, is our ongoing protection and safety.

In a few moments, 19 young people will receive the Holy Spirit in Confirmation. As they do so, they will take for themselves the name of a saint as their lifelong heavenly friend. The saints are our proof that the journey ahead with Christ is one that ends in the fruition of our lives.

I invite you all, who have been confirmed, to recall your saint today. (Mine is Michael, the Archangel.) And in remembering your saintly companion, renew your friendship with him or her, trusting that where they have gone, we may follow, when we orient our lives towards Christ’s.