(So) cut it down. Why should it exhaust the soil?
Rm 8,1-11; Ps 23; Lk 13,1-9
26 OCTOBER
The Lord wants the fruits from his vineyard. What are these fruits? A perfect and perennial obedience to his Commandments, Laws, Statutes and Decrees. Instead the Lord descends to visit his vineyard and finds it devoid of any fruit. What is the use of growing a vineyard that does not produce any bunch of grapes? It would be better to abandon it to itself.
Let me now sing of my friend, my friend’s song concerning his vineyard. My friend had a vineyard on a fertile hillside; He spaded it, cleared it of stones, and planted the choicest vines; Within it he built a watchtower, and hewed out a wine press. Then he looked for the crop of grapes, but what it yielded was wild grapes. Now, inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard: What more was there to do for my vineyard that I had not done? Why, when I looked for the crop of grapes, did it bring forth wild grapes? Now, I will let you know what I mean to do to my vineyard: Take away its hedge, give it to grazing, break through its wall, let it be trampled! Yes, I will make it a ruin: it shall not be pruned or hoed, but overgrown with thorns and briers; I will command the clouds not to send rain upon it. The vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are his cherished plant; He looked for judgment, but see, bloodshed! for justice, but hark, the outcry! (Is 5,1-7).
In the Psalm the children of Israel are the ones who see themselves abandoned. They are lifeless. They are vines without any protection. They call upon the Lord to return to be their God. When can God be the protection of the vineyard? When it lives in the Word.
Oh, give ear, Shepherd of Israel, You who lead Joseph like a flock; You who are enthroned above the cherubim, shine forth! Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh, stir up Your power And come to save us! O God, restore us And cause Your face to shine upon us, and we will be saved. O Lord God of hosts, How long will You be angry with the prayer of Your people? You have fed them with the bread of tears, And You have made them to drink tears in large measure. You make us an object of contention to our neighbours, And our enemies laugh among themselves. O God of hosts, restore us And cause Your face to shine upon us, and we will be saved. You removed a vine from Egypt; You drove out the nations and planted it. You cleared the ground before it, And it took deep root and filled the land. The mountains were covered with its shadow, And the cedars of God with its boughs. It was sending out its branches to the sea And its shoots to the River. Why have You broken down its hedges, So that all who pass that way pick its fruit? A boar from the forest eats it away And whatever moves in the field feeds on it. O God of hosts, turn again now, we beseech You; Look down from heaven and see, and take care of this vine, Even the shoot which Your right hand has planted, And on the son whom You have strengthened for Yourself. It is burned with fire, it is cut down; They perish at the rebuke of Your countenance. Let Your hand be upon the man of Your right hand, Upon the son of man whom You made strong for Yourself. Then we shall not turn back from You; Revive us, and we will call upon Your name. O Lord God of hosts, restore us; Cause Your face to shine upon us, and we will be saved (Ps 79 (80) 1-20).
In the parable of Jesus we find a great teaching. Man must take care of man. God wants to cut the fruitless tree. Man still asks for time. He will work to make the tree produce. If it does not want to produce then it will be cut.
At that time some people who were present there told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with the blood of their sacrifices. He said to them in reply, “Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were greater sinners than all other Galileans? By no means! But I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did! Or those eighteen people who were killed when the tower at Siloam fell on them – do you think they were more guilty than everyone else who lived in Jerusalem? By no means! But I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did!” And he told them this parable: “There once was a person who had a fig tree planted in his orchard, and when he came in search of fruit on it but found none, he said to the gardener, ‘For three years now I have come in search of fruit on this fig tree but have found none. (So) cut it down. Why should it exhaust the soil?’ He said to him in reply, ‘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. If not you can cut it down.'”
It is right to ask: how much do I do so that my brothers produce fruits of obedience? But even before that: am I a model of true obedience for all my brothers?
Mother of God, Angels and Saints arrange that every Christian takes care of every Christian.