In our world, random death and violence occur daily. The statistics of drug abuse, teenage suicide and childhood violence are higher than the number of children who attend church school every Sunday across the United States. We wonder who is responsible, who is guilty?

When Jesus lived among us, one day he told a story to the people who were with him. They were wondering who was guiltier of their sins. The wondered: Could it be that the Galileans who died as victims of Pilate's anger were the guiltiest? Or, could it be those eighteen people who were crushed by the tower of Siloam, perhaps they were the guiltiest? The also wondered how guilty they themselves were of sin in their own lives. Jesus responded to them by telling a parable, a story that is filled with mystery. Consider his words and think about what he was trying to say to his contemporaries, and to us.

Jesus said that a particular time a man planted a fig tree in a vineyard. It was a very special place for a fig tree. The sun shined on it. The rain watered it. It was regularly attended. When the time came for the tree to bear fruit, the man who planted the tree came looking for some wonderful delicious figs. As the man walked closer to the tree, he saw that the tree was empty; there was no fruit.

The man, being a reasonable person, waited one more year. But at the end of that year, when he walked to the tree, he found the same thing; there was no fruit on it. He became angry and told the vineyard keeper to cut the tree down. It was useless to him. The vineyard keeper, however, said that he would take special care of the tree for one more year. So he loosened the soil and dug around the tree so that the rain could reach deep into the roots. Then he fertilized the tree to give it the nutrients it needed.
We wonder what happened the next year. Do you think there was any fruit when the man came back to the tree the next year? How would you answer the question as to who is guiltier?

When we look into the Gospel according to St. Luke, the people heard Jesus tell them that all were guilty, not just those killed by Pilate or those killed by the falling tower. Jesus told them that every one is in need of redemption. All of us need to turn to God and to come into a closer relationship with God. The people of Jesus' time must have wondered how much IN God cares for us and loves us, if all are guilty. In telling the parable of the fig tree, Jesus revealed to them that God gives us time to grow and to become fruitful.

In this parable we are reminded that we all are guilty and that turning to God, coming closer to God, takes intentional care, nurture and work. We are given time to grow. Yet, we need to embrace continual growth in our baptismal promises. Keeping the vows we made in our Baptismal Covenant renders the fruit of baptism.

The promise to continue in the Apostles' teaching, in the breaking of bread and in the prayers; the promise to repent and turn to the Lord; the promise to proclaim the Gospel; to seek and serve Christ by striving for justice and peace among all people; are not just made during the renewal of our vows, or to be kept only when there is a baptism in church on a Sunday. These promises we made are to be lived out in our daily lives.

Think of the promises as the fig tree. Just as that tree did, they need special care, protection and time to grow in order to bear fruit in our daily lives.
But, how do we keep our promises in this post-modern world where an attitude of instant satisfaction, of instant gratification, is the norm? In a culture where TV and the music industry give us the idea that promises do not matter, and where our children and youth often choose sports over spirituality; how do we live into the reality of the vows we have made to God?

It takes work. It takes care. It takes establishing proper priorities in life that nurture what is really important, what is really real for the life that God would have us live . . . the life which is eternal.