Scripture Readings: Isaiah 55:1-9 & Luke 13: 1-9
Isaiah 55:1-9 gives us a gracious invitation from God, calling us to seek Him while He may be found. God calls all who are thirsty to come and receive freely, saying “Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.” (v. 1, 2) This is a call to those who are spiritually hungry and thirsty. The world offers many things that promise fulfillment – wealth, success, entertainment – but none of these truly satisfy people and us.
God offers us abundant life, true satisfaction, and renewal through His invitation and gives us a time to examine what truly satisfies our souls. Lent is a time of deep reflection, an opportunity to turn away from the distractions of the world and seek the Lord with all our hearts. It is a season that calls us to repentance and transformation, to examine our lives and ask: Are we truly seeking God?
This Lent, let us pause and ask: What are we truly seeking? Are we filling our lives with things that do not satisfy, or are we seeking God’s presence, His wisdom, and His will? Seeking the Lord requires intentional action – through prayer, Scripture, and worship. Are we making time daily to listen to God’s words?
Isaiah urges us: “Seek the Lord while He may be found; call on Him while He is near.” (v.6) This is not just a gentle suggestion; it is an urgent call. God is always near, always ready to receive us, but we must make the choice to turn toward Him. God’s thoughts and ways are beyond human understanding. May we trust in God’s plan and experience spiritual renewal.
In Luke 13: 1-9, Jesus’ response makes it clear that suffering is not necessarily a direct punishment for sin. When the people bring up the tragic deaths of the Galileans, they assume that these individuals must have been more sinful than others to have met such a fate. But Jesus firmly rejects this notion, saying, “I tell you, no!” (v.3). His words emphasize that tragedy is not a measure of a person’s righteousness or guilt. Jesus redirects the focus to personal repentance, highlighting the need for all people to turn to God. His “no” is not a word of condemnation but a reassurance that suffering is not a direct result of personal sin.
At the same time, Jesus’ response is an urgent call to repentance. He does not explain why tragedy happens, but he shifts the focus from judging others to examining our own hearts. The warning, “Unless you repent, you too will all perish” (v.3), is not a threat of punishment but an invitation to transformation through repentance and its fruit.
Jesus is not saying that disaster will befall those who fail to repent, but rather that without a changed heart, people remain spiritually lost. The parable of the barren fig tree (vv. 6-9) further illustrates God’s patience and mercy – He desires repentance, not destruction. Here, Jesus’ “no” is a word of grace, reminding us that while suffering is a reality in this broken world, God’s call is always one of renewal and hope. Lent is a time to turn away from sin and draw near to God.
Luke 13 warns against a fruitless life through the parable of the fig tree. In the parable, a man planted a fig tree, but for three years, it bore no fruit. He wanted to cut it down, but the gardener pleaded: “Leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.” (vv.8-9) Who is the gardener here? God! He gives the second chance for one more year and will dig around it and fertilize it even for the fruitless life.
This parable reminds us that God is patient, but He expects fruit. God gives us time to bear fruit, but He also calls us to live transformed lives. In the light of God’s words, bearing fruit in keeping with repentance and a transformed life produce spiritual fruit. May we examine our faith and commit to living out God’s call.
What fruit is our life producing? Are we growing in love, kindness, and service? Or are we spiritually stagnant? Like the gardener tending the fig tree, Lent is a season of spiritual cultivation – God is working on us, pruning, nourishing, and calling us to grow. If there are areas in our lives where we have been fruitless, now is the time to allow God to transform us through prayer, repentance, and commitment to His will.
Lent is not about pointing fingers at the sins of others but about confessing our own need for God’s grace. True repentance is not just feeling sorry – it is turning away from sin and walking in God’s ways. Are there attitudes, habits, or behaviours that we need to surrender to God? Are we bearing the fruit that He desires in our lives?
What is fruitless life in Individuals or communities? A fruitless life is one that does not reflect spiritual growth, love, or godly character. Some examples of a fruitless life in individuals and modern society, reflecting how people might fail to bear the spiritual fruit that God desires.
A fruitless life can manifest in many ways: living without God’s purpose, having stagnant faith, lacking compassion, ignoring others’ needs, being indifferent to suffering, and failing to show kindness or generosity. It includes harbouring anger instead of seeking reconciliation, professing faith without living it, and resisting repentance, growth, and transformation.
In society, fruitlessness appears when righteousness, justice, and love are absent – when wealth, success, and possessions take precedence over faith, relationships, and service, and when godly values are disregarded or mocked.
In the world, we can easily witness systems that neglect the poor, oppress the weak, and value power over people’s well-being. In this superficial and developed media environment, we can easily discover a focus on image, popularity, and entertainment rather than deep, meaningful relationships and spiritual growth.
In this society, we see the neglect of creation and environmental destruction, as many disregard the responsibility to care for God’s world, leading to harm and depletion of natural resources. Many live in complacency, unwilling to seek change or reform, while a culture of hostility prevails—one that magnifies differences instead of fostering reconciliation, love, and unity.
How do we move from passive faith to active discipleship? The good news is that God does not leave us fruitless—He calls us to repentance and transformation. As Galatians 5:22-23 reminds us, a fruitful life is marked by love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
Lent is both a season of grace and a call to action. It is a time to turn from fruitlessness and embrace a life that reflects God’s righteousness. May we seek the Lord intentionally through prayer, Scripture, and worship, repenting not just with words but with changed hearts and lives. Together, let us bear fruit by living in a way that reflects Christ’s love, grace, and truth.
Thanks be to God. Amen.
(Ref. Bible, commentaries, theological books, UCA materials)