EMBER SATURDAY

The reading of the holy Gospel according to St. Luke: At that time Jesus spoke to the multitude this parable: "A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came seeking fruit thereon, and found none." And so forth: Homily of St. Gregory, Pope

Our Lord and Redeemer through His Gospel sometimes speaks in figures, sometimes by examples; sometimes He says one thing in figure, and another thing by example; and sometimes He gays in figure what He says also by example. For, brethren, you have heard of two things in this Gospel: the barren fig tree and the woman who was afflicted, and a due consideration must be given to both. The first He speaks of through a simile; the other He treats of by example. Now the barren fig tree signifies what the woman was when she was bent over; likewise does the fig tree, when it was preserved, denote the same thing as the woman when she was straightened.

What does the fig tree represent but our human nature? What does the woman who was bent over typify except the game nature? Human nature was also planted as the fig tree—and created well—as was the woman—but, having fallen into sin of its own will, it neither bore the fruit of its work, nor kept its figure of uprightness. Yes, falling by its own will into sin, because it did not wish to bring forth the fruit of obedience, it lost its figure of stateliness. It had been formed according to the image of God, but when it did not persevere in that honorable condition, it refused to remain as it had been planted or created. For three years did the Lord of the vineyard visit His fig tree, for He sought after the nature of the human race before the Law, under the Law, and at the time of Grace, by watching over her, by teaching her, by coming to her.

He came before the Law, because he indicated through the natural intelligence how, by the knowledge of himself, everyone should act towards his neighbor. He came in the Law, because He taught by giving commandment. He came after the Law by grace because He showed the presence of His love by showing Himself. But within those three years He complained that He found no fruit, for the inborn voice of the natural law could not correct the minds of certain wicked men, nor could the commandments instruct them, nor could the miracles of His Incarnation convert them. But what is designated by the dresser of the vineyard except the order of the hierarchy? These, when they rule over the Church, take exceedingly great care of the Lord's vineyard.