Today is March 23, the Third Sunday of Lent.
The ground plays an important role in our readings this Sunday. Moses approaches the burning bush. He receives a strong command from the Lord: “Come no nearer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground” (Ex 3:5).
In the Gospel, a man planted a fig tree that bears no fruit. Logically, he tells the gardener to cut it down. What does the gardener say in reply? To be patient and tend to the ground around the tree: “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.”
We must tend to our own ground. This is not literal ground, of course, but the nutrient ground of our hearts ready to receive the Word and bear fruit. How do we cultivate the ground of our hearts?
Prayer, fasting and almsgiving
The classic Lenten trio can help us here. By God’s grace, we can properly dispose ourselves through these spiritual works.
Prayer lifts our hearts above the things of earth to the things of God. Whether we thank him, praise him, or make requests for our needs, prayer brings us into dialogue with our Father and softens our hearts to his Word.
Fasting tames the passions and puts our appetites under the control of reason. When our reason can rise above sensory pleasure, we are more aptly disposed to notice the Word bearing fruit in us.
Almsgiving gives us the disposition of giving of ourselves to others, whether of our time, talent, or treasure. God is generous with a generous heart, and we desire him to produce abundant fruit within us. We should be generous with others.
Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving form a three-pronged till that works on our hearts and prepares them for the Word to bear fruit within us. It makes the ground of our hearts holy, set apart for the work of God.
Let us pray,
O God, author of every mercy and of all goodness, who in fasting, prayer and almsgiving
have shown us a remedy for sin, look graciously on this confession of our lowliness, that we, who are bowed down by our conscience, may always be lifted up by your mercy. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.
