Third Sunday of Lent - Reflection by Canon Leslie

​Today is the Third Sunday of Lent, when the Gospel reading is Luke’s parable of the barren fig tree. God looks for proper fruit from the people of God, just as the owner of a fig tree looks for fruit from that tree.  The gardener gives the fig tree one more chance by nurturing it.  So Jesus gives the people of God one more chance.  Here is one of Luke’s distinctive images of Jesus’ Messiahship of which we are reminded during Lent. 


For those of you who wanted to do some thinking and preparation for today’s service during the preceding week, I invited reflection on the image of gardening. In today’s picture from his book, Explorer, Teddy Horsley is busy in his garden taking care of the plants.  



Lord Jesus Christ, 
you look for fruit from your people. 
shape our lives with your care and love, 
that you may not be disappointed by the fruit we bear; 
for you are our God. 
Amen. 


Next week, the Fourth Sunday of Lent, the Gospel reading is Luke’s parable of the two sons. The image to help us prepare for next week’s theme is homecoming. You can find out more about that theme here https://www.prayerforliverpool.org/prayer-resources.html. We would really appreciate you letting us know how you are using these materials.