This parable has several meanings at once. Directly, of course, it refers to the people of Israel, depicted here in the guise of a fig tree. However, it can also have another interpretation, according to which the vineyard is the Church of Christ, and the fig tree is every member of the Church, every Christian. The owner of the vineyard is God the Father. The gardener is Christ. Thus, we must apply this parable to ourselves. Each of us is a fig tree planted in God's garden, that is, in the Church. Just as a tree is required to bear fruit for its owner, so the Lord expects each of us to bring Him the fruits for which He created us and brought us to His Church. The fruits should be understood as Christian virtues: love for God and for people, mercy, meekness, humility, generosity, courage, generosity. If we offer this, then the Lord rejoices over us, as the owner of a garden rejoices when looking at trees strewn with beautiful fruits. The Lord is a very merciful host, He is willing to endure and wait, even if we bear very little fruit. However, when a Christian completely ceases to bear the fruits of good works, and only breeds the thorns of evil, then God the Father says to the Son of Christ: "Why does this man occupy the earth in vain, why does he occupy a place in the Church?" However, Christ, Who Himself became man and died for the salvation of people, always intercedes for them before the Heavenly Father and by His mercy, as it were, binds His justice. He begs the Father to wait until He Himself creates all the conditions for man to reform and bear fruit. This kindness and care of Christ is evident from the fact that the gardener in the parable was going to fertilize the fig tree. After all, fig trees in southern countries are usually not fertilized, they grow there on their own, often right on the side of the road. If the gardener wanted to fertilize it, it means that he really loved and felt sorry for this barren tree, so that he was ready to do for it what no one usually does. This is what Christ does: He is ready to create all the conditions for a person's spiritual growth, if only the person would be corrected and bear fruit. If, however, he does not correct himself after this and there is no hope that he will change for the better, then he is threatened with being cut down, like a barren tree...

There is another possible understanding of this parable – in relation to all mankind. According to him, the vineyard is the world, the fig tree is the human race, the owner is God the Father, and the gardener is Christ. As each individual and mankind as a whole, we must bring to God the fruits that He expects from them, the fruits of holiness and righteousness. As long as the world gives birth to saints, it will stand. But when the remnant of holiness and righteousness among people is completely exhausted, then the Lord will cease to exist in this world, for it will no longer bear good fruit, but will only serve to increase evil.

Thus, the time of earthly life has been given to us, brothers and sisters, so that we may bring to God the fruits of righteousness and Christian perfection. We must always have this goal before us and strive for it. Let us thus rejoice our Lord, let us please Him, let us bring forth the fruits of a virtuous life that are pleasing to Him. For then the Lord will make us partakers of His joy, then we, too, according to the word of the Gospel, will enter into the joy of our Lord, into a joy that has no end. Amen.

About Fasting

The goal of the Christian life is to bring man closer to God. But in order to draw closer to God, we must first renounce the earth, the flesh, and the domination of the earthly and material in us. A person consists of a body, soul and spirit. God is Spirit, and therefore it is possible to approach Him only when one is in a spiritual state. In a state of flesh or soul, it is impossible to approach God. And in order to help us renounce the things of the flesh and the soul, the Church established fasts. In order to renounce the things of the flesh, a restriction in bodily food is required, and in order to renounce the things of the soul, in the food of the soul. Bodily fasting consists in the rejection of non-nutritious food – meat and dairy. In addition, in lenten food, it is necessary to limit the quantity and quality of food. As for spiritual fasting, it consists in limiting earthly, human food, with which people usually nourish their souls. What kind of food is this? These are TV, the Internet, newspapers, magazines, music, movies, secular books, games, entertainment, idle conversations, gossip, jokes, amusements, and the like. Through all this, we bring into our soul a lot of vanity, a lot of passions, a lot of earthly and human things. And where the earthly and human predominate, the heavenly and the Divine cannot dwell. From earthly vanity and dust, the soul becomes heavy and incapable of anything spiritual. It is completely tied to the earth and cannot tear itself away from it, cannot rise to heaven in any way. Therefore, as Elder Paisios of the Holy Mountain says, we should not expect something Divine to grow in our souls, unless the human first dies. Until the ground of the soul, overgrown with worldly grass, is spiritually ploughed up, until the grains of heavenly wheat fall into it, nothing spiritual will grow in the soul. And this is precisely the cleansing of our soul and its spiritual ploughing.

Как уже говорилось, во время поста необходимо ограничение не только в телесной пище, но и душевной. И нужно помнить, что эта часть поста является даже более важной. Ибо что важнее в человеке — душа или тело? Конечно, важно и то и другое, но все же более важной частью является душа. Отсюда следует, что и душевный пост более важен, а потому на него необходимо обратить особое внимание. Нужно отказаться или хотя бы ограничить себя в том мирском прахе, которым привыкла питаться наша душа. Во время поста нужно больше чем когда бы то ни было сказать себе слова преподобного Исаака Сирского: «Довольно, довольно с тебя этой свиньям приличной пищи, какой доныне питаешься ты!»

Однако совсем без пищи душа человека существовать не может. Поэтому, если мы отказались от земной пищи, нужно непременно позаботиться о том, чтобы дать душе пищу небесную. Что это такое? Это — Благодать Святого Духа. Только этой небесной пищей может по-настоящему жить душа, ибо так она была изначально устроена Богом. Итак, если мы хотим, чтобы наша душа не осталась голодной, нам нужно приобретать Благодать. Приобретается же она чистой христианской жизнью: молитвой, богомыслием, чтением Священного Писания и творений святых отцов. В Евангелии сказано: «Не хлебом одним будет жить человек, но всяким словом, исходящим из уст Божиих». Поэтому вместо телепрограмм, сплетен и развлечений нужно напитать душу Словом Божиим и словом святоотеческим. Ведь если наша душа питается небесной пищей, то и сама она становится мало-помалу небесной.