March 11, 2007
The Pharisees had no time for sinners. They believed that they should just be written off. They believed in a God of judgement, not forgiveness. Of course, Jesus did not agree with them, and told them so time and time again ... usually in stories (which are always a good way to help others understand your point).
Jesus told them about a vineyard. Now a vineyard is a very special piece of fertile land ... normally used for growing vines. But for some reason, the man in the story had planted a fig tree in his. Most likely it was because good soil was scarce ... and so this tree was planted in a very privileged place.
Well (under normal circumstances) it takes three years for a fig tree to reach maturity. If it has not produced fruit by then, well, it is highly unlikely that it ever will.. This was how it was with the tree in Jesus. story. For three years, the owner had found nothing ... and came to the sad conclusion that the tree was useless. That it was doing nothing more than taking from the good soil, and giving nothing in return. It was using valuable space - - - so he told the gardener that it had to go.
But the gardener, who KNEW fig trees (and was a very patient man), pleaded for a years grace. He asked for an extension. Time in which he could aerate the soil, and add fertilizer to the ground around the tree. THEN (he agreed), then if there is still no fruit ... we can cut it down.
The owner of the vineyard agreed.
We are never told what happened to that tree ... and it really doesn't matter. Jesus had made his point. Just as the gardener was patient with the fig trees, so too is God patient with sinners.
Some call this passage:
THE GOSPEL OF THE SECOND CHANCE
It reminds us that our God is patient. And History is filled with examples of barren fig trees who (in time, and thanks to the patience of God) have become fruitful -- Lost souls who have become saints.
Moses was one. He was hot-headed. As a young man he had even killed another man. Still, God didn't condemn him, or write him off ... he knew there was good in him. God saw that Moses was a man who despised injustice (of any kind) and KNEW that this was the one who would lead the people of Israel from slavery to the promised land. A less than admirable start ... but a strong finish.
Einstein was another. Probably the greatest mind of the 20th Century .... But very few people know that he didn't speak until he was two - - not a word? His parents were so concerned that they took him to the doctor about it. He was also concerned, asked them to be patient ... but prepared them for the reality that their son was a slow developer (and would probably .just get by. in school). When he finally did talk, and started going to school, one of his teachers was so disappointed in him that he said .you will never amount to anything.. There was no indication of what he would become - no signs pointing to his genius. His parents and teachers had no idea ... and could only judge on what they saw ... which wasn't very hopeful.
And yet when he DID come into his own, what the world received was phenomenal ... pure brilliance.
John Newton was another ... he dropped out of school, joined the crew of his father's ship at age eleven, and spent his early years living a life of rebellion and immorality. After years in the slave trade business, he became the captain of his own ship ... and that's when things started to change. On March 10th 1748 (259 years ago yesterday), during a terrible storm at seas ... he had a revelation, and saw the error of his ways. His conversion had begun. But like the fig tree, the results of his conversion were not immediate, or apparent to others. He continued in the slave trade ... and even tried to justify his work by being a more .humane. Slave Trader ... he improved the conditions for those below deck, and even held Sunday church services for the crew.
Eventually, he saw the error of his ways ... and became a staunch opponent of slavery. He was ordained by the Church of England and given his own parish. One of the trademarks of his parish, was to sing hymns that expressed the simple faith of his people (rather than the more traditional practice of singing psalms ... which other Anglican churches did). And when he couldn't find enough hymns ... Newton began writing his own.
The best known of these, is Amazing Grace.
His was a weak (even sinful) beginning ... but a solid, faithful end.
Like fig trees, some people develop slowly.
And what they need, is someone to believe in them. Someone to nurture them, and be patient with them. And as nice as it would be for that someone to be a strong person in their lives ... sometimes, they have no one but God.
But the parable also makes it clear, that there IS such a thing as a last chance. Even the gardener (the patient and caring and knowledgeable gardener), admits that if there is no progress after a certain time, he will destroy the tree. For us, the last chance comes at our own hand. For if we continue to refuse chance after chance ... then it is not GOD who has shut us out, but ourself.
And what choice is that ? Who wants to be a barren branch when we could be fruitful tree? Who wants to do nothing more than take take take, when instead we could grow and give, and watch others be touched and beneft because of something WE have done?.
Even in those moments when we ourselves feel like the dying fig tree ... there is hope.
I have heard from countless people who have found strength and inspiration in their battle with cancer, from others in this very congregation ... and how they faced this disease in their own lives. Now the people who were the inspiration didn't KNOW they were the inspiration ... in fact some of them were in deep despair about their disease. They coped by plodding on (doing those ministries and tasks that they always did), unaware that others were watching them. And yet ... they were. And in THAT was their fruit .... Even though they couldn't see it.
You and I are like the fig tree. Planted in a fertile garden. Surrounded with nourishment and encouragement and the opportunity to grow, and produce fruit - - - good works.
But sometimes (either by our own choices, or as the result of circumstances beyond our control) we do not produce.
And it is then ... that Jesus our gardener steps in, and nurtures ... and calls us out of our dormancy, and into life and growth and productivity.
But unlike the fig tree ... you and I are also called to be gardeners. To be the caring, supportive, hopeful presence in the lives of others ... others who may also not yet reached their full potential. To not criticise and condemn then (like the Pharisees did) but to love them and encourage them, by what we say and do.
The season of Lent is a time dedicated to our letting all of that happen. To allow our souls - and our lives - the opportunity to be aerated and cultivated. And to do be prepared to do the same for those around us.
So that (thanks to the goodness and the patience of God) we may reach our full potential ... and BE the people God calls us to be.
