Isaiah 55:1-11; Psalm 63:1-8; 1 Corinthians 10:1-13; Luke 13:1-9
During this season of Lent, we are asked to think about our inner life, prayer, study, and Christian conversation. We remember that the season before Easter was a time when people reflected on the sacrament of Baptism, the time when each Christian is marked and sealed as Christ's own forever. Through the prayers and responses of the baptismal liturgy, we recall that we are to support each child and person who is baptized for all of their lives in Christ. The refreshing Baptismal waters beckon us and strengthen us in our relationship to God and with each other.
The people of the first century believed that when bad things happened, it was because of some sin in their lives… sound familiar? But Jesus’ teachings so far have been turning this idea on its head. In this passage, we hear the people asking about recent disasters… who is responsible? Are the people being punished for acknowledged or unseen sin? Were those Galileans who died as victims of Pilate's anger against religious expression were the most guilty? They died as they were acting on an ancient religious custom. Or maybe it was those eighteen people crushed by the falling tower by the pool of Siloam who were the guiltiest? After all, hasn’t the whole of Jewish law taught that awful things happen in a person’s life as punishment for the sins he or she has committed? But the people around Jesus are also wondering about themselves. Are they guilty? What does God think of them? Is it too late for them to know the repentance and forgiveness that come from God? Jesus responded to them by telling a parable, another story that’s difficult to understand.
A man planted a fig tree right in the middle of a vineyard, in a place of honor. The sun shone on it; the rain watered it; it was tended to along with the grapevines that grew around it. When it was time for the tree to bear fruit, the owner came looking for wonderful, delicious figs, the sweetest of all fruits. But as he walked closer to the tree, he saw the tree was empty… no fruit… nothing. He decided to wait another year to see if the tree would produce fruit. He waited through the change of seasons, but when he returned to the tree a year later, it was still empty. The man, being he thought quite reasonable, waited one more year for the fruit to come, but when he walked to the tree for the third time, he found the same thing: there was no fruit on the tree.
Now he was angry and told the vineyard keeper to cut down the tree, for it was useless to him. But the vineyard keeper said that he would take special care of the tree for one more year. He loosened the soil and dug around the tree so the rain could reach deeper into the roots. He fertilized the tree to give it the extra nutrients it needed. And there the story ends. I wonder what happened the next year. Was there any fruit when the man came back? Was the extra care the vineyard keeper gave worth it? Did the fig tree finally come into its own? And why is this the parable Jesus told when the questions swirling around were about guilt and sin?
If we look at the story closely, we hear Jesus telling the people that guilt is pretty easily spread around… that is, there’s enough guilt for everyone. Suffering is not a punishment for guilt or sin. If that were the case then many of us should be suffering much more. The parable of the fig tree brings Jesus’ story around to its real point: that life is not about suffering, it is about redemption.
All of us need redemption. Each one of us needs to repent, turn our lives around to follow God, and know God as the patient vineyard keeper, not the impatient landowner. Jesus’ followers wondered the same things that we do. How can God care for us, love us and forgive us, even if we are as guilty as everyone else in the world? The parable reminds them that God gives us time to grow and become fruitful, which sometimes means needing a little extra love and care, like a fig tree that had not yet bloomed and given up sweet, sweet fruit.
Now, 2000 years later, we need to hear the same story, even though we live in a very different world. Our world has daily doses of random death and violence. The statistics of drug abuse, teenage suicide, and childhood violence are higher than the number of children who attend church school every Sunday across the United States. And we wonder who is responsible for all of the suffering, who is more guilty than the rest. This parable reminds us not to get too full of ourselves - we are all guilty and in need of redemption. When we turn to God, when we receive the intentional care and nurture that a relationship with God brings, that is when our lives will bear real fruit.
We don’t do this alone. Through baptism, we are planted and watered and tended and given time to grow into our roles as members of the household of God. The promises of the baptismal covenant lead us to more experiences of God’s grace. We experience God’s fruitfulness through our relationships with one another as brothers and sisters in Christ. We learn from one another about the faith as we share in the breaking of bread, in prayer and conversation, and through it all, we experience what it means to live a life that reflects Jesus in the world, serving others, and striving for justice and peace among all people. This is our call each and every day.
In our reading from Isaiah, we hear this: “Come to the waters – you who are thirsty.” It is the invitation of a lifetime, reflected in the waters of our baptisms, calling us to a life beyond the needs of our daily lives. Remember the story of the woman at the well? Jesus asks a woman to draw water for his refreshment, but before she follows through he offers her living water to satisfy her every need... spiritual, emotional, physical needs, all taken care of with a word of hope, and promise of freedom and eternal life.
Think of the baptismal promises we make as the fig tree. In the ELCA, the liturgy calls us to “...live among God’s faithful people; hear the word of God and share in the Lord’s Supper; proclaim the good news of God in Christ through word and deed; serve all people following the example of Jesus; and strive for justice and peace in all the earth.” In the UMC and Episcopal liturgies, we promise to renounce wickedness and reject evil, to accept the freedom and power God gives us to do that, and to confess Jesus as our Lord and savior, putting our whole trust in his love and grace.
Think about these words. Live these words, these promises… think of them as the fig tree… think of how they have to be nurtured, just like the fig tree in the vineyard. Think of how hard that is to do in a world where instant satisfaction is a way of life, and where the world is giving us the idea that promises do not matter, when in fact they really do.
It is not easy. It takes a lifetime of work. But when we take them seriously, lives are changed, and eternal life is not just achieved in the world to come, but in this world, too.
Early in my ministry, I preached on these texts at a service where we were baptizing a 4-month-old child named Branden. Born to a 15-year old mother, there was every reason that Branden’s life would not turn out so great. His mother was a sophomore in high school. His parents did not marry, but his dad was a part of his life. It would have been easy for her to give the baby up for adoption, but instead, her mom and grandparents worked at forgiveness and reclaiming trust, promising to help her make a good life for this new baby. And after his birth, they were more of a family than ever.
And as Branden began his journey of faith, other men in the congregation came up to stand with the family to say to them, “You are not in this alone.” They took seriously the promises they made as members of the congregation present at his baptism, infusing Branden’s life and his family with the peace of forgiveness and hope for the future. They lived out the belief that even though we come to Jesus guilty, we stand beside him redeemed. And today, Branden is a healthy, happy 24-year old with, beloved by many people, brought up within a community of faith that took their promises seriously.
At first glance, the story of the fig tree feels like a story about fear, but really, it’s a story of hope. We bear the best fruit when we are cared for and nurtured. This is true for tomatoes and flowers, but also each of us. As we go forth from this place, let us take the promises of the Baptismal Covenant into our world, not just saying that we believe in the redemption and forgiveness of Christ, but living it in all that we do. And let us recognize God as our patient gardener… in God’s world, it is always Spring and there is much work to be done. Thanks be to God.
Peace, Deb
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