Lent 3 - Unfruitful

03.20.2022

Scripture: Luke 13:1-9

Luke 13:1–9 NRSV

At that very time there were some present who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. He asked them, “Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as they did. Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them—do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others living in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did.” Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and found none. So he said to the gardener, ‘See here! For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and still I find none. Cut it down! Why should it be wasting the soil?’ He replied, ‘Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig around it and put manure on it. If it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’ ”

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Christmas Peppers

One of the ways we handled being stuck at home two years ago was to learn some new skills. I have been fascinated by plant life since learning about the work of George Washington Carver back in grade school. So, for the spring and summer of 2020, we tried to take up indoor gardening. I went to Walmart and got packs of seeds for peas, radishes, tomatoes, cucumbers, and some assorted peppers.

We planted the  seeds in several phases, trying a couple different techniques. They started off indoors, and then as the weather got warmer, some of them got taken outside during the day. Most of them died. The peppers, in particular, died at least 3 times. After that it was very slow growth. We were pretty sure they were duds.  Suddenly took off growing around November and we actually had peppers in December.

They were green at first, but eventually turned red with a little bit of encouragement. By the end there were four plants. Three of the plants had peppers that had little taste at all. They might as well have been wax beans. The last plant however had peppers that would clear out your sinuses and change your life in a matter of seconds, and it went on to flavor our chili and Mexican food for part of the next year and we kept the seeds from it to grow more.

Our Christmas peppers were unfruitful at first, then miraculously bore fruit, some of which was false fruit and others that were true and full of flavor.

Our lives are meant to bear good fruit for God.

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No Fruit

Peppers may not be your thing, and that is okay. However, bearing fruit is still a part of a life with Jesus. Bearing fruit starts with repentance. We cannot bear fruit by doing things our own way.

When the people asked Jesus why God allowed a group of Galilean patriots to be executed by the Romans. If their blood had indeed been poured out on the sacrifices at the Temple in Jerusalem it would have profaned the whole place, ruining the worship to God, and perhaps ruining the Temple itself in the minds of some people. What did they do that was so wrong to deserve such a horrible death. Likewise, a tower on the southeast wall of Jerusalem had fallen over and killed 18 people. Was this an accident or was God punishing those who were just walking in and out of town that day the towers fell upon them?

Jesus used those examples to show that if these kinds of bad things could happen to good people, what excuse do we have for not repenting and serving God by loving Him and others the very best we can? As Christians, we do not somehow escape judgment. No, we know our judge. His name is Jesus. He knows us as well, and He knows exactly what we have been given and what we can do with those gifts.

Centuries earlier, the prophet Jeremiah brought a message from God to His people.

Jeremiah 8:13 NRSV

When I wanted to gather them, says the Lord, there are no grapes on the vine, nor figs on the fig tree; even the leaves are withered, and what I gave them has passed away from them.

Fruit doesn’t just grow automatically. It takes lots of energy and work for a plant to grow, bud, bloom, and be able to reproduce with fruit. It is work, but is also expected. In the Bible cultures, as well as in most cultures, fruit plants are not grown and cared for just to look pretty. They are expected to bear fruit. If they do not grow fruit, they become firewood.

The parable that Jesus told in our passage today was common knowledge to anyone back then. Whether you lived on a farm or in the city, fig trees were meant to grow figs. If they did not, they were cut down and replaced by one that would. As Jesus compared this fig tree to God’s people, the Temple, and as we compare it to the Church today, it is not a question of whether we should bear fruit or not. It is a question of what counts as fruit.

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False Fruit

Not all fruit is equal. In Japan they have fruit markets where you can buy the most perfect strawberries for $300 a piece. They sell grapes, melons, apples, peaches, all for far more than we could afford. But after you’ve tasted one of them, you won’t be able to eat the volunteer strawberries that grow up in your yard anymore. Everything else is without taste. Even on a smaller, more affordable scale, the chili peppers we grew that had no flavor were not useful and we did not save their seeds. Why grow more bad plants?

All fruit has a basic purpose of helping the plant reproduce. If it fails to do that, the plant will go extinct and it will become firewood on its own. Sometimes we think that the first step is to get more. More people, more programs, more staff, more music, more bible study, etc. because we think more is better. Jesus taught that you could tell a tree by its fruit though, which makes us stop and ask ourselves, more of what?

Are we making fruit that is not really fruit at all, but just pretending, like the plastic toy food we played with as children? Is the fruit even edible or useful, or is it rotten, full of bugs and worms? More is not better if the fruit is not good.

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Bear Fruit that is Pleasing to God

Good fruit is pleasing to God and shows love for God and others. Good fruit occurs when we do the work of sharing all that God has given us, inviting and teaching others to join with us. Good fruit is when we make disciples that have the character and Spirit of Jesus Christ. And Jesus is right when he says you can tell a tree by its fruit. The disciples I make are going to end up like me. The disciples you make are going to end up like you.

That is precisely why God calls us together as the church. When we make disciples the way we learn from Jesus, rather than our own ways, we are able to pass on the best of ourselves to our disciples and help them to leave our faults behind. When we make disciples together, as a team, with other disciple-makers, we have the opportunity to pass on the best of all of us together to our disciples.

How do we do that?

We listen to and learn from Jesus.

We stop making excuses.

We start working together.

Jesus is the gardener who intercedes on our behalf with God. "Give them one more year," He says.It may look like they are squandering the blessings you have given them, but let me till and fertilize the soil. Let me give them one more chance before you cut them down. You see, Jesus is all about second, third, and fourth chances. Eventually our chances run out though, and unfortunately, we never know quite when that will happen for sure.

Rather than wait until it is too late, why not start today?

How many of you got to see Pastor Reinaldo's video devotion on facebook or YouTube last week? His ministry has become one of the fastest growing ministries in our congregation. Last year he lost his worship team because of members moving and he had to run all the music and technology by himself each Sunday. It was a lot of work just to do each Sunday morning worship for Monte de Sion, or MDS. He worked with our church and district leaders to try to recruit someone to come lead music for our spanish service, but could find no one willing.

His leaders did not give up though. Instead, they got together and formed a small team of people who did not know how to lead worship yet, but were willing to learn. They have been working with a music and worship teacher since before Christmas last year and are growing in leading worship. I hope to invite them to come lead us sometime. Reinaldo also has been partnering with Pam and Matt, our First Fruits Children's Ministry Leader and our Youth Pastor to offer childcare and Sunday School to our MDS families, and they are filling up our classrooms, participating in youth and children's ministry with us. MDS has become a fruitful branch of Nicholasville United Methodist Church.

How did they do it?

They listened to and learned from Jesus.

They stopped making excuses.

They started working together.

Are you willing to do what it takes to be fruitful in your ministry and in your life?

Will you listen to and learn from Jesus?

Will you stop making excuses?

Will you start working together with the people and teams around you?