The plant that does nothing! By Rev Stuart Simpson
3rd March 2013
Isaiah 55:1-9
Luke 13:1-9
Have you ever planted something in your garden with the hope
that is would flower with colourful blooms and radiant
blossoms; just as it was promised on the seed packet only to be
disappointed that the flowers don’t grow or produce anything?
Have you ever pruned a tree with the wish that it will soon
become lush with foliage and yet when spring arrives nothing
happens?
Have you ever bought a furniture kitset or Lego package only to
find some of the pieces missing?
What do we do?
Do we rip the flowers out?
Do we cut the tree down?
Do we throw the kitset away?
Do we chuck the Lego in the bin?
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They’re not doing what they were created to do so let’s just get
rid of them and start with something new
This could be how we respond or we could give them another
opportunity to flower, to grow, to be built
The fig tree
The story of the fig tree seems quite obvious
The owner of the garden has had enough of the tree not
baring any fruit.
We know he has had the tree for three years but not to what
extent the owner has gone to get the tree to do what it is
meant to do.
The owner is over it! He wants it down!
Before he cuts it down the gardener pursues him to leave it
for one more year
The gardener will care for the tree allowing it one more year
to do what it needs to do
The owner has shown grace even though the tree is not doing
what it was created to do and should really be removed
It is the year, the moment between imminent Judgement and
future disaster that I want us to explore
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What happens in this moment?
Will the fig tree grow fruit or will it still remain barren in a
years’ time?
To answer this we need to turn back to the reading
So we have a cultivated yet unproductive tree which may
continue to live even without bearing fruit only because it has
been granted additional time to do what it is supposed to do
Unless it begins to bear fruit the result will be its just and swift
destruction
So what is meant by bearing fruit?
Well in the Gospel of Luke it means ‘repentance’
Like Jesus’ earlier words in response to the recent tragedies,
which highlights the fact that really we have little control of
what life will throw at us, the parable warns against false
reassurance:
Just because we haven’t been cut down, do not presume that
you are bearing fruit.
So rather than living lives of false assurance we are to repent
We are to put our lives in the control of God now
Not in a few days or when everything is sorted out
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But now!
So this repentance means that we are to
Stop procrastinating;
To focus on what we can do, not what we cannot do. Bare
good fruit now!
I believe repentance is about knowing who is in charge of our
life, that is God, and allowing God to take control
Further to this, it refers to a changed mind, to a new way of
seeing things, to being persuaded to adopt a different
perspective
Matt Skinner explains repentance like this.
“In Luke-Acts, “repentance” also has moral applications but it
cannot be reduced to a reengineered life and ethics.
Sometimes it is presented as something given, or accomplished
by God.
It can be more about being found than about finding oneself.
It refers to an entirely reoriented self, to a new consciousness
of one’s short comings and one’s dire circumstances. Of
course, this has moral consequences but morality is hardly the
horse that pulls the cart.”
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I also believe it is about being open to seeing the Kingdom of
God as something more than simply the reality that we know
and have some amount of control over
If we don’t repent there are some dire consequences
but not in a way that we are often led to believe
N T Wright explains this really well:
Jesus isn’t talking about what happens to people after they die.
Many have read this passage and supposed that it was a
warning about perishing in hell after death, but that is clearly
wrong.
In line with the warnings he has issued several times already,
and will continue to issue right up to his own crucifixion, Jesus
is making it clear that those who refuse his summon to change
direction, to abandon the crazy flight into national rebellion
against Rome, will suffer consequences.
We know what some of the consequences were to the people
of Israel for not recognising God’s Kingdom
Just as they couldn’t accept Jesus as the Messiah because he
had not come to get rid of the Romans
They couldn’t accept that God would bring His Kingdom to
power in any other way than through political and military
overthrow
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Their direction, their decision not to repent led to severe
consequences one being the destruction of Jerusalem in 70AD
What about us?
How are we living our lives?
In the week I saw some statistics titled ‘The Seven Deadly Sins
of New Zealand’. Although presented as slight tough in cheek
it raised some important issues that NZ faces
It starts by asking the question ‘Ever wondered just how
depraved your city is?’
It then goes on to provide data for each major area of NZ and
its relative sinfulness
The data shows Aucklanders have higher rates of sinful activity
on a per capita basis than anywhere else in the country
scooping top spot in a crude sin count - ranked the most sinful
in our interpretation of four of the seven cardinal sins,
Which are, Lust, Gluttony, Pride, Sloth, Wrath, Greed and Envy
Gisborne and the surrounding East Cape area finished second,
suffering the nation's worst rate of murders and assaults
(wrath), and the greatest prevalence of inactivity in adults aged
16 plus (sloth).
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I think that many people feel that they are in control of their
lives (tell that to the family who have just lost their loved one
to a shark attack).
Or we think that our way of life is the best course to take
Just like the people of Israel did
Do we try and make our lives about work? Is our security and
therefore our control born out of what we produce or how
hard we work?
Do some people turn to sex because they think that it is the
answer to their loneliness?
Do people store wealth because they think they are God?
Do we say we love God with our lips but hate Him through our
actions?
Do we follow the path of least resistance? Are we more
swayed by the present cultural habits or societal norms than
God’s way?
If we do
If we are
then Jesus says to us stop before its too late
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Before what you are doing, the way you are living cause
disaster
Repent
Jesus says to us ‘I want you to see things God’s way
I want you to adopt the perspective of my father’s kingdom
Let us all recognise in what Jesus says and what he has done
that God finds us
that God’s offers the most amazing grace, grace that stops the
axe from falling
and accept it! When we do we will bear much fruit!
I think the lyrics to this song sum it so well
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.
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