“Standing In Manure”

Luke 13:1-9

Hmm. Were you listening to the text I just read.  It is an intriguing lesson. First, we have the story of an apparent atrocity perpetrated by the Roman Governor, Pilate - folks beaten and killed in the midst of their religious observance.

Apparently, Pilate was flexing Roman muscle to make sure no Jewish Zealots (revolutionaries) would consider starting an insurrection. Bad for them!

But shouldn’t those Galileans have stayed on their own turf rather than coming down to Jerusalem to further their political schemes? As painful as it might be to admit, perhaps Pilate had to do what Pilate had to do. They obviously got what they deserved.

Then there was that story of the eighteen people crushed by the horrible collapse of the tower of Siloam, a construction project gone drastically wrong.

Word on the street was that the disaster would never have happened had not Pilate stolen the money to fund it from the Temple treasury; people said anyone who worked on it was participating in a blasphemy against God.

It was God who made that tower fall. Anyone who cooperates with evil gets evil in return. Period. Bottom line. People get what they deserve.

Nothing unique in that kind of thinking. People get what they have coming to them, and if something bad happens, at some level, somehow, somewhere, they were asking for it.

A prostitute is murdered, her body dumped in a ditch - divine retribution, some say. A young woman is attacked; “Well, what do you expect - look what she was wearing!” Uh-huh. AIDS. Why? Lifestyle. Sex. Drugs.

And when WE are brought low, we whisper, “Why, God? What have I done to deserve this?”

Do you believe that all suffering is the result of some evil that the tormented person has done (or if the victim is too young or obviously innocent, it must be the fault of parents or grandparents)?

Of course you don’t, BUT, believe it or not, lots of folks do. Psychologists call it the “Just World” theory - everything that happens is just and right, as it should be, even if it does not appear to be so...

“Just World Theory” creates the illusion of moral superiority. The person says to him to herself, “ I am not suffering, ergo I must be better than those who are.”

To see this at work makes it a lot clearer. Let’s say Joe Smith believes in the “Just World Theory.” One day he is walking down the street. And he sees someone on the side of the road, half naked, unconscious and bleeding.

Now, there are many reasons that someone could be in that condition. But Joe says to himself, “He must have done something to deserve this. He must have brought it on himself. He was probably drunk or high on drugs, or maybe he was associating with a gang or something.”

So Joe Smith walks on by, convinced that the man got what he deserved.

And many people in Jesus’ day felt the same way.  So the natural question, when reflecting on the Galileans’’ fate, was: “Well, what do YOU think, Jesus?”

And Jesus responds: “Well, I will TELL you what I think...unless YOU repent, you will all perish just as THEY did.”

Huh? You can just imagine the look on their faces!

I think what Jesus was really saying is that there is some randomness with regard to suffering.  Sometimes good people suffer just like bad people.  The story of Job comes to mind.  Job was a righteous man, but he lost big time ––lost his wealth –– lost his family.  His body was covered with boils. 

So Jesus was saying, in effect, that the Galileans who died weren’t necessarily any worse than anyone else. 

That was a very pastoral thing to do.  Jesus knew that it wouldn’t do these people any good to worry about the Galileans and their level of righteousness – or unrighteousness, as the case may be. 

No, they needed to focus on their own lives–– on their own behavior –– on their own faith.  They could change those things. 

Then Jesus brings up another incident.  The tower of Siloam had fallen and killed eighteen people.  Were they worse than other people?  Jesus said:

“No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as they did.”

In other words, trying to attach a sin to everything that befalls you is fruitless. Instead, start living the way that God would have you live. 

Jesus was warning the people to pay more attention to their own lives than worrying about how to decipher the calamities that befall others. 

But there is more to this passage than just a warning. We can easily imagine that, as the conversation progressed, Jesus’ eye fell on a fig tree in the midst of a vineyard.

Suddenly, we are caught up in a story...about a fig tree, of all things. A fig tree with a problem – you see, the fig tree isn’t bearing any fruit.

Now, if you wonder what the big deal is all about, remember that Israel is not blessed with a great deal of arable land. That being the case, a landowner has to make the best possible use of every inch. Wherever there is room, plant something. So even the vineyards have fruit trees dotted throughout them.

They occupy a privileged position on the hills, have water and sun, and are tended with care. The investment has to pay off, though. The fertilizer, the water, the pruning must result in fruit; otherwise, out comes the ax.

The people listening to Jesus understood. Three consecutive years of no figs, instant firewood! But the gardener intercedes: He had fertilized the tree and watered it and watched it grow.  That tree was his “baby.” 

He kept watching for fruit, and was surely disappointed when he saw none.  But he just knew that next year would be the one. 

Now, he was too smart to tell the landowner how he loved that tree.  Instead, he spoke language the landowner could understand.  He said:

“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 it not, you can cut it down.”

And the story ends.

And what happens the following year? We are not told. But those earlier words of Jesus about REPENT OR PERISH, might lead us to conclude a theology of SHAPE UP OR SHIP OUT! You get one chance – if not fruit, you’re cut up into little pieces.

Reasonable. At least from a human perspective. But I would be hard pressed to say this is the gospel of Jesus.

Actually, I would insist that this is NOT the gospel of Jesus. It is certainly not the message of scripture. People do NOT get what they deserve, either good or bad.

That is why the Psalmist could wail, “Why, O LORD, do you stand far off? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?

“In arrogance the wicked persecute the poor...the wicked boast of the desires of their heart, those greedy for gain curse and renounce the LORD...Their ways prosper at all times...”

Or in Ecclesiastes where we read, “I saw under the sun that in the place of justice, wickedness was there, and in the place of righteousness, wickedness was there as well.”

How about those folks that Pilate killed? The Siloam Tower workers? Look what happened to Jesus. Did he deserve to be tortured and murdered? This litany could go on forever.

On the other side of the coin is the undeserved good. Matthew 5:45 - “[God] makes [the] sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous.”

Or Ephesians 2:8 & 9 - “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the GIFT OF GOD, not the result of works, so that no one may boast.” Again, the list could go on and on and on.

The point of all this, of course, is to insist that a “shape up or ship out” gospel is no gospel at all. In fact, it flies in the face of everything we learn, not only in human experience, but in scripture as well.

You see, this lesson does not end on a “shape up or ship out” note. This sad little fig tree that has done such a poor job at bearing fruit gets another chance.

The gardener has put his reputation on the line and certainly will take good care of that tree  He will dig around it so the water soaks in.  He will set manure around it.  He will carry water to it during the dry season.  He might even pray for it. 

If there is any hope for that tree, that gardener will bring fruit to its branches before the year is out.

Why?  The theological word is GRACE.  The gardener is all about giving his trees all the chances to succeed that he can.

The good news I bring to you this morning is that GRACE is offered to you and me as well, all of us little fig trees who do not produce as we ought. Are you a fig tree in need of a bit more time to bear fruit? Perhaps a bit more nourishment to get the juices flowing?

Then listen again to those wonderfully inviting words of the prophet in our Old Testament lesson:

“Hey there! All who are thirsty, come to the water! Are you penniless? Come anyway—buy and eat! Come, buy your drinks, buy wine and milk. Buy without money—everything’s free.”

You who struggle at home, you whose jobs bore you or oppress you, you teens who are anxious to make sense of life, you seniors who wonder if there is any life left, come to the heavenly feast.

You lonely ones who long for love, you broken and beaten ones, you who battle addictions, you hurt ones who have taken all the battering you can stand, come into the healing realm of God.

Come and experience the grace of another chance to allow the things of Christ, to be decisive in our lives. Another chance to be instruments not of revenge but of reconciliation. Another chance to work not for the withering but for the widening of our circles of compassion.

Another chance to achieve not the narrowing but the nurturing of our communities of faith. Another chance not to be cynical but to engage in the uplifting practice of hope. Another chance to listen not for the noisy shout but for the still small voice of calm.

As the Psalmist writes: “Seek the Lord while he may be found, call upon him while he is near.”

In other words, do it now. Why this gracious offer? Scripture says do not worry about it - any explanation is beyond our limited understanding.

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

A true story. Steve Telkins of Washington, DC writes:

Each time I read Jesus’ parable of the barren fig tree, I remember an experience early in my foreign service career. My wife, Pat, and I were assigned to the American Consulate in Kaduna, Nigeria -- a predominantly Muslim, tropical, agricultural region of West Africa.

Our house faced a street used by local traffic and cattle herds alike, and needed a hedge to keep the cattle out. The previous occupants had evidently had the same idea, for on our arrival we saw a neat but droopy row of some hundred plants badly in need of care.

We gave them lots of attention, watering regularly and hoping they would grow, but to no avail. The plants remained spindly and nearly lifeless, and we lost patience. Like the man with the fig tree, we decided to uproot them.

But when we pulled them up, to our great surprise we found each plant still had a plastic bag from the nursery wrapped around its roots! Clearly the lack of attention from an inexperienced gardener.

Now we felt like the caretaker in the vineyard. The person who had patience and who believed that a little more encouragement -- another chance -- would make the difference.

We removed the plastic from each plant and fertilized. We watered regularly. You might guess what then happened. Within a few days green leaves sprouted from each branch.

In a few weeks the plants doubled in height. And within a year they merged into a beautiful hedge that provided protection and beauty.”

Neat story.

Lent is that time of the church year that calls us to self-examination, to do some “uprooting” if necessary. Perhaps there are “plastic bags” – of sin - surrounding our spiritual roots that prevent us from bearing fruit. Take the time to find out. Get rid of them. ASAP.  

Then, as you begin the process of getting those roots re-established don’t forget the manure ... surround yourself in those things that will help you grow … prayer, study, fellowship, worship.

And then take a brief moment to remember with gratitude a day long ago when, as Jesus talked to his companions, he noticed a fig tree...

Amen!