ST BARNABAS, SWANWICK
SUNDAY 14TH MARCH 2004 – 09.00 EUCHARIST
Readings Is 55: 1-9 and Lk 13:1-9
This morning’s gospel reading takes us to a very out-of-the-way part of the New Testament. We are used to coming across different events in Jesus’ life in different gospels. For example, we come across the baptism of Christ in Mark, and it also appears in Matthew and Luke as well. And, of course, all four gospels tell us about Jesus’ trial, crucifixion, death and resurrection. But today’s gospel, Luke 13:1-9 – brings us face-to-face with some teaching by Jesus that doesn’t occur in any of the other gospels. So there is a sense of uniqueness!
What do we find? First of all, Jesus refers to two events that we can assume were familiar to his hearers. There is the occasion when Pontius Pilate, the Roman Governor, had some zealous Jews who were (it seems) in trouble with the authorities, put to death – in the very act of offering sacrifices in the temple. Pilate, we know from other sources, did not go out of his way to be tactful with the Jewish people, and to kill these people in this way was nothing short of provocative. Then Jesus refers to another incident – when the tower near the Pool of Siloam in the south east corner of Jerusalem, collapsed, killing eighteen people.
To many people, at the time, including the devout, these tragic events were interpreted in simple and brutal terms; the victims got what they deserved. But Jesus does not hold with such a shallow way of viewing life. It is so easy to think that God is out to get us when things go wrong. It is so easy to blame him when things don’t go our way. But we live as fallen people, in a fallen creation, which means that we mustn’t be surprised when things go wrong. That incident in the temple was a direct result of the freedom human beings have to fight each other, and fight they most certainly do, especially between different power groups, and between different ethnic groups. That tower which collapsed was an example of the kind of disaster that takes place when we build something that can’t stay up; or when we try to drive too fast to get to where we want, and have an accident.
We can’t have life both ways. We can’t one moment expect to use our freedom in the way that we want, only to turn on God when things go against us.
And this is where Jesus switches attention from those two events to a very simple scene, namely a fig tree in the middle of a vineyard. Fig trees are found in vineyards and cornfields in the Middle East. Figs were a staple diet for him, as they are to many people today. They can be eaten fresh, they can be preserved in some kind of syrup, and they can be dried. (I particularly enjoy dried figs at Christmas time, and try to raid local stores while they are still available!). This particular fig tree is in trouble, because it is not producing enough figs. There is a dispute between the owner, who wants it cut down and destroyed, and the gardener, who is prepared to give it one last chance, and dig it thoroughly and manure it.
What is Jesus trying to say? Well, we don’t know how things turned out – that is to say whether the owner won, and had it destroyed, or the gardener won and gave it one more chance; and even if it were given that one last chance, whether the fig tree was supposed to survive. But Jesus’ meaning is plain. We mustn’t look at life as if God is trying to get at us, and somehow give us what we deserve. The life of faith is about seeing ourselves like that fig tree – being given another chance, and being cared for, in every way, by a gardener who understands us.
Lent is a good time to think positively about the Christian faith. It is not some kind of negative judgement, with everything against us. It is about the life of faith, in which we are constantly challenged to look at ourselves and see our dependence upon God, without whom we are simply unable to reach Good Friday, Easter Day and beyond.
+ Kenneth Portsmouth
