"Passion Fruit"

Sometimes, as Christians, we complain that the world doesn’t give us much respect. But if you’ll think about it, neither do the Scriptures. Think for a minute, and tell me the most common metaphor used for Christians in the Bible?

Even though the Bible tries to put the best spin on most things, you know, like speaking about your neighbor in the kindest possible way and all that kind of stuff, the truth is, that even in the Bible, there is not much to admire about sheep. They are constantly getting lost, wandering astray, and in need of rescue.

It seems that sheep are hopelessly frightened and defenseless in the face of predators. They are gullible and unable to find green pastures and still waters on their own. In fact, in most biblical images, the only thing denser and more helpless than a sheep is the grass he eats. So I don’t think it’s a real promotion, when in today’s Gospel lesson, Jesus refers to us not as timid, small-brained mammals, but as brainless vegetation.

Jesus said, "A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard." Although they don’t get lost, fig trees, like sheep, cannot find green pastures or still waters on their own. Fig trees are not led beside still waters. Instead, they are planted there. In this parable, Jesus expects that we will understand that God is the one who owns the vineyard, and that you and I – the believers in Jesus – are the fig trees planted in the vineyard of God’s grace. The gardener, of course, is Jesus.

God is never impressed with our self-sufficiency. He knows that we must be lovingly and carefully nurtured and cared for. Through that care and nurture, He gives us all we need to bear fruit in his vineyard.

When you and I were baptized, we were planted in the soil of God’s vineyard. That soil, that vineyard, is the church. God planted us with the intention that we might grow and mature and bear fruit in his kingdom. Unfortunately, not everyone planted matures and bears fruit. We can look around and see the empty holes they left. So I guess we need to ask ourselves, did we fail them by not doing a better job of digging around their roots, and bringing them what they needed to survive?

And what will God find a few years from today, when He comes looking for some fruit in your life? Like gardeners everywhere, God plants with the expectation of a harvest. In verse six of our text, Jesus tells us that "he came looking for some fruit, and found none." More valuable than figs, the fruit God is looking for in the life of the Christian is the fruit of repentance – the fruit that humbly acknowledges our sinfulness and asks God for forgiveness.

The conversation that leads in to Jesus’ parable is that someone tells Jesus about the slaying of some Galileans by Pilate. It seems that a number of Galileans had been slaughtered by order of Pilate right in the Temple while they were offering sacrifices. The common belief was that suffering was a punishment for sin. Suffering was not merely a consequence of sin in general, but a personal punishment by God for personal sin. According to this line of thinking, people had no other recourse than to presume they died that way because they had sinned.

Of course, their theory was wrong and so was their application of it to specific circumstances. Jesus taught that suffering and injustice, bad things happening to good people, is a consequence of sin. It is a result of the sinful human condition, not a direct punishment from God. Jesus will also teach that we can learn a lesson from such events. Instead of trying to figure out what the victims did to deserve the tragedy, one should focus on one’s own need to change before death comes, however it comes, before it is too late.

Death comes to all, whether by calamities, accidents, or natural causes. The death of others by whatever manner or means should serve as a reminder that we all will die under some set of circumstances.

But it is not how we die that’s important, but how we live. Our manner of life will be the basis for divine judgment, not the manner of death. Since the length of life is unpredictable, Jesus tries to point out that it is best to reform now before it is too late.

Jesus reinforces his point by adding a second example of his own to the first part of the conversation: eighteen men had been killed when a tower at Siloam fell on them. Siloam was the name of a reservoir near the junction of the south and east walls of Jerusalem. The old tower was originally a part of the city’s fortifications. More recently Pilate had built an aqueduct, typically Roman, through the site to improve the water supply. It seems that during the construction the old tower collapsed and these workers died as a result.

"Do you think they were more guilty": The punch-line is repeated: reform before it is too late. The bottom line is that they were sinners, not necessarily better or worse than others. They died because they were mortal.

The man who owned the vineyard had been waiting patiently for three years for his fig tree to produce fruit. So, the time of grace was over. There is still no fruit, so the only option seems to be to cut it down. Why should it exhaust the soil? The failed tree symbolizes a human being whose faith and life has been unproductive, taking nutrients from the soil but giving nothing back in return.

In verse eight, "He replied, ‘Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig around it and put manure on it." The gardener, Jesus, is begging for mercy, a year of reprieve. "If it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’"

When we see on the news or read in the newspaper that people have been massacred or that an accident has taken the lives of several, or even a great many people, we are inclined to search for causes, explanations, or we try to assign blame. People did the same thing back in Jesus’ day. Of course, they had no nightly news or daily newspapers, but news, being news, has a way of spreading.

The more people involved, the greater is the shock. The first thing that usually happened after the first shockwave is that people turn rather philosophical and ask rather profound questions regarding the event. We wonder what is happening to the world. We discuss these happenings at work, with friends and even strangers. We play temporary philosopher and offer our observations about the state of the world, human nature, the evil in people and the uncertainty of the time or manner of death.

The next thing that usually happens is that something else happens to take our mind off the latest news, the latest plane crash, the latest terrorist strike, the latest whatever. We forget about it and move on to something else. Deep down we know such tragedies, be they intentional or accidental, will occur again and again.

Jesus teaches us that even the horrible experiences that happen to others can be opportunities for us to think twice, to think in the light of eternity, and to change our ways and our lives. No matter the circumstances of our deaths, our deaths are inevitable. The deaths of others have meaning for the person who died and for his or her loved ones. But, the deaths of others have meaning for all of us. They are prophecies of our own deaths and messages from God.

Jesus tells us to view the deaths of others and the tragedies that befall us all as prophecies, as messages from God, regarding our own deaths. If we interpret these experiences in the light of eternity they will motivate us to reform our lives rather than fear our deaths or the manner of our deaths. To simply turn philosophical and wax eloquent on the brevity of life and the uncertainty of the future is to attempt to escape the real message and meaning that God is constantly teaching us through the signs he gives us.

There is one more sign that God gave us about two thousand years ago. That sign also involved a tragic death. The Son of God, who had no sin of his own, died on a wooden cross. The wooden cross of Golgotha bears life-giving fruit that is able to save you and me from being cut down.

God himself provided everything needed for you and me to escape from the burn pile – the place where all the trimmings and clippings are placed in a spot outside the vineyard to be set fire to, to be gotten rid of.

At our home, Mindy and I have several fruit producing trees and bushes planted around our yard. I also have a flowering crabapple tree planted nearly in the center of the fruit trees. It is known as a universal pollinator, blooming early enough to pollinate my peach trees, and also blooming late enough to pollinate my apple trees. Its blooms are pretty, but its fruit is small and doesn’t seem to be good for much of anything. But the fruit produced because of its presence is of great value.

God gives us this place and each other for a sense of belonging and a place to be close to others Christians, so pollination can take place, so the Holy Spirit can work and fruit may be produced. He provides us the body and blood of Jesus, in with and under the bread and wine of the Sacrament of the Altar. He washes us and waters us with life-giving water of Holy Baptism.

He provides forgiveness of our sins by grace through faith in the innocent blood of his Son, and the promise of eternal life through His resurrection. He provides us with the Divine potting soil of the Gospel, His Word of life that is able to produce fruit acceptable to God. May that fruit be bountifully produced in each of you. Amen.