Jesus is known as a great story teller. We remember that a parable is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. He used parables to present pictures of God, His people, and His will. Even among non-Christians, His parables are some of the most famous and well-liked stories of all literature. He told one story of a man with two sons and how the younger took his inheritance, left for a foreign land, and squandered everything he had. But his father still loved him and joyously received him home. Jesus also told a story about a man travelling to Damascus who fell among thieves. Robbed and beaten, the man was left for dead by the roadside. Two “religious” people passed him, but a third man, a Samaritan, stopped to help. Yes, Jesus’ parable of the Prodigal Son and the Good Samaritan are very well-known. Put Jesus wasn’t the only parable teller of the Bible. Some of the Old Testament prophets told such stories. A few weeks back, we looked at Ezekiel’s vision of the dry bones. We might think of a vision as a parable for the eyes. This morning’s text gives us a parable for the ears. It actually starts in verse one of this chapter. In the opening verses of chapter 17, Ezekiel tells the story of an eagle swooping down to pluck a sprig from the uppermost branches of a cedar tree. This branch is planted in a foreign land along with the “seed of the land.” There it sprouts and flourishes. The prophet then tells of an eagle snatching a second sprig. It is not carried away, however, but is “bent”. It becomes rooted and grows to be a “noble vine”. The question is then put the the hearers (or us, readers), “Will it thrive?” As Jesus explained His parables to the disciples, Ezekiel then explains the parable he has told. The eagle represents Babylon who came against and defeated God’s people. At first these conquerors carried off the Judean king, Jehoiachin, along with the cream of society. They were “planted” in Babylon and there, like Daniel, they “prospered.” The Babylonians established Zedekiah as the new king in Jerusalem. The Promised Land was to be a vassal state, sending yearly tribute to that “land of trade” and “city of merchants.” Zedekiah, would rebel against Babylon, making a pact for support with Egypt. Irate, Babylon would again come against Jerusalem and this time the destruction would be complete. The walls of the city would be torn down and the temple destroyed. Zedekiah would witness the death of his sons before his eyes were gouged out. That is the picture Ezekiel’s parable presents: the land promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is now in the hands of the Gentiles; the descendants of the patriarchs are dislocated to a foreign land; and the royal line of David and Solomon has come to an end. What will now become of God’s people? Will they/it thrive? That’s what our text for today answers. Most Biblical scholar, even among Jewish scholars, see Ezekiel 17:22-24 as a Messianic prophecy. A third sprig will be taken, not by a foreign power, but by God Himself, and planted on the mountain heights of Israel. That seemingly insignificant shoot will grow to eclipse even the greatest trees of the forest. And all will find shelter and a resting place in its shade. We see the fulfillment of that prophecy in Jesus Christ. Born in Bethlehem, the “least” among the cities of Judah, to a carpenter and his wife, the Son of God has a lowly beginning in this world. He doesn’t come in glory, but in meekness and humility. He is raised in Nazareth in Galilee. “Can anything good come from Galilee?” one of His own disciples will ask. And what of those closest followers He had? They were fishermen and tax collectors and rebels; prostitutes and publicans would be the ones to welcome Him, not the religious leaders of the day. And one day, He would be lifted up on a mount called Calvary, nailed to a “tree”. There, we believe with all our hearts, He died to pay the price of our rebellion against holy God. His resurrection is the assurance that that sacrifice on our behalf has been accepted and now, through faith in Him, we are the people of God. The prodigals have been welcomed home by a loving Father! And that love goes out to “every kind of bird,” that is, to all people. In Jesus’ loving arms, all can find love and forgiveness, peace and security, hope and life. But this morning, I would suggest that there is a secondary meaning to this “Parable of the Sprig.” It is descriptive of our Lord and Savior, but it could also be descriptive of us, His people. We have been “plucked” out of this world by God. Like Peter and John working in their boats, or Matthew sitting at the tax table, or Nathaniel resting beneath the fig tree, Christ comes to us and says, “Follow Me.” We have been planted, or more correctly, “grafted” onto the true vine, Christ Himself. And, blessed by His Holy Spirit, we are commissioned to “bear much fruit” demonstrating that we are His disciples and giving glory to our heavenly Father. Plucked and planted to produce--the question is, “Will we thrive?” I daresay most of us have worked in a garden before. Maybe it was a flower bed; maybe a vegetable patch. Whatever it was, we know what it takes for a seedling to grow and produce fruit. One of the necessary tasks for a productive garden is weeding. It seems it doesn’t matter how carefully you sift and screen the soil, some weed seeds slip in. So, as the young plant grows, so also grows the weeds. Can you imagine a serious gardener looking at a weed and saying, “
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You know, that’s a nice looking plant. Look at the shape of the leaves and the color of the petals. It’s really quite pretty. I think I’ll just let it grow.” That’s ridiculous! No matter how attractive it might be, a weed is still a weed. It is sucking away the nutrients necessary for the true plant to grow; it is casting a shadow on the plant that keeps it from fully developing. Its a weed and it needs to be weeded out."
In all our lives, there are weeds. These are things, even the seemingly desirable and attractive things, that keep us from fully developing as the productive people of God. For us, a weed is anything that sucks up our time, our talents, and our treasures to the point that we cannot--we do not--make our Lord and His work our priority. Now this doesn’t mean that we can’t take a vacation or go to the movies or have a hobby; even Jesus had to get away for a little R&R. But it does mean we need to seriously and soberly examine our lives and what distracts, we bind up and throw into the fire by repentance and renewal. Weeding is important; so is feeding. In our church, we’re pretty good at the feeding part, aren’t we? We have Bible studies and devotionals, we celebrate the Lord’s Supper and encourage the daily recommitment to our Baptismal vows. It is through these means of grace, through Word and Sacrament, that the Holy Spirit comes to us. He feeds our faith and strengthens us for service. Every so often you might hear someone say, “I think I’ve had enough Bible study to last me a lifetime.” Hardly! Have you ever seen a “fat” tomato plant; anyone grow an “obese” okra? Now you might over-fertilize your garden; and we can certainly overfeed our physical bodies; but seriously, we cannot overfeed our faith. A daily commitment to Word and Sacrament will give us the fruitful life God desires. Another necessity of a productive plant is light. Have you ever seen a plant that has not received enough light. It is pale and spindly; it is weak and frail; and it certainly does not have any fruit. A plant needs sunlight. “Ahh,” someone is saying, “I’m ahead of you on this one, preacher. Sunlight … that’s S-O-N light, right?” Good try, but no. Have you ever seen light that has passed through a prism? It goes in looking brilliantly white; but it exits in red and blue and yellow and green, a literal rainbow of colors. Scientist tells us that it is all these colors that combine to make the light white. So, look at the rainbow that surrounds you. There’s men and women, obviously; also young and “not as young.” Some are life-long Christians, others new to the faith. One person seems to have lived a charmed life, while another is giving old Job a run for his money. Some are facing enormous challenges and temptations, other have, by God’s grace, overcome those challenges and temptation; or perhaps know the relief of forgiveness that follows the guilt of yielding to those temptations. Look around you at the reds, the blues, the yellows--we are a full spectrum, here. And each helps the other see the word and work of God in a new and unique light. If a person cuts themselves off from the light of faithful brothers and sisters, choosing to stay away from the “assembly of the saints”, they doom themselves to an undeveloped and non-productive faith-life, and a faith so frail, it is easy pickings for the enemy. I know I’m preaching to the choir here--you’re here!--but to anyone sitting at home and alone, I say, “Bring your faith into the light, so it can grow!” Weed, feed, and light, these are all necessary for a thriving sprig. There has to be the harvest.
One of my favorite movies is “The African Queen.” Bogie and Katherine Hepburn are trying to pilot their boat, the African Queen, down a river and into the open waters of a lake. They escaped capture and overcame seemingly impassable rapids. The toughest part of the trip, however, was this great, swampy jungle of reeds and meandering channels. Without fuel, Bogie has taken to pulling the Queen through the leech-infested waters. Finally, they could go no further. The two collapsed on the deck of their boat, ready for their end. At that point the camera pulls back from the exhausted couple, showing the boat only a hundred feet or so from the open waters of the lake. Think of our outreach and how the African Queen is so very often a picture of our near-fruitfulness. We have a neighbor or friend, maybe a family member; a coworker or classmate; someone we see on a regular basis. And the Lord has laid a concern for them on our hearts. So we pray for them, we speak an encouraging word to them, we might even drop subtle hints of our faith, like, “You’ll have to visit my church sometime.” We are so close, but then we stop. We’ve done much of the hard work, but we don’t put the sickle to the sheave. We become anxious or afraid to take that final step. Instead of some nebulous “stop by some time,” all we need to say is, “Come with me. Come and see.” And honestly, there might be a need to repeat that request several times, until the Lord of the harvest has fully prepared that person. But until we ask, until we extend that simple invitation, we stop short of the harvest. Ezekiel sets before us this morning a parable of the Messiah, and a parable of the Messiah’s people. We have been chosen and saved by a loving God; we are planted fresh and new. The weeds are cleared away through the forgiveness of Christ; we are fed on His holy Word and Sacraments; we are bathed in the needed light of Christian fellowship. Let us go forth in the love of the Lord and the power of the Spirit to produce the God-pleasing fruit that lasts into eternity. The Lord has spoken; He will do it. All glory be to God. Amen.
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