Fig trees

We’re now about half way through Lent and perhaps that’s a good time to think about what we’ve done, what we’re doing and what we’re hoping to do or achieve during this period leading up to Holy Week and Easter. Lent is a time to think about our relationship with God – and it’s a time to especially concentrate on what we can do to improve that relationship not just for a short time but for all time.

The idea for Lent is of course to mirror the 40 day wilderness experience when Jesus went out to the desert to spend time alone to pray and to think about his work and his mission. As Jesus spent a time denying himself any of life’s luxuries out in the desert so many people will give things up as a form of denial – but, as Christians when we give something up or take something new up we must ask ourselves what it is doing for our relationship with God – and just as the 40 day period in the wilderness represented a turning point in the life of Jesus, so lent can represent a similar time for us.

There was an elderly and slightly forgetful Bishop who was travelling by train to perform a confirmation service. He misplaced his ticket and wasn’t able to produce it when requested by the conductor. "It's quite all right, Bishop, we know who you are. It’s no problem"… But the bishop replied, "You don't understand - without the ticket, I don't know where I'm going." It is not enough for us just to be here or to do something because it seems a good idea at the time; we need to know our purpose.

And so whether it is reading a Christian book or the Bible more during lent, whether it’s praying more, attending Church more or a lent group, doing some extra work or perhaps just making time for periods of silent reflection or anything else you might have thought of for lent, we need to ask ourselves whether it’s boosting our relationship with God.

And in our gospel reading this morning (Luke 13:1-9), Jesus is able to offer some encouragement for us as we continue our journey through Lent – it’s interesting to notice that 2000 years ago many people were still worrying about the same sort of things we worry about today – Jesus offered advice about relationships with people, he spoke about money and about gifts and talents, Jesus spoke about the need for compassion and love, he recognised and condemned hypocrites, and in this morning’s reading he also addresses concerns about things that are happening.

First he is asked about the fact that Pilate had killed some Galileans – and then Jesus goes on to talk about some people killed by a falling tower in Siloam. When we hear of bad things happening to good people we often wonder why… when we hear of natural disasters, we wonder why…

And Jesus doesn’t answer the question here – instead what he does is remind people that actually bad things sometimes do happen to good people but then he tells people about the love and compassion of God, and of how he will never abandon us and how he is not willing to give up on any of us – he is reminding us that in every situation he is there for us…

This story that Jesus tells about the fig tree is one of the clearest indications that he ever gives of the everlasting compassion of Jesus, and of his continued desire to welcome people back into his family, whatever they may have done.

The owner of the fig tree is fed up – he has waited for 3 years for the tree to bear some fruit, and it has produced nothing, and so he asks the gardener to cut it down… the owner represents us – people who are willing to give up, people who have expectations but are ready to move on if those expectations are not met in the time limit we set…

But the gardener is of course God – he reminds us that there is nothing that can ever stop him from loving us, and nothing that is ever going to make him give up on us. Give the tree one more year and see what happens, and of course, to God, that one year is an undetermined time…

And that is a great message that we should be celebrating, but it’s also a warning that the undetermined time will, at some point, come to an end – that God will at some point call us to account for what we’ve done or failed to do.

And that’s why this reading is so important for us during Lent – it calls us to focus on God, it calls us to reflect on his purpose for us and for the world, and it reminds us that however many times we might mess things up, he will always be there for us.

So, as lent continues, what are we doing ? And why ? Like the Bishop on the train that I mentioned earlier, we need a plan – we need to know where we are going in the journey of our lives. Isaiah (55:1-9) gives us one of the best calls to faith.

He writes, ‘everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you that have no money, come, buy and eat !’ Isaiah lived many centuries ago, but again he spoke to our age – because he recognised that whilst we may not be able to answer all of life’s problems, whilst we may not be able to get rid of all our doubts at times, the riches of life are not found in material possessions but in the things that last – in relationships with God and with other people.

Every one of us is important in God’s kingdom, every one us has a part to play in building that kingdom and sharing in the love and the glory of God. Together we can pray for God’s help in our lives, in the world, in the lives of those we care about and so on. Together we can share in fellowship as we celebrate being part of a worldwide family of millions of members of all ages and colours and sizes… Together we can offer to God our praise and thanks for all the good gifts he gives to us, not least that of his Son…

Each moment of our lives represents an incredible opportunity to find peace, and to build relationships that can never be broken – Isaiah wrote, ‘Seek the Lord while he may be found, call upon him while he is near…’

Sometimes we get so carried away with observing Lent and the traditions of lent that we forget that it is not just about the period leading up to Easter, but about the rest of our lives… And so, as we continue Lent and as we prepare to celebrate again the resurrection of Jesus, as we prepare to celebrate the new life which he has won for us, may we do something that is going to make a difference forever… AMEN