March 7, 2010 Luke 13:1-9
Repent or Perish
1Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. 2Jesus answered, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? 3I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. 4Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? 5I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”
6Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree, planted in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it, but did not find any. 7So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’
8” ‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. 9If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’ ”
The introduction of the parable of the Barren Fig Tree — an emblem of empty religion, comes near Passover when the streets of Jerusalem were teaming with visitors and there was a security threat. Pilate, known to be a particularly brutal leader, despised the ritual practices of the Jews, and attempted to mock them by mixing human blood with animal sacrifice, which would have been an anathema to the Jewish people. Pilate’s sadistic practice was a form of humiliation in the sacred time of Passover and led, not to less violence –but greater frustration and eventually revolt. Christ’s lead-in to the parable suggests that what ultimately matters is not what ‘seems’ to be going on at the time, but something greater in the long term. This message is necessary for those who will become a part of the Jerusalem scene and Jesus’ journey toward the cross.
Sunday’s Sermon: “The Last Sacrifice” – Rev. Ginger Memmott
Ginger,
Repent or parish. I thought about that. I know the fig tree is just the parable part, but the tree has to repent or it will be cut down. In the literal sense that means the tree has to grow some fruit! It needs someone to look after it, care for it, sometimes trees just can�t grow fruit on their own�. I guess that once again Jesus is the care giver of the vinyard? Giving us time to grow and bear fruit. Or we will die spiritually? Took me time to come full circle on this. Writing it down actually helped. Thank you!
Tasha, thank you. Yes, it takes time to allow these parables to sink in. I worked for days on the text trying to figure out how the blood mixed with Galileans had anything to do with the fig tree. I now think it has to do with crisis and mercy. There was a crisis going on and Jesus provided the time it takes to allow mercy to be realized. I don�t know if this make sense, but I love talking about it with you. Writing does help clarify. And since it�s Saturday, I better get crackin on clarification. Thank you too.
I can say I was probably visibly disappointed when we went to church here in Missouri and I didn t get to hear a sermon on this passage. I think I missed the first few minutes of the sermon trying to figure out why I didn t get the same passage
I hope the sermon went well.