Patient Waiting: An Oxymoron

March 11, 2007

Scripture Reading                                 Luke 13:6-9

Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and found none.  So he said to the gardener, ‘See here !  For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and still I find none.  Cut it down!  Why should it be wasting the soil?’  He replied, ‘Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig around it and put manure on it.  If it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’”

Message

            Okay, it is true confession time!  With a show of hands, how many of us can honestly say – let me emphasize honestly again… we are in church after all – how many of us can honestly say that when we are waiting to cross the street at a crosswalk where we get to push a button to help the light change faster that we only push the button once?  That’s what I thought!   Most of us multiple-pushers!  We can’t wait for that light to change!

For most of us, there is no such thing as patient waiting.  It is an oxymoron!  We want things to happen right now, right away, the sooner the better, thank you very much.  It is a good thing that God has patience.  God is willing to wait… especially for us to turn around and live our lives as God would have us live.

Take the parable of the fig tree that we just heard.  God, the gardener, is willing to wait for another year for the fig tree to bear fruit.  In the current world of biblical scholarship, this parable from Luke’s Gospel is considered one of those genuine stories of Jesus.  In other words, through centuries of translation and interpretation, after two thousand years of additions to and subtractions from the original text, this is one of those parables that we believe we can trace directly back to Jesus.  While we are not reading it in the original Greek, this is as close as we can come in Eugene, Oregon in 2007 to hearing an actual parable of Jesus.   

We remember of course, that a parable is a small story with a large point.  We also remember that Jesus, when telling a parable, used what was familiar and even common place to make his point. He taught common people using common stories with common images but he proclaimed an uncommon faith.  He proclaimed a new understanding of who God is and how God loves. He proclaimed the gospel of God’s grace.

So let’s take a look at this parable of the fig tree.  For us reading the passage from Luke’s Gospel today, the thing most of us know about a fig tree is that you need a fig tree in order to enjoy a Fig Newton but for those hearing this parable for the first time, fig trees were as common as apple trees!  In fact, if we turn to Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase of the Bible, this same passage from Luke begins like this: “Then he told them a story: ‘A man had an apple tree planted in his front yard.  He came expecting to find apples, but there weren’t any…’”  

If we dig a little deeper in our Bible study we discover that this parable of the fig tree was very similar to other stories of unfruitful trees found in the Near Eastern wisdom literature of New Testament times.  But Jesus offered a twist… he offered a different ending.  In the other stories, the trees that did not bear fruit were actually cut down.  There was no possibility of a second chance.  The owner of the vineyard did not wait a year to see if the tree would finally bear fruit.  There was no gardener that interceded on behalf of the tree, asking that it be given another year.  If it didn’t bear fruit, it was cut down!  Period!  End of discussion!

But Jesus tells a new story… the story of God who waits patiently for us to “bear fruit.”  And Jesus tells the story of God who not only waits for us to bear fruit but actively cares for us so that we can and we will be productive!  Jesus proclaims God as the one who meets us where we are and loves us enough give us a second chance.  Jesus speaks of God who is willing to dig around at our roots and add a little manure to help us grow and change as live as God would have us live.!   Maybe we will bear fruit next year – and if not next year, maybe the year after that – and if not the year after that, maybe the year after the year after that. 

(FIRST SERVICE)

A couple of weeks ago when I was watering our houseplants, I came pretty close to tossing a few of them out into the compost.  This grape ivy, no matter how much or how little I water it, just looks limp all the time.  There are no signs of new growth… no new leaves forming on the tips of the branches.  It is a pretty boring plant.  Sure, I know that grape ivy isn’t all that exciting a plant but this one is really lifeless.  As I just said, I came pretty close to tossing it into the compost but then I remembered this parable and thought maybe what it needs is a second chance.  Maybe, with a little extra care… you know, like putting it in a new pot and adding some new soil and some rich compost… maybe this plant will take off and start growing in new ways and adding new beauty to our home.  Who knows what a little attention might mean to a struggling houseplant!  Who knows what a little attention might mean to us!

(SECOND SERVICE)

A couple of weeks ago when I was watering our houseplants, I came pretty close to tossing a few of them out into the compost.  This Christmas Cactus has been a real disappointment.  In the weeks leading up to Christmas I thought it was going to bloom.  It started forming tiny buds but then stopped. The buds shriveled up and fell off.  Compared to our other Christmas Cactus this one appears almost lifeless.  As I just said, I came pretty close to tossing it into the compost but then I remembered this parable and thought maybe what it needs is a second chance.  Maybe, with a little extra care… you know, like putting it in a new pot and adding some new soil and some rich compost… maybe this plant will take off and start growing in new ways and it will bloom for Pentecost!  Who knows what a little attention might mean to a struggling houseplant!  Who knows what a little attention might mean to us!

(BOTH SERVICES)

            In her book Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith, Ann Lamott offers that “the problem with God – or at any rate, one of the top five most annoying things about God – is that He or She rarely answers right away.  It can take days, weeks.”  We, who live in life needing to push the walk button numerous times, are easily annoyed.  But thank God that He or She has patience with us.  Thank God that He or She is willing to offer us second chances.  Thank God that He or She is willing to take the time to dig around at our roots and help us to grow even if it takes days or weeks.  Thank God, because who here among us doesn’t need a second chance or two?  Who doesn’t need to make some changes?  Who here isn’t falling short of our God-given potential?

            During this season of Lent when we are challenged to take a closer look at our lives and how we are living in God’s world… when we are called upon to live more intentionally in God’s world… when it seems as though maybe God is ready to do some kind of “fruit check” to see if we are bearing any fruit in our lives… during this season of Lent, God is patiently waiting for us.  Even more, God is willing to do a little digging to help us grow. 

In a moment, we will have the opportunity to once again gather around the tables in the front and the back of the sanctuary and receive again symbols of our Lenten practices. You will find there the ashes of Ash Wednesday.  You can mark your forehead or the back of your hand with the symbol of the Cross making a commitment to live as one who bears Christ’s name.  You will find there booklets inviting you to try on fasting at some point during this season.. going without to leave room, making space for God.  You will find on the tables the bread of life and the cup of forgiveness that are central to our faith. Take and eat in remembrance of Christ’s love.  You will also find there baskets filled with small envelopes.  In the envelopes you will find seeds – sweet pea seeds – that you can take home and plant today.  You can dig up a little patch of soil, making room for the roots to take hold.  Even if you have no yard you can plant the seeds in a pot on your patio or in the median strip on your street or in a paper cup on your windowsill.  And then you can wait patiently and before you know it, your life will be blessed with the fragrance of God’s grace.

But before we gather around these tables, one story of patient waiting… of second chances… of God’s grace.  It is a story I have told you before, but it bears repeating. It is a story from our Benedictine brothers in faith.  The Benedictine Order was founded by St. Benedict in the 5^th century and since then, they have been living with rules that bring order to their daily lives.  Specifically, they have rules for prayer.  They pray at the beginning of the day.  They pray in the middle of the morning.  They gather for prayer at noon and in the mid-afternoon and again in the early evening.  Finally, they end each day with prayer.  Today’s story is of a young Benedictine monk who had difficulty making it to those prayer services on time.  He was always late.  The other monks would be at their stations already at prayer when he would come racing in to take his place.  Since the Benedictines have rules for everything, you can bet that they have rules about being late for prayer.  Monks are considered late it they come into the service after a certain point in the liturgy and there are consequences if you are late.  You have to kneel in a less than comfortable position throughout the rest of the prayer time. 

The young monk’s tardiness caused a struggle among his fellow monks.  They were trying to wait patiently for him but, like so many of us, they were the kind who punch that walk button numerous times!  They didn’t want to punish him for his tardiness but they were tired of waiting.  So a group of the older wiser monks got together to discuss the problem and finally decided that the best way to deal with the young monk’s tardiness was for them to pray more slowly.  You see, if they prayed slowly enough, he would never be late! 

            God prays slowly.  God waits patiently.  God gives us another year to bear fruit.  What a gift of grace!