Dear friends in Christ: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Prepare our hearts, Lord, to receive your Word. Silence in us any voice but your own that in hearing we may believe and in believing we may obey your will revealed to us in Jesus Christ. Amen.
Nothing doing…doing nothing. That’s the challenge leveled at the fig tree by the owner of the vineyard in today’s Gospel. Now, the tree wasn’t doing anything bad…but neither was it doing anything good. And that incites an angry outburst by the farmer who snaps, “Cut it down! It’s a waste of space.”
Nothing doing…doing nothing.
Toyohiko Kagawa was a Japanese man, a Christian, who worked hard to reform Japanese society before WWII. He was often jailed for daring to speak the truth and call his nation to task for its sins. He once wrote:
I read in a book / that a man called Christ
went about doing good.
It is disconcerting to me / that I am so easily satisfied
with just going about.
(Brian Stoffregen, Exegetical Notes, www.crossmarks.com/brian/luke13x1.htm).
Nothing doing…doing nothing.
Volumes have been written about the two basic types of transgressions: sins of omission and sins of commission. Who can define these terms?
Omission = failing to do something right
Commission = doing something that is wrong
Now the differences between the two may fascinate theologians, but when push comes to shove, sin is sin. Whether we’re doing something bad or failing to do something good, the result is the same. In fact, Martin Luther was adamant that even our most sacred sacrifices (good omissions) as well as our wonderful works (good commissions) are all tainted by sin. We can’t help it because we all are always simul iustus et peccator—we are, at the very same time, saint and sinner.
So, with sin on the brain, I’d like you to help me with a little exercise. I believe that the central theme in today’s Bible lessons can be boiled down to just one word. I’m going to read aloud a verse or two from each, and then ask you to pick the word that best summarizes the theme.
In Isaiah 55:7, the prophet says:
Let the wicked forsake their way, and the unrighteous their thoughts;
let them return to the Lord, that he may have mercy on them,
and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
In I Cor. 10:5-6, Paul says about the ancient Israelites who were unfaithful:
God was not pleased with most of them,
and they were struck down in the wilderness.
Now, these things occurred as examples for us,
so that we might not desire evil as they did.
And in Luke 13:2-3, Jesus addresses a tragedy in which people from Galilee were slaughtered by King Herod. The Lord says,
Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way,
they were worse sinners than all other Galileans? No, I tell you;
but unless you repent, you will all perish as they did.
OK, let’s hear your suggestions: which word do you think best summarizes the theme found in all three lessons?
My choice is Repentance.
Now I need your help to define that word. What does repentance mean?
(http://www.lca.org.au/thelutheran/pdf/Saysorryturnaroundandcomehome.pdf, Pastor Geoff Burger)
Nothing doing, says the Lord, on our doing nothing when it comes to sin. We can’t simply be content with the credo: do no harm. Granted, that’s a good thing, but it’s also a far cry from doing good. In his explanations of the 10 commandments, Martin Luther was always careful to nail down both ends of that argument. The Fifth commandment states, You shall not kill. About it, Luther says, We are to fear and love God so that we do not hurt our neighbor(s) in any way (i.e., do no harm), BUT we are to help (them) in all (their) physical needs (do something positive).
So, if doing nothing is not an option when it comes to sin, how are we supposed to make this repentance thing work? The key, I believe, is that we must be careful not to meld Jesus’ warnings about sin with the farmer’s harsh words to the fruitless fig tree. Though God endlessly stands steadfast against sin, we trust that Jesus is just as steadfast in his stance for us.
Think back to the response of the gardener whose job it is to tend the trees, to nurture their growth, to coax from their barrenness a bountiful harvest of beautiful fruit. He asks that the tree be given a whole year to produce—and more than that, he personally promises to provide the tree with tender, loving, careful attention—giving it every opportunity to repent—to turn around and be restored, to be at home in a healthy, productive way.
Such is the same gift given to us by Christ. He does not pummel us with possible punishments, nor does he berate us for being bone-headed or even badly behaved.
Instead, he promises to teach and train us; to prune and protect us; to feed, forgive, and inflame us to fashion the good fruit of a Gospel life.
The story is told about a man named Jorge who lived in a small town in Spain. His teen-age son, Paco, was very rebellious and that led to many arguments. After one bitter fight, Paco ran away from home. Jorge contacted all his son’s friends, but no one knew anything. Frantic with worry, Jorge made up posters and plastered them all around his son’s favorite hangout. The message read: “Paco, come home. I love you. Meet me here tomorrow morning. Love, Dad.”
The next morning, Paco was there—along with seven other boys named Paco
who also had run away from home. They had all come, answering the call for love and reunion, each hoping that it was his dad inviting him home with open arms. (A 3rd Serving of Chicken Soup for the Soul, adapted from a story by Alan Cohen, “Paco, Come Home”, p. 78).
Nothing doing…doing nothing…but repenting is all about doing something. It is about letting God name our sin. It is about trusting that Jesus will care for us. It is about celebrating the working of the Holy Spirit in our lives to turn us around and bring us home where we belong. Amen.
Pastor Scott Fuller