Many years ago, before we arrived in the Comox Valley, we decided to sprout an avocado tree. Seriously, after we had used the avocado we took the pit, stabbed it with some tooth picks, suspended it in water and waited for the roots to grow, which they did. After a year, a sprout formed from the top and we planted it in some soil. We even moved the small tree from Victoria to Comox. For a couple years it remained a small sprout in our window sill. We had already been warned that it can take seven to thirteen years for an avocado pit to transition from seed to fruit bearing tree. We knew that we would have to commit to moving the tree from indoors to outdoors gradually and than the reverse as the days and nights got cooler. But finally in about year four, we were ready to put this darling little tree outside on our patio and leave it over night. We had checked the weather and knew it would not be too cold- plus all that I had read said it needed some fresh night air and morning dew. So outside, overnight, the little tree went. It only took one night for the deer to find and consume our entire tree. But I suppose I should be grateful that in some respects the tree served a purpose, it nourished the animals- instead of bearing fruit for us. There isn’t really a message to this story but I couldn’t help thinking of our former little avocado tree as I heard Jesus share the parable of the fig tree. It only takes a fig tree three to five years to bear fruit, and as I far as I know they are deer resistant. I always look forward to picking up fresh figs from the market. But what is unique about this parable is that we don’t really know how it ends- did the tree bear fruit or not?
This morning we heard Jesus tell the very challenging parable about a fig tree and the warning against a fruitless existence. This is one of those passages that is convoluted at best but it is made all the more distressing by the passage that precedes it about Pilate mixing blood and a tower bringing destruction. Our passage begins with a warning against presumed spiritual security. Let’s be honest, I think most of us no longer presume much. The pandemic, natural disasters, and the threat of war in Europe has taught us that we are not always safe. We have learned to pivot- more than once. The pandemic has taught us that what might look like a fruitless effort may actual reap some wonderful rewards. All of this will demand some further explanation, especially as we prepare for our AGM following the service, but first we need to unpack our Gospel passage just a bit.
The conversation begins with some people telling Jesus about some Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. In case it is lost in translation, these people are telling Jesus of the murder by Pilate of some Galileans. Now, we could be simply talking about people from Galilee but in all likelihood the term is actually referring to a form of Jewish Palestinian Aramaic speaking people, that the Pharisaic tradition (the ones we hear about most throughout the Gospel) found Galileans to be insufficiently concerned with the Law of Moses. This is perhaps why, many early Christians were called Galileans because they too were beginning to loosen their observances of various Jewish laws. So, some of the people reporting to Jesus about this slaughter of the Galileans are trying to find out if he thinks their murder was their own fault. Jesus then goes on to also reference eighteen people who were killed, not because of an abhorrent ruler but because of human error when the tower of Siloam fell. Basically, these people are really asking Jesus, “To what extend is God in control or behind all that happens?”
Oh my, I can tell you I have had MANY conversations along similar lines these last couple of years. Did God create covid to teach us a lesson or not? The problem is, is that Jesus’ answer doesn’t necessarily clear things up. HOWEVER, it is clear that Jesus rejects the idea that those who died got what they deserved- and that my friends is a very very very important lesson as we think about how it relates to our current times. Yes, God is in charge and God has purposes beyond that which we can see yet to be fulfilled- but that does not mean that the evil in this world is of God’s doing. The Rev. Dr. Grant Barclay, through his use of the text The Providence of God: A Polyphonic Approach by David Fergusson points out, “There is a great deal of scope for human freedom, and much occurs in an incomprehensibly complicated world that we cannot superficially attribute to God.” What happened to the Galileans was not because they were bad people but because they were victims of a brutal and powerful regime. What happened to the people struck by the tower was due to the fact that accidents happen. Barclay goes on, “The world is a risky place where bad things happen- sometimes as a result of selfish human decisions. As meaning-making creatures we instinctively jump to “why” as soon as we have encounter “what”.” And Jesus’ rebuke is supposed to be a lesson in, “don’t jump to conclusions.”
Jesus is basically saying, we are all sinners, and therefore we cannot evaluate the spiritual condition of others based on whether they do or do not suffer. We need to look to God, not ourselves or our life experiences when it comes to spiritual security, literally thank God for grace. Which is then why Jesus brings up the parable of the fig tree. The death of these people is not reflective of whether they were good or bad people. God was not punishing them or using them as an example or lesson. If God punished that way then we would all be in trouble. Basically, most simplistically, all the bad things in this world, are not a result of God’s doing. However the parable tells us that whatever good we experience comes to us by the grace of God. In giving us grace, God has a purpose- for us to bear fruit. And say we don’t bear fruit- we don’t live out our purpose- yes God is displeased but instead of putting us out to be eaten up by the deer of this world God continues to give us room to grow and produce.
If you’re asking me, if covid is a punishment by God- all I have to do is look to Jesus’ words in this passage and can clearly say, no God did not bring covid upon us to punish us. But has God provided lessons for us- absolutely- just as God does all the time. It does make a difference how we live and we must take stock of how we are living as a community so that if we are off track, God is at work in our lives to effect the desired change. An AGM is the right time to think about these things.
As we read through our Annual Report it can perhaps feel like we have had another year of barely bearing fruit. In part because the pandemic put a stop to what we were doing before, to our previous status quo. In a lot of ways, the way we did things before, no longer works, in part because we have a new appreciation for the well being and comfort of others, in part because we are all two years older and our abilities have changed.
Yet, within these pages I read about a year in which CVPC did things differently, and often successfully. The Missions Committee encouraged us to raise funds for our lenten project- which this year included two local charities. The Session has worked through a bunch of things like covid protocols and grant proposals. The Finance Committee and Building and Property Committee oversaw the replacement of the furnace and roof as well as numerous other little projects that popped up. The Prayer Group has met faithfully every two weeks throughout this pandemic over zoom, to pray for this church, for every single member and for requests big and small. And I continue to be impressed with the fruitful work of our New Beginnings Building Committee. We definitely still need to evaluate- as always- and ask, are we taking advantage of God’s many graces yet bearing no fruit or are we taking all the good that comes to us by the grace of God and bearing fruit with it? We may not know how our story ends, all we can do is tend to our tree, protect it from the deer, and hope it will bear fruit. Amen