Isaiah 55:1-9; 1 Corinthians 10:1-13; Luke 13:1-9
Lent 3C
Every now and then God unexpectedly puts me in just the right place at just the right time and I am alert enough to recognize that providence is at work.
A few weeks ago I went to a city I’d never been before, on the road for the Presbyterian Outlook, gifted again to be among disciples of Jesus Christ seeking to be faithful in their spheres of influence. After speaking one evening at the church, a member came up to talk to me about a local ministry called Community Renewal. He then invited me to their weekly meeting the next morning, a Quaker-style gathering where those who felt moved to speak, spoke. A simple practice yet one, I would discover, that is deeply profound.
I went the next day. The large room soon filled with a diverse group of people sitting in a circle of chairs around the entire perimeter of the space. We read one psalm and then one more. Then people spoke or didn’t. Giving thanks. Naming where they’d seen God at work. Laughing. Asking for prayer. Praising both the intervention of the Holy Spirit and the tangible support of the Body of Christ. I sat in the corner of the room listening, heartened by the evidence of relationships built across differences our society too often sees as impermeable and permanent. At one point, someone recounted the joy of seeing several community members complete an education program and obtain their GEDs. Several of those named had taken tests repeatedly, stuck with it and finally passed after overcoming significant barriers to their success. I felt humbled, knowing how often even small impediments have thwarted my determination through the years. The grit of the students and their teacher impressed me.
I learned that many of the adult students who come through the program have been labeled “unreachable.” What a pronouncement to make about anyone. Unreachable. Beyond hope. No need to try any harder or any more. Impossible to get to them. Unreachable. How often do we label people unreachable and give up on them? Look, we say, no figs, no fruit, useless. We communicate in word or action or inaction: cut them down, they are wasting soil that could be better utilized.
How often have we felt written off, labeled unreachable, been cut down to size, dismissed or rendered invisible?
Gregory C. Ellison II in his book, “Fear+Less Dialogues: A New Movement for Justice,” building on the words and work of W.E.B. Du Bois, poses the question: “How does it feel to be a problem?” He writes: “You may be a retired wealthy white man or young Hispanic woman trailblazing a path. Have you felt this way? I don’t know your pain, but your inner teacher feels it.” How does it feel to be assessed by others and labeled unreachable, a waste of soil, not worthy of the space you occupy?
The teacher of those adult learners named how often the challenge is not the math or the writing or the reading so much as overcoming the reluctance to once again enter a realm where one has been named a problem, unreachable, judged and written off. The unbending truth of this text from Luke is this: no human being gets to say when the time for transformation is up, that’s Jesus’ call and his alone. Clearly, the stories of the Galileans and the ones at Siloam reveal the reality that the time for repentance, change, a turning and transformation is not infinite, but only God gets to say when time’s up. Further, in this time between barrenness and fruit bearing, Jesus does not sit back and watch idly, counting the days until the ax will come down on the root. The Spirit blows where it wills. The Word of the Lord refuses to return empty. God is doing a new thing. We are new creations in Christ. Jesus gets his hands dirty, not so much worried about washing them before dinner, as using them to touch lepers, welcome children and prepare people for new growth. Jesus stretches out his arms on the cross to reach those deemed unreachable: Gentiles, tax collectors, lepers, sinners. He sends out his followers to preach, teach, heal and proclaim Good News, pointing to life in a world awash in premature death.
Every time I read the parable of the barren fig tree, I ask myself: Who and what have I deemed beyond reach and unworthy of effort, concern or resources? What have I pronounced dead that God sees as ripe for new life? What, and who, have I cut down to size that I should have been supporting and building up?
The prophet this week says, “Seek the Lord while he may be found.” He reminds us that God’s thoughts are not our thoughts. What we see as barren and dead, Jesus sees as prime for transformation and new life. I wonder what would happen if we could do that, too.
Ellison quotes from William James’ book, “The Principals of Psychology” about the “phantom-like terror of invisibility” about being “cut dead.” Alternately, he names the power of being truly seen, regarded and thought worthy of others’ time, attention and care. The gardener of this parable understands that power. Give me time. Let me dig and tend. Nurture and nourish, prune and water. Expect transformation, growth and fruit. Then we’ll see what happens. Time is not infinite, but time’s not yet up. Don’t cut it dead just yet.
I witnessed the work of the faithful gardeners under the tutelage of the Master Gardner in that florescent lit room that morning — those believers who refuse to see death because they follow the resurrected Lord. The teacher said with passion, “Everyone has a gift to use and share.” Sometimes, you just need to dig a little bit more and a little bit longer to find it. Sometimes God puts you in an unexpected place with unexpected people in order to remind you that so much of what’s been labeled unreachable, impossible, dead and buried is ripe for radical, God-revealing transformation, growth and new life. On this third Sunday of Lent as we get closer to Holy Week and Easter, it is a good time to do some digging, clearing away to make room for growth, certain that God never sees us a problem, wants so much for us to repent and be reconciled, goes to such extraordinary lengths to reach us, that not even death on a cross can thwart resurrection, redemption and reconciliation.
This week:
- When have you been seen as a problem? When have you seen others as a problem?
- What does repentance look like? When have you repented? What happened as a result?
- Be aware of Isaiah’s admonition that our thoughts are not God’s thoughts. When you are certain of a judgment or opinion, remember the prophet’s words and question your certainly.
- What does it look like to dig and tend in places that appear barren? Where are those places in our life, church, community or world? What are you called to do about them?
- Given that there is not unlimited time to repent, what might God be calling you to address in your life right now, individually and corporately?
- It is the third Sunday of Lent. Did you take on a Lenten discipline? If so, how is it going? What have you learned?
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