Pastor Ralph Douglas West - The Parable of The Barren Fig Tree - Luke 13:1-9

0:24 Luke chapter 13 beginning at verse 1 I'm not having a lapse of memory I'm aware that I preached this the other night but not what you're about to hear now in Luke 13 beginning at verse 1 Jesus gives us some insight on what it means to live as a productive Christian amid so much hostility in the world. He said before he spoke a parable these words Now there was some present at the time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. Jesus answered, do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? I'll tell you no, but unless you repent, you too will all perish.

1:26 Are those 18 who died when the tower so long fell on them, do you think that they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I'll tell you no, but unless you repent, you too will all perish. Then he told this parable. A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it, but did not find any. So 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 have found none, but cut it down. Why should it use up the soil?

2:08 Sir, the man replied, leave it alone this year also, and I'll dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine. If then, if not then, cut it down This is the word of God You may be seated Monsignor Oscar Romero stood as I stood today and many pastors and priests stood behind the altar of March of 1980. As he was preparing to offer his gift to his congregation a long gunman stood at the back of the chapel in San Salvador, fired a single shot, ripped through the body of Monsignor Romero. He fell to the ground, bled over the altar as he offered his gifts before his congregation.

3:14 He died in the service of worship. He was an activist for the rights of those that were marginalized and oppressed. People depended upon him and now he lay dead and like his Lord had spilled his blood in the sacrifice of service. It was that kind of day when these Galileans reported what had taken place in Jerusalem. A similar situation where lives had been given in the service of God, offering their sacrifices to God. the only problem is is that when something like that happens it must be the result of something wrong that has been done jesus counted their statement by telling them of a story of a tower that had fallen over in a nearby town it was a recent event that was fresh on the memory of the people similar to the day that some of us awakened to the news when the champagne towers failed in South Florida and over a hundred residents died because of the negligence of management to give attention to the foundation that had weakened and the building had crumbled. The question then became Is God some kind of cosmic sadist that finds enjoyment in seeing people suffer this way?

4:53 And Jesus waited for them to respond and they never did. And so he simply made this great statement. Except you repent, change your mind and turn in a new direction. You too will perish. These are not the most simple words to wrap your mind around when you hear something like that. And certainly they're probably not the words that you wake up on the first Sunday of the new year to hear again, even while they're still ringing for just a day away. And to hear a reminder to say, maybe God is trying to remind me of something. And so Jesus responds by telling this story of this tree. Let me now look at this parable from another angle of vision and give attention to the owner and how the owner goes about establishing the tree. He begins by just simply saying that this owner had a tree planted in his vineyard.

5:57 This productive tree amidst all the other trees in the Palestinian Holy Land. And the owner had turned the care of this fig tree into the hands of a vine dresser And the vine dresser's responsibility is to care for this fig tree Now, fig trees grew all over the land, but this tree had been planted It had been situated in a particular place If these stories that Jesus tells are intended to be windows to look out on the world For sometimes as we looked a few days ago at this parable It was a mirror in which we see ourselves This morning if we've now changed the angle of vision And look at this parable as a window to look out into the world to broaden our vision of how God expects us to see the world as he sees it.

7:06 He expects us to see the world that he has created as his very creation. And that creation is to respond to the creator in particular ways. The way that the owner expects for the tree to respond to him is that the tree will give back to the owner the purpose for which it has been planted. And that is not to provide shade, not to occupy space, but to produce fruit, no figs. And this will be the only thing in which will satisfy the owner that plants the tree. Looking out of the window, this morning I look and I see out and say all the trees that God has planted in his cities producing what he has planted them to produce here the window now for a moment turns back in on me and now I have to ask myself now looking not out the window but now looking and asking myself in the mirror am I fulfilling what God has called me to do well I'm preaching this morning I pastor church in the city and I have members that I care for but is that the only thing that God has called me to care for it's a planted tree but it's planted with privilege It is intended unlike the other fig trees that are planted along the side of the road Or should I say grow along the roadsides This tree deliberately is situated in a particular place To drink of the morning dew, to take the morning glory of the sun To be covered by the shade of the night

9:14 But more than that to be cared by the hands of the vine dresser that when it sees something wrong with it, goes out and cares for it. For instance, little insects that collect on the branches that could take the very nutrients that is pumped or given to this tree from its roots.

9:39 Vinedresser cares for it. again if I'm looking out on the window how many privileges have God granted to us and then the question is asked are you living up to the potential of your privilege one other thing is is that it's also planted with the gift of protection the other trees they don't have this If they survive, it's good, but this tree is intended for survival because it has been planted in the vineyard for one reason, that is to satisfy the owner's succulents for figs. And it is protected. And then after the tree has been cared for, the owner patiently awaits for the figs that never arrive. One year, two years, three years.

10:43 Several years ago I came across an interesting story of the marvelous Marvel machine It was featured in the New York World's Fair And it was a beautiful machine You put your coin in and you walk through the tent door And when you're there the Marvel machine is in operation Bells rings, big bells, little bells They're ringing bells Before the chimes stop There are lights flashing Strobing lights, flashing lights And before the lights stop Now you have lights flashing And bells ringing And then wheels spinning And that's the end of the show And one person that was cute enough to ask the question of questions was just simply this.

11:46 Mr. Marvel, that's a marvelous machine. Bells ringings, wheels spinning, light flashing. But what does it do? It's the question that comes across your mind. When you look at so much giftedness in the world You ask yourself, but what does it do?

12:12 One of the roles that I serve as a pastor Is to stand at the end of one's life And one day you'll stand at the end of my life And we'll sit down and we'll give a eulogy Good words about the person And I'm always interested, how will you be remembered when the question comes up, but what does it do?

12:38 How will you serve this present age, your calling to fulfill? Well, cut it down is what happens. And so as a result of that, there is this command of hard, I guess a word of judgment. I guess that's what you could call it. Cut it down. You know, why cumbereth at the ground? And there's a word that comes along to this that says cut it down because it is useless.

13:09 And uselessness always invites disaster. Sometimes you come across these sad stories of people that live in neighborhoods This happened just recently in the city of Houston Where someone had been missing for days But nobody missed them And eventually someone by happenstance comes to the door They get a scent of death People are called in and they find That the person has been there To the point of decomposition And you look at it and you say How do you live in a way that you can be missing And never be missed I mean How will you live your life But now I'm not talking about people that Die physically There are people that are walking around this popular show they have that used to come on about zombie and zombie land.

14:20 It was always the picture of dead folk walking. There are a lot of people who are alive, but they're not alive. They add nothing to life. They take nothing out of life. They're just utterly and completely useless. That's a terrible thing for a preacher to say on the first day of the year of Sunday to even mention something like that. It's callous, it's harsh, it's hard. And yet, there are people that live their life in a way that seems to be utterly and completely useless. Cut down this tree Why? Because it's poisonous? No Because it doesn't give enough shade? No Well why cut it down?

15:18 Because it's not living up to the intention That God has created it for That God has given you a purpose to live And he expects when he comes through his garden That you satisfy his intention By being productive Cut it down grace steps in and simply says don't cut it down now i could stop right here on this and i could build a whole sermon just on don't cut it down because all of us at some point or another have lived in a way where it would be right to be cut down and yet god's grace says Don't cut them down Give them one more year One more year And that's really what I've been trying to get to How do you live productive What do you do in the one year to be given another year There are a few things that I believe happened When the man said Give it one more year Don't cut it down Let it alone this year also And let me dig about it Let me fertilize it Let me put dung on it And if it baths fruit Well if not then Cut it down This is one of those fascinating stories Because when you hear a story like this You're waiting for the champion to say The tree survived Yet we don't know According to the way that Jesus tells his story But he is saying that I'm always opening up the possibility For you to Survive So what do you do?

17:11 What can we learn this year to say I want to be productive? Or I want to continue to be productive Or I want to be more productive One thing he says let me dig around it Let me fertilize it, put dung on it And if it bears fruit then well I think one of the first things that we might want to look at in living productively is to have the readjustment of our own priorities. What comes first? What's really important? What's necessary in life to readjust my priorities? Now there are a lot of things that are important in life and then there are some things that are urgent in life. Charles Hummel wrote a little pamphlet book. It was called The Tyranny of the Urgent. The whole premise of the book is this, is that the urgent is always loud and screaming like blaring sirens. On the other hand, the important will lie still, quiet, and dormant. And we have a tendency to be so obsessed with the urgent that we leave the important alone.

18:28 Where there are times where we say to ourselves, I will no longer be distracted by the urgent, but I will give all of my attention to what is important. It's the lesson that we're always trying to learn where we can say what is important, what are the priorities of life. Let me give you some intertestamental testimonies now throughout the scripture that bears this record of people that put things in the right place of priority. Jesus the storyteller will remind us on another occasion but seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be added unto you. He always placed priority on the first things and that is seeking the God thing. Or on another occasion where Paul will prioritize his life and he'll say I'm open to priority my mind is closed to the past but it is also single to the future I press taught the mark of the prize of the high calling which is in Christ Jesus these statements of readjust priority and that would be my encouragement to you to really readjust it.

19:46 And one of the ways that you readjust priorities just in a practical sense is that you set a date. That is, pull out the calendar day and say, I start on this day. And then once you look at the date or settle the date, then you declare that I will publicly do it. And then finally, you just stick to it. Now, chances are you'll stumble along the way. But if you got a date and a declaration, you got another way of being rededicated. That is, just because you stopped don't mean you have to stay. You can get up and start over. Let me give you a second thing. Let me dig about it. Let me fertilize it. Let me work with it. And if it bears fruit, well, but if not, then let me cut it down. Readjusted priorities.

20:38 But then secondly, productive living always involves safe places. We use the term now spaces more. So a safe space in which somebody can find their safety. Now I'm not speaking of safety in the sense of just mere human security. You remember they would have those signs of hands in the windows of certain homes. and then the signs of hands in certain businesses that was suggestive to children that this is a safe place. That's a good thing to have. But I'm speaking now in another dynamic that there are other safe places, sacred spaces that one can find safety. One of the beautiful words that is used for the church often when we're talking about our church, will say welcome to the cathedral and that's a beautiful word but no word really rings with the same excitement as sanctuary it means in the midst of all of the hostility there is sanctuary there is safety in the midst of so much insecurity safety safe places the old testament has a running line of these different safe places for instance Abraham builds an altar and at the altar he finds safety as he communes with God Jacob is on the run and in Bethel he too builds an altar and there angels began to ascend and descend on the ladder and there he establishes a covenant with God and it becomes his safe place. Or David in Psalm 63 running from Saul and in the middle of the wilderness he creates a sanctuary of safety. That is right where you are in your life it may not be

22:45 the most pristine environment, God allows you to create safety, safe space along with him. But then there's the last thing that we learn from this, and that is not only do we readjust our priorities, seek out safe spaces, safe places, but then there's the stillness of time. Let it alone this year also. I wish I could tell you that whenever I came across a spiritual truth, that I recognized it, applied it, and lived by it without any interruption. I wish I could say that. And when I say it, I don't say it with any pride.

23:42 I say it with all humility. I've known a lot of things for a long time. But just because I knew it didn't mean I lived by it. I want to say that to you because I know that there are people listening today That at the very mentioning of it You say there are so many things That I know right to do That I have left undone Not because you're evil Or wicked Or unrighteous Or lazy You're human And humans are striving And trying to climb And in the process of it Many things that need to be done are left, unfortunately, undone. I wish I didn't know so much about this, but I do.

24:43 But I also know what it means to hear these words in multiple ways. Let it alone this year also. Let me dig around Ralph West. Let me fertilize the ground that he stands on. And if he bears fruit, well, if not, after that, cut it down. I want to be productive. I want to live a life that will bless and benefit other people. I pray that at the end, that I don't just rust out. I want, as Byron says, to wear out. I want to be where you say it ain't nothing else. he can give. He's used all his mind and his heart and his soul and his strength. He's used all of that now to the good and the glory of God. But let me tell you, it takes time. Yes, it does.

25:45 It takes work and it takes time. One of the questions that's always asked to me by younger preachers now they say Dr. West how long does it take you to prepare a sermon I tell them it takes me 46 years when I was smarter than I am now, I would tell them it takes 15 years of work time. No. Good or bad, what you hear now is 46 years of reading, praying, pastoring, teaching, working with people. All of my life is poured into The 30 minutes that you listen to On Sunday morning I didn't say it was good I said that's how long it takes All of my life to give When I was a younger preacher I recited everything that I had read I could do it Because I didn't have much to say Now I preach out of my overflow Of my years of study And my years of pastoring to sit down to encourage people along the way.

27:03 It takes time. Let it along this year also until I can work with it and I can dig around it. I read of a famous pianist and he had a son that, well, his son was not as in tune with life as he would want him to be. and his son would come home at night and go to the piano, and before he would go to bed, he would play the scales, but he would never play the last note. Every night,

27:49 do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, ti, and just stop. It drove his dad almost musically insane And this is what he would do every night When his son would do that He would get up and just play the last note Do, don You and I have a gracious father that works like that with us. We play all of the notes many times and we get to the last one and leave it unsounded. And God is so gracious to us that in the interim time, he just steps down and plays the last note of grace by the work that Jesus Christ has done for us. The next time you wonder Does God love me Remember that all of us Have left our notes unplayed And yet God out of his goodness Still steps down And sounds that one note Readjust our priorities He'll do it And give us safe spaces And in the stillness of time And if it bears fruit Well if not then after that cut it down i don't believe the tree was cut down i believe when you read the other gospels and you see where jesus comes upon another fig tree he'll curse some and then on others he'll find fruitfulness on it i don't know if it was the same tree but that is when you read the whole story you pick up and say god is so gracious When we've been barren and fruitless and unproductive God still gives us new opportunities in other chapters of life And new books that are being written to say that I remembered who you are

29:59 Now how did he do it? I can tell you this Some of it has nothing to do with us, all of God's grace we know But some of us had vine dressers, that is mothers and fathers and grandparents that prayed prayers for us are known to us. I really believe that. I wish I never knew my grandparents, especially on my dad's side. So I have lived a life of emptiness all my life on many levels. But whoever they were, I must believe that somewhere, I know my grandmother Grace did I know that I know my mo did But I know that there were other Parents and grandparents That I had that got on their knees And said somebody's Coming down the line And they're going to look fruitless And unproductive My prayer is that you'll give them One more year Until you can dig around them Fertilize them Throw manure on them And then you'll be able to say Well Well This year Ask God Lord reorganize Help me to readjust my priorities Help me to find safe space in you That I might benefit others And during that period Let me find the stillness of time that I can hear you say not just if they bear fruit well but since they are born fruit well.

31:50 Our Father we thank you. for your story and we thank you for reminding us that by your grace you love us to the extent that you will always give us new opportunities to turn to you thank you for what you have done thank you for what you're going to continue to do in the name of jesus we pray amen Listen, the door to church is open And I want to invite you to unite today On three levels Number one, Pastor Wes is the beginning of the new year I've been hanging in for the last 21, 22 months But I know today that my fruitfulness is not determined Whether I walk inside of that physical space But the readjustment of my priorities to God today I want to invite you to say I'm joining in today I'm uniting with the family of God That's number one Number two Pastor Wes, I am a Christian But I have strayed away from God But today I know that the Lord has extended my time To return to him And I want to invite you to take the first step And while you're doing that Remember this It's your physical first step God is always there Doing what?

33:17 Playing the last note to your unfinished, unfinished cord. And then finally, Pastor Wes, I'm a Christian. I'm in good standing, but I don't have a church home. And you need one. We want to welcome you to the church without walls. So the door of the church is open. Go on the screen, log in. You see how to follow it. It's just click, click, and click. And we'll respond to you on this day. Our choir is going to sing. and while they're singing that'll give you time to log on and then we'll welcome you to the church without walls welcome