Isaiah 55: 1-9 (New Jerusalem Bible)

Luke 13: 1-9 (Common English Bible)

In the parable about the fig tree the landowner sees his fig tree failing to produce fruit. He tells his gardener to get rid of it. The gardener replies, “Not yet. We will give it one more opportunity. We will loosen the soil around it and give it some fertilizer. Then, after a year, if it still fails to produce fruit, then we will get rid of it.”

Like the fig tree, many people have talents but they have become frozen through disuse. Sometimes these talents turn out to be the critical talents that might give perspective and meaning to our lives. Even if we are not great speakers or architects perhaps we have the talent for thinking and compassion. Just as different fruit trees produce a variety of fruit we shouldn’t expect a fig tree to produce peaches. 

So at one level, Jesus seems to be saying, if we look at our lives and find our fruits are not evident, we still might have another chance to put things right.

If we read this story with care, we start to realize that Jesus was not talking about a judgement in the afterlife. But Jesus never said that our lives would be longer and happy even if we did all the correct things.

Jesus may have been trying to remind his listeners that sooner or later they need to know what their lives and communities have really become. I remember Salem 50 years ago when it seemed there were very few homeless people compared to today. And Salem had a lot of good things for young people to do, like a swimming pool and bowling alley. Those activities were only two things and I’m sure long-timers here can remember more.

We should also note how Jesus came to tell this story, with two disasters his Jewish audience remembered. The question was, were the victims responsible for their own misfortune when a riot happened over money taken from the Temple to build an aqueduct? Many of the Galilean protesters were killed by the Roman army. And before that 18 workers were killed when the tower at Siloam collapsed on them. Was this some kind of punishment from God? A paraphrase from Jesus’ answer was, Absolutely it was not their fault, but if you don’t repent, you won’t be able to cope with the next disaster.

The Temple scene certainly points to a tense situation between the Jews and their Roman occupiers. Some Galilians had been in the Temple and Pontius Pilate had interfered with their Temple ceremonies. Pilate’s soldiers had burst into the Temple and slaughtered the protesting Galileans. Their blood was mixed with the blood of the sacrificed animals.

Jesus was a pacifist and he told the crowd, everyone needs to look at themselves as being in need of repentance. Repentance means looking at the world and one’s self in a different way. And Jesus meant all people, even the Roman tyrants, the pagans and the common people caught up in a situation beyond their control.

During the last few months we have seen tornadoes, floods, violence in cities and genocidal violence in the Middle East. We have seen bombs that have destroyed hospitals, refugee camps and markets, many of which were sent from America. And some people have had cruel reactions when refugee families are housed in their community.

If we want to do something about hunger, make sure there is food storage for the people without food. And it’s crucial to have water supplies in case of a natural disaster. It’s also important to have shelters during tornado season, although it seems now that tornadoes happen during all seasons. An equally important thing is to have peace-makers and not war-makers. I remember President Jimmy Carter saying, and I quote, “It is easy to start a war, but much more difficult to start peace.”

When we read this parable along with the words and actions of Jesus, we are reminded that because of our sins we are supposed to be punished. But God is at work in this world and in it God gives us the gift of grace. Like the fig tree, we are often given multiple opportunities to do better, to be better and do the correct things. The same grace that God gives us should also extend to one another. We sin. We repent. And by the grace of God, we are given another chance, just like the fig tree.

The parable of the fig tree contains many truths. Many do not bear the fruits of their life. It takes humbleness and love to accomplish that. But with Jesus as our guide, good things can be accomplished.

When we read Isaiah chapter 55, we are amazed by the generosity that God can give. God calls out the hungry, the thirsty and anyone who has no money, to partake in God’s abundance at no cost. There will be wine and milk, and rich food that will satisfy all people.

This is a writing from Second Isaiah which covers chapters 40 through 55. The Jewish community addressed in Isaiah 55 still bears the scars of their exile in Babylon. They have experienced tragedy and scarcity through forced displacement. Memories of the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem by the Babylonian army were still fresh to the older exiles.

God offers an egalitarian view of the exiles’ future. Those who thirst will have water. Those without money or resources will be provided with good things in God’s new order. God invites the people of God to finally rest at the feast and have communion with God. 

We, as people of God today, would do well to take seriously the importance of this writing. God intends for all who thirst and hunger, shall have access to food for their well being. How might the church today address this reading of abundance in Isaiah 55? Maybe churches can reflect how God has been abundant in their lives? And how they might be able to share this abundance with others.

AMEN