The passage from Luke features a very odd parable Jesus tells his followers that seems both harsh and confusing. An irritated landowner asks his gardener to chop down a fig tree that has failed to produce fruit for the past three years. The gardener then pleads for the life of the tree and convinces the owner to leave it growing for another year, during which time the gardener says he will give the tree extra care and will do all he can to enable it to produce fruit. We are not even told whether that works and if the tree eventually produces figs and is allowed to survive! What is the meaning of this short story that leaves us not only wondering what happens next but also, why Jesus told it?
The context here is crucial: the parable appears within a longer passage in which Jesus is warning his followers of the difficult times that will be coming when he is no longer with them and of the urgent need for them to repent of their sins and walk the way of obedience. Jesus knows that if they are not fully committed and spiritually strong and prepared, characterized by the faithfulness, or fruitfulness, of their lives, they will be destroyed by the suffering that is to come.
Read in conjunction with the passage from I Corinthians, in which Paul is warning his readers of the dangers of sin and of having a desultory attitude towards keeping themselves fit to follow Christ, the message is clear – and stark. As Paul writes, ‘so if you think you are standing, watch out that you do not fall.’ (v12) Yet Paul goes on to give a message of hope: even if we fall into sin, God is faithful and will not let us be tested beyond our strength but will provide a way out so that we will be able to endure.
It is thought that Luke wrote his Gospel about 50 years after Jesus been resurrected and then ascended into heaven. At that time many of the Jewish people had rejected the belief in Jesus as the Messiah. By contrast, Paul’s letter to the Corinthians was probably written at least 30 years earlier to a group of Christians made up of both Jews and Gentiles. Both passages deal with urging the believers to be strong and faithful, yet Luke is more concerned with warning his readers to be prepared from the persecution that might come from other people, while Paul seems to be more worried about the Corinthians’ own spiritual health. From what he knows about Corinth, he is aware that they are somewhat spiritually complacent and that they do not think they have to guard themselves against activities that could damage their walk in Christ.
These are not comfortable or easy messages but it is fitting that in Lent we remind ourselves that, no matter how long we may have been Christians, or how faithfully we may attend church or how many good deeds we may do, we still have to attend to the state of our own souls. Being a follower of Christ takes dedication, determination and discipline. It is not an easy path, but then life is not easy. But for a believer, there is the deep joy of drawing increasingly closer to God, the inner peace that comes from knowing that we are completely loved and accepted, and the exuberant1 confidence that we have within us the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead.
Rev’d Christina Rees