Sin, suffering and bearing fruit

If something bad happens to you, it is because you deserve it if your crops fail, it is because you have displeased God; same with illness, untimely death, any sort of disaster – it is because of something you have done, it is God’s judgement upon you.

Ever heard anything like that?

Blaming the victim was common in the time of Jesus, and it still persists today.

Except, it isn’t true. When illness or disaster or suffering comes, it isn’t because we are being judged as more sinful than anyone else. It is not a form of divine punishment.

Jesus tells the people that those whose blood was mingled with the sacrifice, were not any more sinful than anyone else. The reason their blood was mingled with the sacrifice is because they were at worship, when Pilate’s soldiers came and killed them.

The same with those who were killed in an industrial accident. They were not more sinful than anyone else. The tower of Siloam is thought to be part of a building project that was being built with money taken from the Temple treasury.

There is a certain level of comfort for us in thinking that those who suffer in what appears to be random events, must be more sinful or bad than we are. Otherwise how do we know it won’t happen to us? We want some reassurance that we are good enough, special enough, important enough that such things won’t happen to us, that God is judging those people.

It is easy for us to think that some people are more sinful than we are. I am talking about sin, that which separates us from God. There isn’t a list of sins where some are worse than others. In the letter to the Romans, Paul writes:  since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God [Romans 3:23 NRSV]

 Slide:  https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10208854356625120&set=a.1357499066439.2052303.1500378791&type=3&theater

  

Sin does a have role in suffering.

·      Pilate’s brutal reign was sinful - God calls leaders to be shepherds, not murder their own people, or line their own pockets.

·      Villages live with polluted water when the environment is not cared for.

·      Workers are injured or killed when profits rate higher than safety – such as in Bangladesh a few years ago, when a building collapsed. Over 1,000 people died and another 2,500 were injured. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-22476774

 We want to think that we are immune from seemingly random events; so it is easier to say that such events are judgement from God. But now, as then, cyclones, tsunamis, workplace accidents and murder are not the fault of the victim.  

We all sin, we all need to come to God, to repent, to turn our lives around. And Jesus tells another story:

..“A bloke had a fruit tree planted on his property. One day, after finding that the tree had still not produced any fruit, he ran out of patience with it. He called his gardener and said, ‘I’ve given up on this tree. It’s been here for three years and has produced nothing but leaves. Chop it down! It’s a waste of good soil.’ But the gardener replied, ‘Boss, let’s give it one more year. I’ll loosen up the soil and keep the fertiliser up to it and we’ll see if it gives us a crop next summer. If it does, great; but if there’s still nothing, we’ll take the axe to it then.’” [©2001 Nathan Nettleton www.laughingbird.net]

 The parable of the barren fig tree turns our attention away from judging others to looking at our own lives.

It certainly sounds like it has branches and leaves, it doesn’t sound like it is dead, just not bearing fruit. If it was dead there would be no reason to keep it at all.

From a song  The Tree Song: Chorus:

I’ve got roots growing down to the water,

I’ve got leaves growing up to the sunshine,

and the fruit I bear is a sign of the life in me.

http://azharclass2012.wikispaces.com/file/view/The+Tree+Song+Lyrics.PDF

“…the Spirit produces love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility, and self-control.” [Galatians 5: 22-23 GNB]

What fruit does your life show?

The parable is a reminder to us that we need to not only stay alive, but to bear fruit. I wonder how often we are even aware of our lack of fruitfulness, we appear to be going OK, nice leafy branches providing shade, strong sturdy trunk to withstand storms, yet a fig tree that doesn’t bear figs, no matter how healthy looking, is just not doing what it was planted for. The tree gets another chance, and we too get another chance, and another – not because we are particularly worthy, but because God is gracious and merciful to us.

Lent is a time for us to think about the things that tempt us away from God
the false idols,
the things that demand our time and attention and energy,
the things that slowly kill our spirit,
those things that mean we don’t bear fruit.  

The parable is left up in the air at the end, we don’t know if the tree bears fruit next year, if it gets another chance, or if the gardener finally pulls it out.

I wonder will we bear more fruit this year than last.
Will we live up to our high calling as the people of God?
At times it seems that disaster and illness tests our faith, but from this passage judgement is not about disaster or illness, but whether we bear fruit that shows our repentance, our trust in God, our living as the body of Christ in this place.

The gardener says he will loosen the soil, get rid of the weeds and feed the tree with manure. What would it take for you to bear fruit?

Slide:

·         What sort of fruit would you like your life to be producing by this time next year?

·         What help will you need to realise this dream.

Reflection time

A Poem: in this life

~ Copyright © 2007 Thom M. Shuman. Posted on Prayers4Today. http://prayersfortoday.blogspot.ca/

Jesus the mother hen

During Lent we move from the temptations in the wilderness, to the crucifixion. On the way we join Jesus in his journey towards Jerusalem.

In the passage we heard this morning, Jesus again chooses to stay on the road to Jerusalem, even though he knows his likely fate. The warning that Herod is after him – not the Herod who tried to kill him as an infant, but his son. It seems Luke wants us to know that Jesus continued to choose to heal and liberate, even though it put him on a collision course with the religious and political leaders.

I wonder if our choices and decisions reflect God’s desire for us, God’s call on our lives.

This passage has themes of power running through it. The Pharisees had power, they had power and position and status – very important in such a society. And they used their power. They used their power to stay in favour with the people who could reduce them to nothing.

Herod had power, power to rule. Power that dominated and kept people in their place, so he could stay in his.

There is another type of power displayed in this passage, and that is the power of love, the power of compassion. Jesus has been healing, teaching, including the outcast, raising the dead, …. yet this offended the rulers. It offended them because it threatened their position. By this stage Jesus must know the likely outcome of his ministry. I know some people believe Jesus knew before he was born that he came to die on the cross, but even if you do not believe that, the signs by this stage of his ministry are pretty ominous.

 Jesus doesn’t run away when the Pharisees warn him of his fate, he talks of the remaining ministry of healing and casting out demons, and of journeying to Jerusalem. Now I don’t think the reference to prophets being killed refers geographically to Jerusalem, but to the way in which God’s messengers have been threatened and silenced by the powerful, often the religious leaders. 

Jesus shows the power of compassion,
the power of love,
love that hurts and cries for the ones who reject him,
love that still wants to wrap the city and people up in love,
to keep them safe. 

Jesus, looking over Jerusalem says:
“How many times I wanted to put my arms around all your people, just as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you would not let me!”

Slide 1: hen and chickens

Slide 2: hen and chickens

Slide 3: chickens under hen

Slide 4:  hen and some under and some not!

Slide: chickens under hen [while reading below quote]

The image of the mother hen is a powerful one. A quote:

"If you have ever loved someone you could not protect,
then you understand the depth of Jesus' lament.
All you can do is open your arms.
You cannot make anyone walk into them.
Meanwhile,
this is the most vulnerable posture in the world
--wings spread, breast exposed --
but if you mean what you say,
then this is how you stand. …
Jesus won't be king of the jungle in this or any other story.
What he will be is a mother hen,
who stands between the chicks
and those who mean to do them harm.
She has no fangs,
no claws,
no rippling muscles.
All she has is her willingness to shield her babies with her own body.” [Barbara Brown Taylor   Christian Century 2/25/86]

The image of mother hen is a different one to the image of holding onto power and prestige, this is an image of compassion and tenderness, an image of valuing another’s life, even more than your own.

In the reflecting this week, and the time on retreat with the elders yesterday, I have been thinking about the other side of this mother and hen imagery.

Jesus is like a mother hen, lamenting because the chickens will not come under her wings.  

But I am not Jesus.

I am one of the chickens,
and I confess at times I am one of those chickens who thinks she doesn’t need to be under the wing.
I am one of the chickens that causes pain and sorrow.

I wonder what it is that prevents me from accepting the security, the grace, the love that Jesus offers us.

A song came to mind, and this dates me somewhat:

I need to be still and let God love me
I need to be still and let God love me
When this old world starts to push and shove me
I need to be still and let God love me

I need to relax and let God take over
I need to relax and let God take over
[He'll] to take this load off my shoulders
I need to relax and let God take over

“I need to be still and let God love me”

Yet I am rarely still, my mind is often trying to think about more than open thing at the same time. We live in a society that values being busy, even if it is not productive busyness.

“Jesus loved the people of Jerusalem.
Sometimes they got things wrong.
Sometimes they listened to the wrong people.
Sometimes they ran around not knowing what to do.

But Jesus loved them.

‘What are you like Jerusalem?’ said Jesus.
‘I’d like to be a big warm feathery mother hen,
so that I could gather your children
under my wings and keep them safe and strong.

But you wouldn't let me do it Jerusalem.
And I can’t help you if you won’t let me.” [Spill the Beans]

“I can’t help you if you won’t let me.”

What do you need to let go off, pride, apathy, being in control….

What do you need to let go of, to let Jesus help us?

What in your life needs nurturing now?

If.....

• If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become a loaf of bread.
• if you worship me, I will give you the glory of these kingdoms and authority over them
• If you are the Son of God, jump off! [the highest point of the Temple]

If – how often do we hear that word?

I will be your friend if you do something for me

I will lend you the money if …

You will have more friends if you use this brand of deodorant …..

Notice the temptations focus on who Jesus is, two of them start with if you are the Son of God …..

Has anyone ever said to you – if you were really a Christian, you would … give me money, be my friend, lend me your car …

The temptation is to have to prove yourself. Are you really what and who you say you are?

Except this question isn’t coming from someone who actually cares about you.

The question is an attempt to manipulate.

You think you are Gods son! Prove it!

From the newspaper this week:

In the lead up to Valentine's Day, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has revealed 2620 Australians reported losing $22.7 million to romance scams to the watchdog in 2015.

"Scammers are experts at preying on people's weaknesses and will spend months and even years grooming victims and lowering their defences,"

"Inevitably, the fraudster will spin a tall tale about why they suddenly need your financial help, ranging from medical emergencies to failed business ventures to needing to rebook flights to visit you."

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/business/consumer-affairs/valentines-day-warning-australians-lost-nearly-23-million-to-dating-scams-in-2015-says-accc-20160211-gmrif3.html#ixzz401RbY61c
Follow us: @smh on Twitter | sydneymorningherald on Facebook

I am guessing most of you are sitting there thinking, how could anyone would ever fall for that?

But people do. Do you ever wonder why that happens?

Just as with the temptations Jesus faced, we are asked to prove ourselves:

If you love me, you will help me

If you send money we can meet

If I don’t get help I will die

…..

Sometimes we hear those words from family members, and those of you who know people with drug addiction may well have heard those words.

Sometimes we hear those words over Facebook or by email from people we have never met. 

One of the things we talked about at Lent Event study group on Thursday was how important it is to know yourself, to know who you are and what your values are, in avoiding temptation.

While it happens to all sorts of people, we see in the media what happens when politicians take ‘gifts’ , such as holidays, expensive dinners, or premium seats at the ballet or football. And often these ‘gifts’ turn out to be more like a bribe than a gift.

Looking at the Temptations Jesus faced, “In each case, the devil seeks to undermine Jesus’ confidence in both God and himself. He seeks, that is, to erode Jesus’ confidence that he is enough, that he is secure, that he is worthy of God’s love” [David Lose In the Meantime]

I know I am not Jesus, and neither are you, but Jesus was tempted, as we are; not the other way around. Part of the humanity of Jesus is knowing what it is like to be human, to struggle with issues we face, to ponder how to live.

The temptations we face are not about jumping from a high tower, well not that anyone has told me that is their temptation. The temptations we face might be about confidence, status, fame, security, beauty or youth. Often temptation, in whatever form, is about ‘fitting in’, about being acceptable.

Unfortunately we live in a culture that questions our sense of identity, questions in ways that make us wonder,

Am I really lovable?

Does anyone care about me?

As Kasey Chambers sings:

“Am I not pretty enough
Is my heart too broken
Do I cry too much
Am I too outspoken.”

Some people feel that way.

I know at times I have felt like people were doing me a favour by being a friend, I mean they couldn’t actually like me!

I know what it is to feel like a fraud, wondering how long before people are going to work out I am not as clever as they think I am.

I know what it is like wondering if I am a worthwhile person.

Temptations “seek to shift our allegiance, trust, and confidence away from God and toward some substitute that promises a more secure identity.” [David Lose In the Meantime]

In Luke’s Gospel, Jesus is baptised, then is led into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit. While in the wilderness, he works through who he is, where his strength and identity comes from, and what form his ministry will take.

·    Jesus isn’t into being a miracle worker, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t perform miracles.

·    Jesus isn’t going to use political power to overthrow the Romans, but that doesn’t mean Jesus isn’t a powerful person.

·    Jesus didn’t put Gods love to the test, but that doesn’t mean he doubted God’s care for him.

“This is who he is, Son of God, Saviour, but the devil over and over tempts him to display his identity in self-serving ways that would undermine his identity as the Son who relies on the good gifts of the Father.”  [Ruth Anne Reese Workingpreacher.com]

Someone asked me about the devil – one commentator writes:

““The devil" that Jesus encounters in the wilderness.” Is often described … “as the personification of evil, although, as Richard Swanson writes, "Luke did not imagine pitchforks, horns, pointy tails, or the red long-johns that you see in cartoon devils" (Provoking the Gospel of Luke). No, it might be closer to imagine instead a seductive voice offering very "good" things to Jesus, an attractive strategic plan for his ministry.” [Rev. Kathryn M. Matthews UCC SAMUEL]

One thing that makes temptation so tempting, is that it doesn’t look like evil.

A couple of quick comments:

We live in a world of competing stories. [Ruth Anne Reese Workingpreacher.com]

One story says you are not good enough, you are not worthwhile, so

you need to have more

you need to do more

you need to be self-reliant

The other story says you are enough, you are worthwhile, so

you do not need to hold onto what you have

you do not need to worry about tomorrow

you do not need to live for yourself

“Jesus’ responses are rooted in an underlying narrative that he is dependent on God rather than self for life, glory, and identity.” [Ruth Anne Reese Workingpreacher.com]

Do we live with the story that we are not enough,

that we are not worthwhile,

that we have to prove ourselves to God and the world.

Or do we live with the story of God’s love and presence – even in the midst of difficulties.

God doesn’t say if,

God says

      I love you;

      You are important to me.

"This Lent, even better than, say, giving up chocolate, we might develop a daily spiritual practice of reflection on God's provision, God's abundance, and God's power in our lives. We might learn to reframe our lives." [Rev. Kathryn M. Matthews UCC SAMUEL]

This Lent, what needs reframing in your life, so that you can see yourself as the beautiful, amazing, beloved child of God that you are?

Awe and Service

A quick recap of chapter 9 of Luke to this point.

• Jesus calls the disciples together and “gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal” [Luke 9:1b-2]
• “They departed and went through the villages, bringing the good news and curing diseases everywhere.”  [Luke 9:6]
• Then we hear of Herod wondering who Jesus is,
• the disciples return to Jesus and even though they try to meet privately, a crowd follows them.
• Luke then records the story of the feeding of the multitude.
• “…when Jesus was praying alone, with only the disciples near him …He said to them, ‘(But) who do you say that I am?’
• Peter answered, ‘The Messiah of God.’”  [Luke 9:18, 20]
• Jesus tells the disciples that he will be arrested and killed and be raised.
• ^“Then he said to them all, ‘If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.” [Luke 9:23]

Luke has a lot happening, sending out the disciples to bring healing and wholeness; one of the feeding miracles; Jesus is Messiah; Jesus foretelling his death; carry your cross…

And then the passage we heard this morning.

In the Bible when we hear that people are going up a mountain – this is like a neon sign “Warning” “Warning” “something amazing is about to happen”

And something amazing does happen.

The story of transfiguration is one those amazing moments of mystery and awe that we find hard to put into words.  

Some of you will have experienced such moments.

Moments when time seems to stand still,

when you are aware of something other,

something spiritual,

something out of our ordinary experiences.   

Times when we sense God is so close.

Times when we rest in God’s embrace.

If only that was where the story ended.

With us basking in the glory of God.

In the moment of awe and mystery.

But those amazing moments are just that, moments.

They are not a bubble that we live in.

Those mountain top experiences are special, and they can encourage us and renew us and lead us into closer relationship with God.

But just as Jesus and the three disciples didn't stay on the mountain, neither do we.

The story continues:

“On the next day, …..”   [Luke 9:37] and we hear of a man from the crowd shouting for Jesus to heal his son. His son who has convulsions. The boy is healed, ^“And all were astounded at the greatness of God.” [Luke 9:43]

Jesus is frustrated because the disciples could not cast this demon out, Jesus says:

“‘You faithless and perverse generation, how much longer must I be with you and bear with you?’ ” [Luke 9:41]

I have seen people healed, not in the medical sense, but in the sense of being wholly human, being able to live full lives. I have heard stories of people who felt shunned or ashamed because of the community response to them. I have sat with people who have been greatly wounded by the church, or their family, or life situation. Healing and wholeness is possible, when we are open to the grace of God in our lives, and when we extend that grace to others. Because for many people being heard is part of the healing.

A question asked by the presenter at the workshop I attended last week: what is it in your community that makes God's heart break?

What is it in your community that makes God's heart break?

One website I look at each week is Working Preacher, and the person writing on the Luke passage this week writes more descriptively than I can:

“Our world is dashing the poor against the rocks of despair, hunger, and abandonment everyday. The economic beast controlled by few demons is making our people convulse day and night. The homeless, the immigrant, the incarcerated, those mothers who work three jobs to make a minimum wage to feed three, four kids, they are like that boy, thrown into the shadows of our society, convulsing day and night right in front of us! And we, who seem to not know anything about the transfiguration of Jesus or our own transfiguration (metamorphoses) are looking at these people while asking Jesus: can we dwell in our worship tabernacles basking in your glory, away from the people and their pressing needs?” [Working preacher Cláudio Carvalhaes ]

I wonder how you think Jesus would answer that question: “can we dwell in our worship tabernacles basking in your glory, away from the people and their pressing needs?”

From what I have read about Jesus, I can tell you the answer is a resounding NO! 

• We cannot live in a bubble of holiness,
• Being disciples of Jesus does not mean being part of some club where we get to sit around basking in the glory of God and ignoring the need of people around us.
• Jesus did not come just for you and me, Jesus came to show the whole world the love of God
• Jesus came to offer us all healing and hope, and each one of us is called, by our baptism, to participate in the healing of the world, offering hope to the broken and despairing. 

One thing that is taught to Ministers is the difference between secrecy and privacy. Each of us has a right to our personal story. If you tell me something, I don’t tell others because it is not my story to tell. That is privacy. What you tell others about yourself is up to you not me.

Secrecy protects me rather than you. That is one of the problems with abuse – the perpetrator, the abuser, and at time institutions expect the person who has been abused to keep a secret – not to protect the person, but to protect the guilty.

One of the big issues in Australia at the moment is asylum seekers.  At times it is necessary to protect the privacy of people seeking asylum because of what will happen if they are sent back to their country of origin, or what could happen to relatives still living in the country they have left.

However much of what is happening in Australia regarding asylum seekers at the moment is secrecy, secrecy surrounds what happens to boats that come close to Australian waters, secrecy about what happens in detention centres. This is not to protect those seeking asylum. There are allegations of abuse and rape in detention centres, there are allegations of boats being turned back and money being paid to the captains of those boats. But we do not hear the outcome of the review, as it is secret.

Unfortunately I arrived back in Australia to hear the High Court decision to allow people to be sent back to off-shore detention. Some of these people have been in Australia after being abused or raped in off-shore detention centres, some were born in Australia. Many churches have responded to High Court decision on the legality of off-shore detention by offering places of sanctuary.

There is a letter form the President of the Uniting Church about this matter in the grapevine.  

  

What is it in your community that makes God's heart break?

Where do we start:

• the treatment of asylum seekers
• family violence
• racism
• poverty
• drug addiction
• the degradation of the environment

and that is just the start, when we look around the world, the list just gets longer and longer.

I can understand why we might want to stay in our safe, holy, space – but we are called, as followers of Jesus, to live out our discipleship.

The moments of awe and mystery are amazing and wonderful.

They can encourage us and renew us and lead us into closer relationship with God.

But just as Jesus and the three disciples didn't stay on the mountain, neither do we.

Where is God calling you to be involved in the transformation of the world?