Here is Sunday's gospel lesson retold by me. I think it fits the current world situation very well. Feel free to use it as long as the copyright at the bottom of the text appears with it. Enjoy!
Some people came up to Jesus and told him about the devastating earthquake in Haiti. Many people perished and even more were left homeless. He asked the crowd, "Do you think that because the Haitians suffered in this way they were worse sinners than any other nation?"
"Of course they are," chimed in Pat Robertson. "Long ago they made a pact with the devil to free them from the French. They've been a cursed nation ever since."
Jesus just shook his head. "You've got it all wrong! God doesn’t work that way. Everyone needs God. Turn to God and live."
Then others came along and told him the news that a second earthquake hit Chile. Jesus, with a tear in his eye, said, "Let me ask the question again. Do you REALLY think that these people offend God more than those from the United States?"
"I'm sure God was trying to get their attention,"a woman said as she walked by on her way to an unnamed church.
Jesus was dumbfounded. "You've STILL got it all wrong! God doesn't work that way. Everyone needs God. Turn to God and live."
Jesus knew that not everyone was one the same page that day. He knew they were thinking "Is God a God of judgment or mercy?" So he told them a story. "A farmer planted an apple tree in his orchard. He kept returning to the tree to see if there was any fruit on it, and found none. Turning to one of the migrant workers, he said, "Manuel, What's going on here? For three years I've come to this tree expecting apples and there's not a single piece of fruit to be found. Get out your chain saw and cut it down! We're wasting time and money."
The migrant worker said, "Señor, give it another year. Let me dig around the roots a little and fertilize it. Maybe you'll see apples next year. If not, then you can cut it down."
Jesus looked out at the gathered crowd and asked "So, which one do you think God is like? Pat Robertson and the lady on her way to church said, "The farmer." A business woman sipping a cup of Starbucks coffee said, "The migrant worker."
Jesus smiled and replied, "The woman with the coffee is right." For the Scriptures tell us that 'God is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for the thousandth generation, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, yet by no means clearing the guilty, but visiting the iniquity of the parents upon the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation.' Righteousness doesn't work on a sliding scale. Everyone is a sinner. Everyone needs God. Turn to God and live."
Gospel reinterpretation by David Eck, © 2010. Used by permission from http://jesuslovesgays.blogspot.com
Thursday, March 04, 2010
Wednesday, March 03, 2010
Fig Tree Mercy
"A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and found none. So he said to the gardener, 'See here! For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and still I find none. Cut it down! Why should it be wasting the soil?' He replied, 'Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig around it and put manure on it. If it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.' [Luke 13:6-9, NRSV]
As we listen this coming Sunday to the parable Jesus told, we must be careful not to equate God with the man who had a fig tree and Jesus as the gardner. Instead, we need to think of this parable as debate between judgment and mercy. The easy path to walk in this story would be to simply cut the tree down. Likewise, in life, we are tempted to walk away from tasks and people whom we find difficult. Judgment is always an easy thing to do. It takes very little effort on our part.
The harder path to walk is to care for the tree. This means we will have to work hard. We will have to endure a little manure under our fingernails and wait in hopeful expectation for fruit that may or may not come. Mercy is like that. It is a much more difficult thing to do than we could ever anticipate. It take lots of sweat and toil with no guarantee of success or reward.
Consider for a few minutes the trees God has planted in your life. They may be people or places. They may be dreams or projects. Which ones have been giving you a hard time lately? Which ones have you been tempted to chop down and walk away from? Perhaps with a little more tender care, these barren trees just might produce some fruit. The questions is, are we willing to be patient enough for this to happen?
As we listen this coming Sunday to the parable Jesus told, we must be careful not to equate God with the man who had a fig tree and Jesus as the gardner. Instead, we need to think of this parable as debate between judgment and mercy. The easy path to walk in this story would be to simply cut the tree down. Likewise, in life, we are tempted to walk away from tasks and people whom we find difficult. Judgment is always an easy thing to do. It takes very little effort on our part.
The harder path to walk is to care for the tree. This means we will have to work hard. We will have to endure a little manure under our fingernails and wait in hopeful expectation for fruit that may or may not come. Mercy is like that. It is a much more difficult thing to do than we could ever anticipate. It take lots of sweat and toil with no guarantee of success or reward.
Consider for a few minutes the trees God has planted in your life. They may be people or places. They may be dreams or projects. Which ones have been giving you a hard time lately? Which ones have you been tempted to chop down and walk away from? Perhaps with a little more tender care, these barren trees just might produce some fruit. The questions is, are we willing to be patient enough for this to happen?
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