Reflections for Youth - Fig Trees, Spring, and being a little mad at Jesus.

I think the first time I remember getting really frustrated with Jesus was in about the 4th or 5th grade. I remember hearing the parable from Jesus that is our scripture passage this week from the Gospel of Luke.  

Here's why I was mad -  Jesus tells a story about a vineyard owner with a fig tree. But he never tells the end of the story. 

We don't know how it ends.  Frustrating - right? 

Read Luke 13: 1-9
Click above to read the NRSV version of the passage)


Here's the passage as it is told in The Message, by Eugene Peterson. (Notice that the fig tree has been replaced by an apple tree in this version.) 

Unless You Turn to God 

13 1-5 About that time some people came up and told him about the Galileans Pilate had killed while they were at worship, mixing their blood with the blood of the sacrifices on the altar.  Jesus responded, “Do you think those murdered Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans? Not at all. Unless you turn to God, you, too, will die. And those eighteen in Jerusalem the other day, the ones crushed and killed when the Tower of Siloam collapsed and fell on them, do you think they were worse citizens than all other Jerusalemites? Not at all. Unless you turn to God, you, too, will die.”6-7 Then he told them a story: “A man had an apple tree planted in his front yard. He came to it expecting to find apples, but there weren’t any. He said to his gardener, ‘What’s going on here? For three years now I’ve come to this tree expecting apples and not one apple have I found. Chop it down! Why waste good ground with it any longer?’8-9 “The gardener said, ‘Let’s give it another year. I’ll dig around it and fertilize, and maybe it will produce next year; if it doesn’t, then chop it down.’”

This first part of the passage is a little weird. Jesus talks about two different situations. The first part about the Galileans that Pilate had killed is about a human evil. The second - the part about the people that were killed when a tower fell on them  - is about a natural disaster or evil.   Jesus challenges the listeners to consider what they think about sin - and who should repent.   The Greek word that is translated as repentance means "a change of mind" or to "turn around." Literally it means to change one's perception.  Jesus says that we are all sinners. And we all need to repent and turn to God. 

Then we get to the story about the fig tree. The vineyard owner wants to cut it down because for three years it has not produced even one fig. But the gardener says "Wait - hold up a minute. Let's give it a chance. We need to fertilize it and give it some time."

I think 4th or 5th grade me was just so frustrated because I wanted to know the end of the story. Did the the love, wisdom, and patience of the gardener pay off? Were there ever figs?  What's the point of the story if we don't know what happens?  

I was the type of kid that always read the last page of a book to find out out what happened.  I've never liked being surprised. I need to have all the information.  

But now as an adult - I think I am starting to understand this parable a little more. Maybe the fact that there is no ending to the story is the whole point!  Maybe this is a story where Jesus is showing us what God is like. The gardener also love the fig tree, and he uses his wisdom to make the tree healthy by using fertilizer. And he also shows us about patience.  

 The first day of spring was on Wednesday.  I love this time of year. The weather is getting warmer. I think what I like most is the optimism it brings. The potential.  So many things are about to begin and at this point there is only hope!. The potential of how my garden will grow and all the flowers that will bloom. The potential of the Pirates maybe having a winning season. The potential of all the things we are planning to do and enjoy when the spring and summer comes.  We don't know how it will end - just like we don't know what happens with the fig tree.  

The gardener in this story reminds me of all this hopeful potential. God takes his time with us.  God is patient with us when we sin, make mistakes, and forget about who God is and how we are loved.  When we don't "bear fruit" God continues to meet us with love, wisdom and patience. 

Back to the first part of the passage -  I am not sure I really understand how these versus fully connect with the parable of the fig tree.  But Jesus is inclusive when he says that our need to find the connection between sin and suffering is fruitless (pun intended!) and misses the point.  Perhaps following up these questions about sin and suffering with the fig tree parable to remind us that we all need to turn to God. We all need to repent and give God a chance to fertilize us so we can grow (see what I did there..lol). 
  
I guess I am not so mad anymore about the fact that the fig tree story has no end.  Jesus 'word's remind me that God is patient with us and there is time to repent and bear fruit. 

Here are some things to think about this week: 

What are you most looking forward to this spring? 

Who are the people in your life that are like the gardener in this story? Who are the people that offer you love, wisdom, and patience?

What are some things in your life now that you need to change, turn around from, or change your perception about?