"The Gift That Keeps On Giving"

Feb 28  2016 Readings Isaiah 55: 1-9 1 Psalm 63, Corinthians 10: 1-13, Luke 13: 1-9

The connection with today's parable of the Fig Tree is self-evident especially to those of you who are gardeners, especially to those of you who weed and prune in the hopes your efforts will produce a good product.   The parable is about a man who owned a vineyard.  In that vineyard was a fig tree--a fig tree that just didn’t seem to want to produce.  "Cut it down," the owner said to his vine-dresser. "For three years I have been looking for fruit on this tree and have found none. Cut it down. Why should it continue to occupy good ground?"   Now I ask you folks, is this not a good metaphor for many of us humans.  Each and every one of us was meant to produce something, something good I mean.   Each and every one of us has something we are good at and it was mean to be useful.  You know the old saying use it or loose it, RIGHT!!  It is up to us to discover our gifts, nurture them, prune and cultivate them so we can begin to use them to help God in the building of “thy Kingdom come.”  

Time and time again God continues to be patience with those of us who do not take advantage of our gifts or the opportunities He has placed before us.  At the same time God will not take away our freedom to choose, even it if causes suffering and punishment to fall upon both us and or an innocent bystander. 

That is the message of today's Epistle Reading - a reading in which Paul

reminds us of all the opportunities that God's chosen people missed - and

the results that they themselves created, brought either reward, or punishment for their choices.

The people of Israel in the Wilderness stories of Moses during the Exodus, had seen God's goodness, they had many opportunities to praise and to trust God - but they grumbled and complained instead.  Their negative attitudes and choices turned them towards their old ways, causing them great turmoil and chaos. They called down upon themselves their own judgment and punishment through choice and many innocent were also inflicted.  Even during their wilderness time God provided all that they needed.   He gave them freedom from the slavery of Egypt, but rather than placing their trust in God, many turned back, worshiped the golden calf and the success it was supposed to bring.  Their choice once again brought death to 120,000, both guilty and innocent in a single day.   The things, Paul writes about here should become for us examples so we do not fall into the same evil traps as they did.   That we might recognized when we become idolaters in a modern world.  Let not us become like those who claim to worship, to eat and drink spiritually from the word of God, only to rise the next day setting God word aside during the rest of the week.   So I ask you to consider this morning, what is it that you are passionate about?  What you are you devoted to accomplishing in this life?   What fruit are you bearing?  Tough questions in a modern teck world with all it luxury and affluence.  

Note, first of all from the parable of the Fig Tree that the fig tree isn't asked to produce bananas.  Often we think we need to be something we are not.  All God is asking of us is to be the best we can with what we have.  The Owner of the Vineyard doesn't ask anything extraordinary out of the fig tree.  He asks only that it accomplish what fig trees ought to accomplish.   You and I have differing gifts.  Some of us have nice singing voices.  Some are thinkers, others are artistic.  Some are good with numbers; others are good with people.   Some have the gift of compassion, listening, and some just love people no matter what.    All of us have some natural God given ability.  The secret is to find our natural abilities, or giftedness and offer them in respect of self and service to others.   That's what genius is.  When we say that someone is a genius, all we are saying is that they gave maximum effort in the area of their lives where they have natural ability.  That's it.  That's the secret of being fruitful - find what we're naturally good at and give it our best.  The point is that God does not ask us to become what we are not. 

A man was walking through the countryside when he noticed a young fellow standing at attention in the middle of an open field.  The walker coming back along the same path noticed that the fellow was still there in heat of the afternoon.  Curious, he approached and asked what the young man was doing.  "I'm practicing for the Nobel Prize," the man replied.   "How's that?" asked the visitor.   "Well," said the young man, "one of the criteria is to be outstanding in a field your choice."

God is not asking of us that we win a Nobel Prize.  He is not asking that we produce more fruit than everyone else - or better fruit than that which our brothers and sisters in Christ produce - but he does expect us to produce the fruit that we are able to produce.   With a little pruning, cultivation and nurturing each one of is able to bear good fruit in abundance.   Each one of us is gifted by God with the ability to produce what the Scriptures call in some places "fruits of the Spirit.”   This fruit is described in the fifth chapter of the Letter to The Galatians.   The fruit contains the attributes of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.    We who call ourselves Christian have a master teacher and mentor of these fruits of the spirit.  It is through a personal relationship with the Christ that we are made whole.  For this we give God the thanks and praise. 
                                 "And the Gift was Conceived"