Why curse a fig tree?

Sermon planned for Sunday, November 6th, 2011

Texts: Amos 5:18-24; Matthew 25:1-13

May the Peace of Christ be with you!
The passages we just heard have a harsh edge to them. That's part of what we're looking at this morning. Swiss theologian Karl Barth was famous for highlighting this piece. He said that in Jesus we hear both God's "No!" to humanity as well as his "Yes!" Both "judgement" and "mercy"; "wrath" and "forgiveness". But before we go any further, please join me in prayer:
God of justice & mercy, You are a righteous judge. It's a mystery to us that we have become your children. We know that through your Son, and Your Spirit, we have been adopted by You... but how can that be? We are far from holiness. We are messed up in so many ways. And yet you have called us to Yourself. For this miracle of grace, we are grateful and we give you praise. May we become a people where Your justice and righteousness flourish. Don't look at our sin, disregard our apathy; instead, send us Your Spirit and ignite in us your Pentecostal fire. Inflame us with passion for our calling to bear witness to Your Kingdom and to Your Son, in whose name we pray. Amen.

According to the gospel of Mark, after Jesus entered into Jerusalem, riding on a donkey, he went into the temple and had a good look. But because it was already late, he and his disciples picked up their stuff and headed out to the small town of Bethany. Bethany is a town about two miles east of Jerusalem. It lies on the south eastern slope of the Mount of Olives. The town of Bethany was named after all the palm trees that grew there. It was the hometown of Lazarus and his sisters. Nowadays it is called "Lazariyah" – the place of Lazarus; and about 17,000 people living there today.

Jesus stayed the night in Bethany, and on the next day he headed back to Jerusalem. Jesus was ready to head into the temple; and, after what he had seen there the day before, he was looking to stirr some trouble... maybe rattle some chairs and turn over some tables. But on this two-mile hike to Jerusalem, Jesus got the munchies. He was hungry.

There wasn't much food around at that time of year. The trees were barren and the fields empty. And then Jesus and his disciples saw something out in an orchard. They say a fig tree with leaves on it. This was odd – it wasn't the right time of year for it to have leaves. With their curiosities' sparked, Jesus and his disciples made their way over to this lone fig tree. Maybe, if it had its leaves already... then it would also have some ripe figs on it to eat. As they got closer to this fig tree they noticed that it didn't have any fruit on it. Then the disciples saw Jesus walk right up to the tree. He shook his fist at it and shouted: "curse you! May no one ever eat fruit from you again!" With an empty stomach, and a foul mood, Jesus and his disciples headed for Jerusalem, straight towards the temple.

What I love about this story is Jesus' raw emotion. His anger. Jesus was ticked-off. Following this kind of passionate Rabbi is a cure to any passive-agressive personality. But why so angry Jesus? It wasn't the right time of year for harvesting figs. And yet, the leaves on this tree boasted an empty promise. Like a mirage in the desert, it had all the pretensions of being a fruitful tree – but in the end it had nothing to offer. Instead of being ignored, like all the other fig trees with nothing on them, this fig tree received Jesus' judgement and curse. What's the lesson? Don't pretend to have something to offer if you're not going to come through. If you're gonna get dressed up for the wedding... at least make sure you have enough oil in your lamp to get you through the night.

The prophet Amos has some strange words for us this morning. His audience is Israel – more specifically, he was writing to those who desired the day of the Lord. They longed for it. Being surrounded by political enemies, there were many in Israel that longed for the day of God's deliverance – the 'day of the Lord'. Amos was writing to some desperate people – people who were in a tight spot. They needed God to rescue them. They were about to get taken away into exile. If only God would come and rescue His people. Some Israelites longed for the day of God's judgement – surely, then Israel's enemies would get what was coming to them. But that's not what Amos has in mind.

He asks, "Why do you want the day of the Lord?" "Why are you calling upon God to show up in this difficult time?" These are odd questions. Isn't this precisely what we're taught in Church – that we call upon God for help when we're in trouble? Aren't we taught that we should long for the Lord's Day? Here the prophet warns Israel. "Why do you want the day of the Lord? After all, it is a dark day... not a day of light." If God liberates you from your surrounding enemies, it will be like fleeing from a lion... only to meet up with a Grizzly a few minutes later. Why this analogy?

Why does Amos offer this disturbing message to Israel? He writes further, God hates your festivals... He takes no delight in your assemblies. He doesn't accept your offerings, and God can't stand the noise of your songs. What's the problem? What was Israel doing that provoked Amos' curse? Why wasn't God interested in their requests, or their offerings?

The highpoint of our passage from Amos is the last verse – verse twenty-four. After God's harsh judgment on Israel's hopes and piety, the prophet writes: "But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream." This is what God required of his people – to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with God. But instead of walking humbly with God, the prophet levels the accusation of idolatry. The people of Israel had given their allegiance to a foreign king; they had worshipped a 'star-god' named Kaiwan. By changing their allegiances, and by refusing to act justly to the poor, the orphan and the widow – Israel had become an enemy to God. In Amos chapter eight we read a terrible accusation: Israel had bought poor people as slaves... buying them with silver and even for a pair of sandals. They had disregarded God's laws about saving leftover grain for the poor and the needy. Why would Israel dare to look forward to God's deliverance when they themselves had become an opponent to God's purpose? Like the fig tree, Israel wore the leaves of faith... but its fruit was all dried up.

When you play around with costumes and only pretend to be the people of God – what you get is God's "NO!" God's judgment and wrath. When God made his covenant with Abraham, and gave his laws to Moses, God's purpose was made very clear: God would use Israel to bless the nations – but instead, Israel adopted the same economic and spiritual practices as their neighbours. They disregarded the poor, the orphans and the widows; and they worshipped idols. If you want to make yourself an enemy of Yahweh... this is how you go about doing it.

It seems like this is the vision of God that inspired John the Baptist as well. When he spoke up against the Pharisees and Sadducees that were checking him out, he warned:
Mat 3:7-12 "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit worthy of repentance. Do not presume to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our ancestor'; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. "I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire."

This was what John was expecting to meet when he encountered Jesus – a Messiah that would pour out God's wrath and judgement on Israel. But when Jesus does show up, what do we see? Jesus ate with sinners. Some of his aquaintances were prostitutes and tax collectors. Later in the story, after John was imprisoned, we hear that John sent his followers to check-in on Jesus; and to ask him if he was really the one they were to expect. When would Jesus get on with judgement? Instead, Jesus pointed out that the hungry were being fed, the poor were hearing good news, and the sick were being healed. How does this answer John's concerns? Somebody still had to punish wicked Israel, right?

Jesus' answer to John's question is very closely tied to Amos' prophecy. The reason Amos warned Israel about the 'day of the Lord' was because they were failing miserably at being a community of justice and righteousness. Remember the buying and selling of slaves for a pair of sandals? Israel had become an enemy of God – and so, they rightly should fear the 'day of the Lord', the day of judgment.

So why was John the Baptist confused about Jesus? Or, maybe a better question is: why didn't Jesus come and chop down the fruitless trees of Israel, like John said? I think it's because God's strategy was different than both Amos and John had in mind... They were right, on the one hand, God's people had become his enemies, and their sin would be judged. But what they missed was the way in which God would deal with this issue. Instead of coming down and burning people for not being what he called them to be; God's Messiah came among us and embodied God's vision of justice and righteousness. Jesus showed us the way.

Instead of chopping down the trees that weren't bearing fruit, Jesus was the fruit – the True Vine. Jesus offers us Living Water. Jesus is the way. In other words, Jesus, as fully human, stands in our place as the only one who could meet the requirements of justice & righteousness. In this way, we don't have to bear the consequences of being enemies of God. In fact, in Jesus Christ, you and I have become friends with God. In Jesus, our life has become one of justice and righteousness. Instead of being fruitless, like all the other fig trees in the orchard, you and I have been planted onto the Vine, that is Christ, and we bear fruit in Him.

In the terms that Karl Barth liked to use, 'In Jesus we come to see the transformation of God's "NO" into God's "YES" towards us'. Jesus is the place & person where God's wrath and judgment become God's mercy and forgiveness. As fully human in Jesus, God shows us true justice and righteousness – that's why it's a proof of his Lordship that the poor hear the good news, the sick are healed, and the blind are given sight... it means that the Kingdom of God is already breaking into our world.

I know that this is fairly heavy on the theological side – but there's a time for baby food, and then there's a time for steak. Both have their place. This morning we're eating at Texas Roadhouse – next time we'll go to Jasmine's Tea House.

Amos' words to Israel hinged on verse 24: "let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream". This was the condition of Israel's friendship with God. They were in a covenant with God – He would bless them and make them a blessing to the nations. The reality, though, was that Israel disregarded their worship of God and they looked out primarily for their own survival – even if that meant joining up with other kings and worshipping other gods.

The other passage that we heard earlier was the parable of the Ten Bridesmaids. I preached on this a while ago, but I wanted to bring this story in this morning. In this parable we see the difference between those who live a life of preparation and anticipation, and those who are distracted or self-focused. In the time of Amos, Israel had become like the five foolish women who had failed to keep their lamps at the ready. But with Jesus, offering forgiveness and mercy, and with him taking our place as the righteous One, why would Jesus tell this parable of judgement? After all, it is a parable of judgement and wrath for those who are unprepared? And then there's the story of the fig tree. In both of these stories there is severe judgement. The fig tree was cursed to barrenness, and the five foolish women are shut out of the party. Why does Jesus continue on this theme of Judgement?

It's important for us, as Christians, to remember that while Jesus is God's "YES" to us, Jesus is also God's "NO" to human sin and rebellion, and it has everything to do with how we relate to Jesus. God's mercy and forgiveness towards humanity is completely tied up with the covenant God made with Abraham – in other words, God still requires justice and righteousness. The thing is, this requirement is completely filled in Jesus Christ. When you or I do justice or act righteously... it is not in order to fulfill this requirement – that's already taken care of by Jesus. When you or I do justice and act righteously, it is to bear witness to Jesus, to participate in God's purpose... it involves us in the life of Jesus. It is part of the sanctifying work of Christ in us.

The real question is: how do you relate to Jesus? Do you live your life more like the five foolish women of the parable, or like the five wise ones? Is your life a life of anticipation or distraction? Knowing that God's Kingdom of justice and righteousness is just around the corner, that this is what God is up to, is your life anticipating this reality, getting ready for it, announcing it – or is your life largely a distraction from what God is trying to do among us? God's "NO"... God's judgement isn't aimed at whether or not you lead a perfect life... it's aimed at what your life says about who Jesus is! Does your life submit to Christ? Do you put your trust in Jesus? Do you anticipate his coming? Are your lamps filled with oil, or are you busy with something else?

This morning, you and I can celebrate that we've been given a heads up. We've been given a glimpse of what God's project is all about. We know that God's Kingdom is on its way. Jesus Christ is on His way – he won't wait forever. Knowing this, you and I can joyfully celebrate, being prepared for that day, anticipating it, and living a life that welcomes Jesus, just as Jesus welcomes us into His life with God. But our knowledge about Jesus is also a warning. Knowing what we know, we have no excuse for being like the foolish women in that parable. We have no excuse for living a life that is largely a distraction from the Kingdom of God. God's justice and holiness are right around the corner; his mercy and forgiveness are already soaking the pages of your life. God's ay of redemption is near! Do you want to stay up with me and wait for Jesus? Join me in checking our lamps to make sure they're full.

A few weeks from now we're going to celebrate baptism. Three of you have made the choice to prepare yourself for Jesus' return in this special way. You have made the choice to join the wise women with full lamps. You have recognized that Jesus has claimed you and planted you onto the vine... get ready to bear some fruit! Are there others here that want to join in making this declaration of faith? Talk to me after the service.

Some of you teach your children the stories of scripture, some of you teach other people's children the stories of the bible – giving them a biblical imagination & worldview. You know that a new world is on its way – the Kingdom is coming – and you want your children to know what to look for. Some of you are sharing your stuff and your money with those who need it; you realize that in God's coming Kingdom, sharing is going to be the norm... and you want to be on board with it now already. Your lamp is full. Some of you volunteer your time with MCC, or Union Gospel Mission, Siloam Mission or Winnipeg Harvest. You know that in God's Kingdom there is no hunger or thirst... and you want people to taste that reality now already. You are welcomed among the wise! Some of you just can't keep quiet about what Jesus has done for you, in your life; you tell everyone you meet about how you've been changed by His grace. The light of Christ shines through you so brightly, and we know that the wedding banquet will open its doors for you and those whom you have helped point to Jesus.

This morning, may your life get completely tangled up with the life of Jesus, and may the waters of his justice and righteousness flow out from your life... and get everything wet. Amen.