This
homily was preached on Tuesday, February 23, 2016 at Princeton Theological
Seminary as part of my "When Sundays Come Quicker Than Sermons"
course. Inspirations for this short sermon included scripture, commentaries,
and a modern interpretation of The Parable of the Barren Fig Tree.
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1 Corinthians 10:1-13
1 I do not want you to be unaware,
brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud, and all
passed through the sea, 2 and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in
the sea, 3 and all ate the same spiritual food, 4 and all drank the same
spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and
the rock was Christ. 5 Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them, and
they were struck down in the wilderness.
6 Now these things occurred as examples
for us, so that we might not desire evil as they did. 7 Do not become idolaters
as some of them did; as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink,
and they rose up to play.” 8 We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some
of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. 9 We must not put
Christ to the test, as some of them did, and were destroyed by serpents. 10 And
do not complain as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer. 11
These things happened to them to serve as an example, and they were written
down to instruct us, on whom the ends of the ages have come. 12 So if you think
you are standing, watch out that you do not fall. 13 No testing has overtaken
you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be
tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way
out so that you may be able to endure it.
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There
once was an apple tree. Legends were told about this apple tree. People came
from miles and miles to see this apple tree. It was a mighty apple tree. It was
a sturdy apple tree. It was the apple tree of all apple trees. For years, it
produced the biggest and juiciest apples. Every bite came with the satisfying
crunch of delicious freshness. As I said, this was the apple tree of all apple
trees.
But
somewhere in time – somehow – this apple tree quit producing apples. Just one
spring, no flower buds filled the tree. No apples would come that year. The
tree was empty and barren, and its branches were like a lonely shadow of
desolation across the night sky. Surely this was a mistake! An apple tree must
produce apples! The people assumed they must wait for the next year! But once
again, spring came and there were no flower buds. There were no apples. It was
just a mighty tree, void of its purpose. The next year was also the same. For three
years, the apple tree did not produce any apples. For three years, the apple
tree of all apple trees was just a tree.
People
came to the gardener of the apple tree. “Chop it down! Why waste good ground
with it any longer?!” The gardener looked from the people and then up to the
tree. He remembered what the apple tree had once done for them. Would he let
this tree wither and die? Every apple – red, yellow, and green – had mattered
to him. But the tree hadn’t provided life in three years; for three years the
tree seemed dead. What should the gardener do? I’m asking you to consider this
for yourself: what should the gardener do? I want us to continue to reflect on
this question as we explore our passage from today.
In
Paul’s letter to Corinth, we see Paul sending the people a spiritual warning.
His message is abrasive and straightforward and blunt and slightly offensive.
Okay, not even slightly offensive; it is flat-out offensive to the people of
Corinth. Paul is telling them that they are on a path of spiritual destruction.
The weak have already turned away from their life in Christ and returned to
their former religious practices. They have once again indulged in their wicked
and evil ways. Even the best among them are on the path of becoming idolaters.
Paul warns even the best will soon fail Christ if they continue on with their
ways. Therefore, he warns them that none of them are better than the other.
They are all – both the weak and the strong – falling short of their new life
in Christ. They will soon be dead trees producing no life or any fruit.
The
Corinthians, however, are not the only ones who have fallen short. Paul has
them recall the Israelites. After the Israelites were brought out of Egypt,
after they passed through the sea, and after they escaped into the desert, many
of them tried to put God to the test, but it was the Israelites who failed the
test of their own making, and as Paul puts it, “God was not pleased with most
of them, and they were struck down in the wilderness.” Paul has the Corinthians
recall the Israelites to serve as an example. The Israelites were the chosen
race – God’s own people – and yet they still failed God and they fell and they
were destroyed. If it happened to the Israelites, what does the mean for the
Corinthians? And if it happened to the Corinthians, what does that mean for the
people of today?
In
an initial reading, one might assume that this text is saying bad things happen
to bad people. One might assume that tragedy is the punishment for one’s sins.
But if we assume that this text says anything along those lines, we fail to
address other common questions we may have or have known to experience. These
include “why do bad things happen to good people?” and “why do good things
happen to bad people?” What is the relationship between good things and bad
things with good people and bad people? Where is God in all of this? An initial
reading would not answer any of these questions, so therefore this passage
must, in fact, not be about punishment or the consequences of sins. Maybe this
passage is not only about how we are unfaithful to God; maybe this passage is also
about how God is faithful to us.
Faith
is the greatest journey we will ever experience. It also might be the most
difficult. This journey will include temptations and tests – everyday
challenges – that will cause us to stumble and fall. The truth is, we will
stumble and we will fall. We will constantly fall short of the grace that has
been extended to us. Even after years of life-fulfilling progress, we will
experience moments of temptation and spiritual deadness. Our trees may
occasionally fail to produce fruit. To paraphrase Paul, “Even when we stand we
have the possibility of falling.” The comfort, though, is the assurance that
God is the constant rock, a source of refuge and strength; and the gardener, a
source of care and nourishment. When you fall, God will stand for you. When you
are weak, God will be your strength. When you are unfaithful to God, God will
be faithful to you. You are not expected to make this journey alone. Christ
walks with you.
Let
us return to the apple tree. What should the gardener do? What would you do?
Would you cut it down or would you let it stand? What if you were the tree and
you now failed to give life to your fruit? Would you want the gardener to give
up on you or would you want the gardener to work on your behalf?
Jesus
gives us the answer. Give it another year. Let Christ be the one to dig around
the tree and to fertilize it. Let Christ be the one to care for you. Let Christ
be the one to stand with you. Because for every great and mighty apple tree,
there is one greater and mightier Gardener who watches over and tends to them
all. Thanks be to God. Amen.
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Faithful Creator, you are our
gardener and our rock. We give you thanks for your everlasting faithfulness to
your people. We are sinful and broken, but our greatest joy and praise go to
you for loving us in despite of this. We ask that you continue to bless our
lives with your presence. In Christ’s name we pray, Amen.
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