Nourishment
Third Sunday in Lent
Psalm 63:1-8 and Luke 13:1-9
I find myself rooting for the fig tree in this story. Mainly because it reminds me of my childhood memories of my grandparents’ home where they had two beautiful and flourishing fig trees.
Being younger than my three siblings, I had the privilege of visiting with my grandparents after they had gone to school for the day. My Mama and I would often go over and help with the gardening and feeding the animals. It was always a treat to be able to walk the farm with my Papa as he would point out all the details that I needed to know about all that he did to make the farm prosperous.
If we were lucky enough to have lunch with them, I would sometimes ask my Grannie if she would cook fig tarts. She was always willing to accommodate, and would reassure me with a smile as she would go to the freezer and pull a prepared batch of fig preserves stored there from a previous day’s work.
However, there was always a catch to my receiving these special fig tarts, and I knew that my request came with the stipulation that required I go and pick a bucket of figs to replace the preserves we were eating.
I loved picking the figs almost as much as I enjoyed eating the tarts. The great thing about fig trees is that they don’t grow extremely high, and they are great for climbing. Many of the limbs would droop close to the grown, so I didn’t necessarily have to climb the tree to retrieve the ripe figs, but for me, it seemed necessary to include the climbing.
These are the joyful memories that I have that lead me to rooting, or cheering for the fig tree in Jesus’ parable. Knowing how beautiful my grandparents’ trees were, I feel certain that given the opportunity and the support that this tree needs, it too will survive.
As we have learned from having our own little garden inside our Fellowship Garden here at church, gardening takes a lot of care, patience and nourishment to be able to deliver beautiful greens that nourish us. It requires that we are attentive to the needs of the plants for growth. It is the same with the fig tree.
The man had not received any fruit from his tree for three long years, and in his frustration, he commands the gardener to cut it down.
Immediately, the gardener offers help, much the same as my Property and Grounds Committee of gardeners helped us with our flourishing garden.
The gardener, being wise, knows the tree is not dead yet, and that it only needs attention, nurturing and nourishment to survive and produce the fruit the man is looking to harvest.
The man relinquishes to the gardener the permission to let it grow one more year, and the love and nurturing begins.
The gardener pulls back the dirt from around the roots and applies the rich fertilizer to allow the tree to welcome the nourishment that is being provided.
If we apply this same principle to ourselves, our friends and our neighbors, we can consider how we are being attentive to our needs, as well as those around us, and are we getting nourishment to bear fruit?
I would say that most of us are doing a good job with making sure we get something to eat to nourish our physical bodies; however, are we giving ourselves the same attention to our spiritual nourishment that our souls require so that we thrive and produce fruit?
In the first part of our Luke scripture, Jesus warns the people to repent or perish. Additionally, he is letting them know that no one is better than any other, and they all equally and individually need to repent in order to survive.
The fig tree is a continuation of what is required in order that we not perish. It’s like when you are on an airplane and they are running through the safety drill as you taxi the runway, and they instruct you in an emergency to first place the oxygen mask on yourself, and then on your child.
The point being that you cannot help the person next to you until you first take care of yourself. Jesus is saying that unless you repent, you will perish, and you cannot bear fruit.
God offers us the same grace and mercy that the gardener requested for the fig tree. God allows us time to repent and change direction in those parts of our lives that need change, so that we can be nourished by the Holy Spirit and flourish.
Like the Psalmist, we seek God when our soul thirsts, and when we become weary in a dry land. When we have doubts about what tomorrow brings because we have lost someone we love, or we are dealing with an illness that we do not know where it will lead, we turn to God to give us grace and mercy and to nourish us or sustain us to go another step; to face another day.
There has been no better gardener than Jesus, who was sent to show us the way, to care for us, and to save us from our sins so that our relationship with God can be restored and flourish.
In times of trouble and trials, we turn to God to nourish our spirits so that we can be lifted up to not only survive again, but to help others we know who are dealing with their own troubles and trials to also survive.
Lent reminds us that we have this time for spiritual growth. It’s set aside on the church calendar on our journey to Easter to examine our lives and look at what we need to change in order to walk in the image of Christ.
Lent takes its name from an Old English word for “spring.” It is a springtime for our souls to be pruned, nourished and bear fruit. It’s a time for spiritual growth when you feel you may be heading in the wrong direction in life, and you are searching for the direction that yields better results, repent, turn around, the time is now to look to God and see where the Holy Spirit is leading you to bear fruit for the glory of God.
Changing directions might mean that you are being led into doing something for others, like volunteering service to Break Bread, or going for a cup of coffee or lunch with a friend dealing with grief or illness that just needs a friend to listen.
There are many good fruits that we can bear and nourish to strengthen our inner spirits, and to share with others. Fruits like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. These are all fruits shared by Christ with others, and they are the fruits planted within us waiting to be nourished and thrive.
God’s grace and mercy is extended to us again and again. Christ’s teachings are told to us over and over so that we learn and we thrive. The Holy Spirit brings the nourishment when we are ready to reach out and receive it.
When we look at our lives and recognize what we need to give up or take up in order to bring ourselves greater joy to bear fruit, then we recognize the time to repent and acknowledge what is required of us to have a fruitful relationship with our God.
If we consider that our bodies never stop thirsting or being hungry, then we can also ask ourselves, do our souls ever stop thirsting and being hungry for our Lord to fill us and satisfy us?
My prayer is that as we continue this journey in Lent, that we recognize if there is a longing within us that needs to be filled.
If you find yourself searching for something to satisfy this longing, and you are not sure exactly what it would take to satisfy you, may you find your answer by praying, O God, you are my God! There, may you find your nourishment and help to fulfill your longing, and may you sing with joy.