There is some kind of rivalry that says, “We are better than…” or “They deserved what they got.”   We divide ourselves into “people like them” and “people like us.”  Most of the time “people like us” are better than “people like them.” 

The Scripture for today is centered on that kind of thinking.

No one is certain as to the reason Pilate’s soldiers went in and killed Jewish men in the Temple as they were making sacrifices to God.  These men were, like Jesus, from the northern part of the country, Galilee. 

The theology of that day taught that, every time something bad happened, God was angry.  What happened this time?  These were our people.  Shouldn’t good people like us Galileans be protected?  

Jesus replied, “Do you think that they were more deserving of death than other Galileans?”  Jesus saw into the future and said, “Repent of your sins, or you too will die as they did.”

Jesus then referred to something that happened in the capital city, Jerusalem.  The wall of a tower fell on some men there.  Did they deserve to be crushed by the falling stone more than others who lived in that city?  Wouldn’t you think that those who dwelled in the Holy City of God had God’s best protection?  Jesus said, “Repent of your sins, or you too will die as they did.”

Isn’t God on our side?  We are the good guys!  Why would these kinds of bad things happen to us?  We can see why bad things happened to those people.  They deserve it.  Right?  But not us! 

Jesus said, “Do you think they were worse sinners than you?  Understand this:  If you do not turn from your sins, you will die.  It doesn’t matter how you die, the fact is you will die.  To die in your sin would be the worst tragedy.”

Jesus told a parable that said God is looking for the fruits of repentance.  The fruit of repentance is obedience.  Once there was a farmer who planted a beautiful garden, and a fine fig tree as the centerpiece.  Every year he went to the garden at just the right time, but the fig tree didn’t bear any fruit. 

One year he said to his hired hand, “Every year I come here looking for fruit and I find none.  Cut down this tree.  I am done with it.  It has had its chance and it has never produced fruit.  It is just taking up space and draining nutrients from other plants that could produce fruit.”

The hired hand said, “Please sir, it shows such promise; it has such healthy leaves.  Let’s wait another year.  I will dig a trench around it and work some fertilizer into the soil.  I will make sure it gets water and extra care.  Let’s give it this one last chance.  If it bears fruit next year, all the extra work will have been worth it.  If it does not bear fruit next year, then I will cut it down and drag it out of the garden.”

Jesus was saying that God has planted a garden, the land of Israel.  God has brought his people to that geographical spot to bloom and produce fruit.  God has planted a fig tree, Jerusalem, as the centerpiece.  But Jerusalem has never produced repentance. 

The people had always thought themselves deserving of the privilege of being the apple of God’s eye, deserving God’s protection and preferential treatment.  The Jews should have been impressed with God’s call on their lives.  They were privileged to live in the City where the Temple invited everyone to worship the awesome Lord God, creator of everything and merciful to all.  

They should have felt humbled that God had such faith in them. God’s mercy should have constantly reminded them of their need to turn from their sin, seek God’s forgiveness, and live in such obedience to God that others were attracted to God.

That just didn’t happen.  Through the centuries, God had sent prophets, priests, and kings to call the people away from their sins, but nothing seemed to work.

John the Baptizer preached in the desert to those who came out to hear him preach:

“You snakes!” he said to them.  “Who told you that you could escape from the punishment God is about to send?  Do those things that will show that you have turned from your sins.  And don’t start saying among yourselves that Abraham is your ancestor.  I tell you that God can take these rocks and make descendants for Abraham!  The ax is ready to cut down the tree at the roots; every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown it the fire.” (Luke 3:7-9, Good News Bible)
 
John had a bigger view of God than the entitled in their self-centered, established religion.  John knew that God chose the Jews and that, if they refused to respond to God’s voice, God would choose another people who would choose to listen. 

Jesus echoes John’s sermon, saying God is patient while Jesus is on earth.  Jesus is there to dig around the fig tree, Jerusalem, and nurture it so the people can have every opportunity to repent of their sins and produce lives of obedience.   

If that doesn’t work, then it will be cut down and carried out of the garden and burned.

Of course we know the whole story.  Jerusalem refused to repent, and the ax followed.  The ax John’s prophecy spoke about would come in the form of Rome’s army.  About forty years later, Jerusalem was cut down and burned to the ground.

The early church reading this scripture we read today saw this prediction as a prophecy of what would happen to Jerusalem and what did happen to Jerusalem as a result of their refusal to repent.

The lesson for the early church, the lesson for us, is this:  God is patient, giving people every opportunity to repent.  When they do what God has told them not to do, they bring about their own ruin.  The day comes when God’s patience wears out and, because of their disobedience, people bring down God’s judgment on themselves.

When Jesus spoke, those in authority thought he was talking nonsense.  How could the world exist without Jerusalem?  They were the center of God-worship.  They had the beautiful Temple. 

They had the promise given to their ancestor, Abraham, that they would be a great nation.  They had nothing to worry about.  They couldn’t miss. 

It was exactly that line of thinking that brought the warning from John the baptizer, “Don’t think because you claim Abraham as your ancestor that you are going to escape?  God can raise up a whole new nation from these rocks around us.”

In the scripture we read today, Jesus warned them of what would happen if they failed to repent.  Does this lesson apply to us?  Do you see any parallels in our attitude in this wonderful land we call our country, The United States of America?

In many ways, we feel that we are very important to the whole world.  We are a blessing; therefore, we are entitled to God’s love and protection.  In fact, God needs the United States to help hold the world together.

Whenever there is a disaster anywhere—an earthquake, a tsunami, hurricane, tornado, or flood—the United States’ Christian organizations are the first to respond.  The world benefits from our generosity.

We understand that the world economies are tied to ours.  When our economy does poorly, other nations suffer as well.

We understand that other nations look to us to provide education.  When their best and brightest students want to study the latest discoveries, they come to this country.  To have a degree from a college or university in the United States is considered having the best education. 

We are the epitome of hope for the oppressed.  Many citizens from other parts of the world believe that if they can just make it to America they can get a job and work hard, do well, and be a success.

These are the days of great trial.  We continually hear about famine, people living in ignorance and oppression, one earthquake after another, and wars go on and on and on.

We can’t envision a world without the United States of America.  What would the world do without us?  God is smart to keep blessing us.

John the Baptizer would tell us, “Be careful.  Remember God can raise up a great nation from a pile of rocks.”
 
The fact is, God is about doing God’s business.  Those who wish to join God must first understand the importance of their call, and their need to repent of their self-declared importance.

No one could envision a more beautiful and prosperous land than that ruled by King Ahab.  By God’s power, and against all odds, Elijah stood bravely and declared the word of the Lord in the face of big government and eventually turned the nation around.

Egypt was so powerful and beautiful; the world around it was a wonderful place, with its cities, palaces, and gardens.  When the Pharaoh made plans, everyone worked toward his goals.  By God’s power, Moses gathered up the Hebrew slaves and walked out of Egypt.
 
Ezekiel was taken as an exile to Babylon, modern Iraq, when he was eight years old.  He was of the priestly line and should have taken his position in the Temple when he was 30 years old.   Instead he became God’s prophet to the exiles.  Even though politically it was hopeless, he believed God’s power.  In a vision Ezekiel saw that God could take a field of dry bones and make a great army.
 
David, a shepherd boy, rose to become Israel’s greatest and most loved King, the one of whom God said, “ ‘I have found David, son of Jesse, to be a man after my heart, who will carry out all my wishes.’ ” (Acts 13:22, NRSV)

A few Sundays ago our Chancel Choir sang, and then on another Sunday our Praise Band led us in singing that song about “These are the days of Elijah.”  Now I want us to listen again to those words, read them, and sing along with  this video. 

Friends, these are days of great trial, famine, darkness, and sword.  Yet still God is patient with us.  These are the days when the fig tree is us.  We are being nurtured and cultivated.

We are called to produce the fruit of obedience, surrendering our priorities, emptying ourselves so the power of God’s love can equip us to do God’s business.  

There are many people hurting in our world today—not just those who have experienced earthquakes, famine, and flood, but those who live next door to us and those working with us and going to school with us every day. 

Their families, their marriages, their jobs all hang in the balance.  At any moment the least thing can tip the scales toward disaster.  They are looking for someone, anyone, to offer them some kind of hope. 

We are being watched by our family and friends.  Someone each of us knows is searching for the Lord God.

We have to cease looking at the world around us, divided into two groups, “people like them; they deserve the trouble” and “people like us; we deserve God’s best,” and realize we have a job to do.  God has put us here for a reason:  to bear fruit for the Kingdom of God. 

Bearing fruit begins with our repenting of our sin and producing a life of obedience.  That means we are getting busy doing God’s business, sharing God’s love.  Nothing else feeds us and gives life meaning. 

Do we understand that Christ believes in us?  He is giving us every advantage.  He is digging around the tree and giving us this opportunity to repent of our self-centered, entitled attitude and obey God’s voice as we grow in our faithfulness producing the fruits of obedience.
 
No one can sit in judgment of your life.  No one knows you like you do.  You alone have to be the examiner of your own life, your own attitude.  The Holy Spirit of God lives in us and points out our sin, our disobedience to God’s standard. 

These are the days we are being dug around and nourished, called to repentance as individuals and as a nation, so that in our obedience we can produce fruit for the Kingdom of God. 

You know God’s standard of obedience.  How are you doing?  What part of your life do you need to rethink and leave behind?

What a privilege it is to know the One who was, who is, and who is to come.

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