[Propertalk] Fwd: [propertalk.topic] Sermon for Lent 3C: “Wishbone, Jawbone, Knucklebone, or Backbone?” or “Get Rid of that Plastic!”

[joeparrish]

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-------- Original message --------From: Judy <judy_boli at ecunet.org> Date: 23/03/2019  12:55 pm  (GMT-06:00) To: Propertalk <propertalk.topic at ecunet.org> Subject: [propertalk.topic] Sermon for Lent 3C: “Wishbone, Jawbone, Knucklebone, or Backbone?” or “Get Rid of that Plastic!” 

Dear
Friends,

 

This
Sunday’s sermon is entitled “Wishbone, Jawbone, Knucklebone, or Backbone?” or
“Get Rid of that Plastic!” and is based on the gospel (Luke 13:1-9).  Here it is:  

 

In our gospel reading for
today, we heard Jesus tell the following story (Luke 13: 6-9 CEV):  “A man had a fig tree growing in his
vineyard. One day he went out to pick some figs, but he didn't find any.   7 So he said to the gardener, ‘For three
years I have come looking for figs on this tree, and I haven't found any yet.
Chop it down! Why should it take up space?’ 
8 The gardener answered, ‘Master, leave it for another year. I'll dig
around it and put some manure on it to make it grow.   9 Maybe it will have figs on it next year.
If it doesn't, you can have it cut down.’” 
Have you ever gone to the refrigerator looking for that piece of
leftover cake or the rest of the ice-cream in the freezer and found that
someone else had beaten you to it?  You
can almost taste that cake or ice cream, but it isn’t there, so you’re left to
satisfy your craving with an apple or some leftover chicken.  That’s how the owner of the vineyard
felt!  He had repeatedly (three years!)
gone to that tree- hungry, mouth watering- almost able to taste those figs-
looking, expecting, hoping, but nothing was there.  You KNOW he was frustrated!  Not only that, he was watching his money
trickling away in taxes, because in those days people were taxed for every tree
they owned.  Here he was paying taxes on
that useless tree.  You can see why he
told the gardener in no uncertain terms to cut that stupid tree down!  The gardener begged for time for the tree,
and promised to give it some TLC for the next year.

 

That’s
the story Jesus told.  What’s in it for
us in the twenty-first century?  To find
out, we’ll have to dig a little (like that gardener).  The first life-lesson is in the answer to
this question: what was the sin of the tree? 
If you are a parent, grandparent, Godparent, aunt, uncle, teacher, or
anybody connected with children, a familiar episode from your own life will
tell you right away.  You hear a loud
crash, so you hurry into the room to find all the children looking like angels.  When you ask what happened, you get the
answer, “Nothing- I/we didn’t do anything.” 
That’s what the tree did- nothing. 
It wasn’t doing anything.  It was
just sitting there taking up valuable space, money, fertilizer, etc., and it
wasn’t producing.  It was NOT doing what
fig trees are called to do- produce fruit. 
Have you heard that every church has four kinds of bones: wishbones,
jawbones, knucklebones, and backbones? 
The wishbone is made up of those who wish somebody would do something;
the jawbone- all talk and no action; the knucklebone- knock everything; the
backbone- those who carry the load and do most of the work.  When God looks at the wishbones, jawbones,
and knuckle bones in churches, God must think about that fig tree.  Thank God we’ve got lots of backbones at St.
Paul’s!

 

The
second life-lesson is that God expects us to produce fruit- just like that fig
tree; but what fruit are we supposed to produce? Try Galatians 5: 22-23a- “The
fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity,
faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” 
How are you doing in bearing fruit, and what’s getting in the way of you
bearing even more fruit for the Lord?  As
you know, Dr. Caroline Scott really works hard on our gorgeous meditation
garden on the south side of our church building.  It was really getting nice by the end of the
summer the last few years.  The flowers
were blooming and the pond with the water lilies and other water plants was so
very relaxing.  In a word- the entire
garden was beginning to show huge promise EXCEPT for about 20 feet toward the parking
lot.  Anything she planted there seemed
to struggle and not really do well.  You
know what she discovered- there is thick, tough builders’ plastic covering that
area, so anything planted over the plastic can’t get its roots deep into the
earth for moisture and fertilizer.  I’m
not sure exactly how she’s going to solve this latest challenge (although I
know she will), but that area of the garden is a lot like us at points in our
lives.  We don’t bear the fruits God
desires because the cares of this world, our busyness, our unconfessed sins,
our negligence of Bible reading, worship, and prayer all form a barrier to the
spiritual power God is longing to give us. 
In other words, we don’t get our spiritual roots down deeply enough to
absorb the power God is waiting to give us. 
Then we wonder why we’re so tired all the time and why our lives seem so
meaningless.

 

In
closing, I’d like us to read the story part of the gospel again with the
following interpretation: The man is God; the fig tree is us; the vineyard is
the world (our city, neighborhood, family, church); and the gardener is
Jesus.  As we read, watch for the changes
I make, and listen with your heart.  (Luke
13: 6-9 CEV):  “GOD had US growing in his
WORLD. One day GOD went out to ENJOY OUR FRUITS- LOVE, JOY, PEACE, PATIENCE,
KINDNESS, GENEROSITY, FAITHFULNESS, GENTLENESS, AND SELF-CONTROL, but he didn't
find any.   7 So GOD said to JESUS, ‘For
three years I have come looking for LOVE, JOY, PEACE, PATIENCE, KINDNESS,
GENEROSITY, FAITHFULNESS, GENTLENESS, AND SELF-CONTROL on THOSE PEOPLE, and I
haven't found any yet. Chop THEM down! Why should they take up space?’  8 JESUS answered, ‘FATHER, leave THEM ALONE
for another year. I'll dig around THEM and put some manure on THEM to make THEM
grow.   9 Maybe THEY will have LOVE, JOY,
PEACE, PATIENCE, KINDNESS, GENEROSITY, FAITHFULNESS, GENTLENESS, AND
SELF-CONTROL on THEM next year. If THEY DON’T, THEN you can have THEM cut
down.’”  The gospel of the Lord.

 

May
God bless us as we rid our lives of all that blocks us from God’s power and
joy; and may we show forth the spiritual fruits God longs to see.

 

For anyone who is interested, this sermon and updated
African-American wisdom statements are posted on our parish’s web site under
“Sermons & Stuff”. The address is: http://www.stpaulsepisag.org
.

 

Blessed
preaching,

Judy
Boli

St.
Paul's Episcopal Church

Saginaw,
Michigan





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