I want to let you in on a secret.  Before Lent began, I tried something new.  I went on a retreat and spent a day with my brother, a Methodist minister in Jacksonville, reading and discussing the lectionary scriptures for Lent.  By the end of the day we had picked a single message we felt appropriate for each sermon. 

I began on Ash Wednesday making the point (or at least attempting to make the point) that change comes from within.  Jesus warned us not to be like the hypocrites who prayed in public – for their reward is no greater than the recognition they receive from others.  Rather, Jesus told us to pray and fast in private so that only the Father in heaven sees us.  The work of the soul is not a public affair – for change requires us to open our hearts to God. 

Then on the first Sunday in Lent, I talked about the need to express our faith.  I noted the difference between the inner work of the soul and the expression of our faith through mission.  Expressing Christ’s love for others is not hypocritical if it is from the heart - rather mission is the appropriate response to God’s call to the church.  A mission that serves people in need, such as Habitat for Humanity, is one that spreads the good news – the Gospel of our Lord. 

Last Sunday I spoke of the hope that arises from the deep and terrifying darkness that Abram experienced.  It was in the midst of that deep and terrifying darkness – that work of the soul, that God made his covenant with Abraham.  

Lent is the time for us, like Christ in the wilderness, to spent time in the quiet of night, in the deep and terrifying darkness.  It is the time for us to wait until we find the hope of life that comes to us in Jesus Christ.  Christ is the source of life – and that is the message I would like for you to hear today from the scriptures:  Christ is the source of life.

Now there are many points that can be made from today’s reading, so I have chosen to focus on the parable Jesus tells in the Gospel readings.

Jesus tells the story of a fig tree that doesn’t produce fruit.  The owner of the vineyard tells the gardener to cut it down – it has not produced fruit for three years and is taking up valuable space in the garden.  Soil rich enough to grow a tree was indeed quite valuable in Israel where the soil was shallow and poor. 

The gardener suggests the tree still has potential, it is possible, that all it needs is some attention to its soil.  Give it another year, he says, and then after he has worked nutrients into the dirt it should produce fruit.  It not, then cut it down. 

When we moved into our house, there was a flowering tree that had not been care for.  I had sold my lawn equipment and tools when I went to seminary, so after pricing lawn mowers I decided to hire a lawn service – at least until I was unpacked.  When the man saw our yard, he called it a “project.”  I agreed and mentioned cutting down the flowering tree in our front yard.  He told me it just needed trimming – and went to his trailer, got out his chain saw and got to work.  He liked that variety of tree and latter when it was in bloom, I did too.  He saw in it what I could not see – he saw its potential.   Like the gardener in the parable, he knew it had been neglected and needed attention.  He also knew the beauty it was capable of producing. 

We are like trees, but the source of our neglect is not the inattention of the gardener – it is our own reluctance to open our hearts to Christ.  Christ is like the gardener – present to feed and nourish our souls so that we might blossom and produce fruit.  Yet, we must accept God’s love if we are to produce fruit. 

In the parable the owner is ready to cut down the tree, but the gardener intercedes on behalf of the tree.  The tree is not of value to the owner unless it fulfills its purpose and produces fruit.  We, too, have a purpose.  This parable is not about grace, though we see that in the gardener’s asking for more time to work with the tree, which just might be symbolic of Jesus interceding on behalf the fallen people of Israel.  This parable is about the fruits of faith.  A faith that is alive will bear fruit, just a church that is filled with the spirit will respond through outreach.  Faith requires the nourishment we find in Christ in order to fulfill our purpose.  And a faith that is empty just occupies needed space.

            Faith, itself, is a response to our experience with the divine.  Our proof that God exists doesn’t come from science, but from an awareness of God’s presence in our lives.  This experience of the Divine might overshadow us, or it may come upon us slowly. We may experience it through worship, through study, through helping others, or even through listening to the testimony of others.  However we experience God’s presence in our lives it can change how we live our lives.  Like the nutrient’s added to the soil, Christ works in our lives enabling us to bear fruit. 

In today’s parable, it is clear that Christ nourishes us so that we might bear fruit and live.  That fruit, by the way is outreach – or mission and it is the fruit of our faith that draws others to Christ.  Outreach is not how we earn salvation; rather it is an expression of our faith.  It, too, is our response to God’s presence in our lives.  

Let us pray.

Lord Christ, nourish our souls that we might bear fruit and draw other to us. Draw us nearer to you, open our hearts, open our eyes, and lead us into action. For you are our source of life, you give us purpose and you give us the strength of response to all of God’s children who are in need, young and old. In your name we pray. Amen.