In Luke 13.1-9, Pontius Pilate had just done the unthinkable. Apparently, his soldiers attacked worshippers in the temple while they performed their sacred rituals. One might expect heartfelt compassion from Jesus, but he doesn’t respond that way at all; rather he gives a warning of sorts. One that might lead the listener to think that maybe God was punishing people for their sins- you know, the sort of thing modern preachers do when a natural disaster causes the death of “sinful people.” Before the listeners can get their head around what Jesus is saying, he launches into a parable.
The parable is about a fig tree that doesn’t bear fruit. And at the end, it sounds like the tired caricature of an angry axe-wielding God who wants to cut the whole thing down. But what if Jesus’ parable was intended to wake the listener up? And what about the gardener in the story who defends the tree? The one who wants to give it a whole year to tend to it, to see that it will bear fruit? Maybe this parable shows that bad things don’t happen because God is angry. For whatever reason they do happen, and they have a chance to wake us up. And when we do awake, maybe there is a gardener who wants to tend to us – so that we can bear the fruit we were made to bear.
July 12, 2020: The Courage to Rest – Amanda Lum
July 5, 2020: Flesh & Blood – Dave Neuhausel
June 28, 2020: Just This – Michael Hidalgo
June 21, 2020: Make It Real – Jon Gettings
June 14, 2020: The Most Excellent Way – Michael Hidalgo
June 7, 2020: Do You Know Who You Are? – Bekah Stewart
May 31, 2020: Get Off Your Ass and Do Something – Michael Hidalgo
May 24, 2020: Love is God and God is Love – Scott Oppliger
May 17, 2020: The Engine of the Universe
May 10, 2020: All for One – Michael Hidalgo
May 3, 2020: So That's How it is in That Family - Amanda Lum
April 26, 2020: Beyond Kin, Family, and Tribes - Dave Neuhausel
April 19, 2020: You Look Divine - Michael Hidalgo
April 12, 2020: Easter Sunday - Michael Hidalgo
April 5, 2020: Divine Feminine Remixed – Scott Oppliger
March 29, 2020: A Child At Her Breast – Michael Hidalgo
March 22, 2020: Cooperating & Co-Creating – Bekah Stewart
March 15, 2020: Born of God – Michael Hidalgo & Maggie Knight
March 8, 2020: The Divine in All Things, All People, In All Places - Paige Harris & Scott Oppliger
March 1, 2020: A Metaphor For The Divine - Michael Hidalgo
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Life After Ministry
Cast The Word
Let Me Be Frank | Bishop Frank Caggiano’s Podcast | Diocese of Bridgeport, CT
The Bible Recap
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)