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.
February 23, 2020: A New Economy – Amanda Lum
February 16, 2020: Enough is Enough Leads to Having Enough
February 9, 2020: No Pain, No Gain – Bekah Stewart
February 2, 2020: The Fabric of the Cosmos – Michael Hidalgo
January 26, 2020: Peace Be With You – Dave Neuhausel
January 19, 2020: Freedom, Sight, and Favor – Michael Hidalgo
January 12, 2020: Watch This – Allen Hilton
January 5, 2020: It's Always This AND That – Michael Hidalgo
December 24, 2019: Christmas Eve Gathering – Wonder
December 22, 2019: Mothers & Dragons - Michael Hidalgo
December 15, 2019: I've Heard This Before – Amanda Lum
December 8, 2019: How Did This Happen? - Kent Dobson
December 1, 2019: A Tale of Two Kingdoms – Michael Hidalgo
November 24, 2019: Loved & Capable of Loving - Amanda Lum
November 17, 2019: Breath, Water and Blood – Michael Hidalgo
November 10, 2019: The Burden of Being Fully Human – Scott Oppliger
November 3, 2019: Love > Fear – Michael Hidalgo & Maggie Knight
October 27, 2019: I Am God – Bekah Stewart
October 20, 2019: What Does it Matter Anyway – Amanda Lum
October 13, 2019: One Life – Michael Hidalgo
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