March 11, 2007
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The Norwegian Lutheran Memorial Church Luke 13:1-9 We
have an intercessor Here are many nice parks in the Twin Cities. My wife and I have used some of them for skiing this winter. At first there was just man-made snow. But later there has come an abundance of natural snow. We also were in Wisconsin a couple of weeks ago and attended the American Birkebeiner. As I go skiing, I now and then think about an interview that I read in a newspaper after the last Olympics. At the question from the journalist about what was the worst and hardest of all training and preparations, one of the athletes gave an answer that I should remember. It came straight and clear: “The hardest of all, is the battle against myself!” Those who perform top sports have to forsake much to reach their goals. But not only people doing sports know about this: The struggle against myself is the hardest part. The opposing powers within myself, be it laziness, despondency or inferiority complex, to fight against this, the battle on the home arena, is the hardest of all battles. In our Sunday service now at Lent, we include the renunciation before the creed. “I renounce the Devil and all his deeds and all his being.” The word renunciation probably is a foreign word in the language. It is not listed in all dictionaries. But what they did in church from old times, can teach us a lot about what renunciation is about: For many centuries all churches were built with the altar facing towards the East, towards sunrise and the new day. To pray turning towards the East is the old, Christian way to pray in the Western world. As one in the Service approached confessing the renunciation and the creed, one first turned westwards, towards the door, confessing the renunciation. Then one turned 180 degrees, towards the altar, before confessing the faith in the Triune God. This little physical gesture underlines what renunciation is all about. It is the same as “turning away from”, or in other words: “To say no to.” In my pastoral service back in Norway I made the renunciation a regular part of the Sunday service during Lent. We also confess the renunciation every time we celebrate baptism. It is not only valuable for us, but also necessary for baptized human beings to consider how we live. What we choose to focus on. Because life gives us so many challenges and puts us into so many situations of choice, that we deliberately have to leave the things that are fruitless. That we say to ourselves: This I don’t want to spend any time and energy on! Or that as we discover something negative that got our attention: I have to turn away from this! Lent gives a special depth to the Church year. A dimension to Christian life that we should not lose. What each of us has to say a conscious “no” to, is different from person to person. If it is food or drinks or TV entertainment or the Internet or bad habits that we have adopted. Every human being has to find out about that. Some will need help from another person, confess one’s sins and get the absolution. “Repent!” is the headline in my Bible over the verses from the gospel according to Luke that we have heard this Sunday morning. Jesus confronted a way of thinking that was quite wide spread at his time, that if an accident occurred, or that somebody got ill, then this was God’s punishment for concrete sins. We see the same issue in John chapter 9 (v.1), just as they come to Jesus with a man that was born blind, and ask: “who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answers that God is not like that! Then Jesus paints another picture of God, by telling the parable about the fig tree that bore no fruit. What speaks strongest to me in this parable, is that the gardener intercedes for the unfruitful fig tree. Perhaps it was a young tree? Maybe the garden owner had expected fruit from the tree too early? But the gardener, having the daily care for the trees, knew better what was to be expected. The gardener gets a near and personal relationship to the trees that he takes care of. I am not sure how old fig trees have to be before one can expect them to bear fruit. But concerning olive trees, I have learnt that one has to be very patient. An olive tree is not a really good, fruit bearing tree until it reaches 50 years old. So one has to be very patient with olive trees. One has to think in long terms. A man who plants an olive tree, can not expect to harvest from it, himself. He has to plant, thinking that his grandchildren are the ones who are going to harvest the fruit! I have visited the Garden of Gethsemane in Jerusalem some times. That was where Jesus was praying the last night before he was going to suffer. In that garden 8 very old olive trees with very thick and uneven trunks have been kept . In spite of their high age, they are alive, and they have fresh, new shoots. It is claimed that these trees are from the time of Jesus. Whether it is true or not, is not important. But it teaches us that some trees can get really old, and that some trees get better and better fruit trees as years are passing. The text for today speaks to me about a patient God. “Have patience with me” we pray at the start of the Norwegian service. We use a word for patience meaning a long lasting patience. I know that God has been very patient with me. I learn slowly, and I make the same mistakes and sins repeatedly. Therefore it is good for me that God is patient. Finally one thing: The gardener in this parable depicts Jesus himself. “I have a Brother at God’s side who knows about my case, and he intercedes for me.” We sing like that in a hymn by the Swedish Lina Sandell. Jesus is not passive in heaven. He is our intercessor, he talks for me and you at the Heavenly Throne. Isn’t it good to think about that? We are planted in God’s garden, you and I. In our baptism, we are given our place among the other fruit trees. The gardener Jesus has taken care of the trees one more year. He has watered them, dug around them and fertilized them. At some trees he has cut some branches before the new season of growth. That hurts, and the tree bleeds as it gets cut. But the gardener does so in order to get good fruit in his vineyard. The good fruits of faith. Deeds coming from the faith in Jesus, God sees as good fruit. Let us use the Bible text today to examine ourselves, and ask: What fruits of faith has God found in our life? Are we living in long terms? Is our life purpose driven? Do we care for those who are to come after us? Glory be to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever. Amen |
The Norwegian Lutheran Memorial Church · 924 E. 21st St, Minneapolis, MN 55404-2952 · (612)874-0716 |