A Sermon on the Parable of the Fig Tree
Third Sunday of Lent, cycle C, Mar 14-15, 1998
by Most Rev. Dr. Robert M. Bowman,
Presiding Bishop, United Catholic Church
Exodus 3: 1-15
Psalm 103: 1-11
1 Corinthians 10: 1-6, 10-12
Luke 13: 1-9
Some years ago, a young man was trying out for his high school baseball team. The coach asked him what position he played, and the young man said, "shortstop." So the coach put him in at shortstop for an intrasquad game, to see if he was any good.
His first inning in the field, nothing was hit his way. But in the second inning, somebody hit a sharp ground ball to his left. It looked like an easy out, but he just stood in his place and let the ball go by for a hit.
In the third inning, a ball was hit to his right, between him and the third baseman. It looked like he could have gotten to it easily, but he just stood there and let it go by. The coach was beginning to wonder what on earth was wrong with him.
Then in the fifth inning, the first batter hit a ground ball right toward him. Inexplicably, the young man ran toward second base, and the ball went right over the spot where he had been standing and out into left field. By this time the coach was shaking his head in dismay.
At the plate, the young man never swung the bat. He walked his first time up and the next two times was called out on strikes.
When the young man came off the field at the end of the fifth inning, the coach said he was replacing him, and was afraid they couldn’t use him on the team. "Why not?" he asked. "Well, for one thing," the coach said, "you can’t play shortstop."
"What do you mean?" the young man asked indignantly, "I haven’t made a single error!"
"How could you?" said the coach, "You haven’t touched the ball."
The young man was incensed. "I haven’t done a single thing wrong the whole game!" he protested.
"That may be," answered the coach, "but you haven’t done a single thing right either. Playing baseball isn’t about avoiding errors. It’s about making plays. It’s about trying your best on every chance. It’s about contributing to the success of the team. It’s about performing in your position. If you don’t perform, you get cut."
The coach turned away and told his assistant, "Look, I’ve watched for five innings, and this kid hasn’t produced a single play. Cut him. Why should he clutter up the infield?"
His assistant answered, "Sir, leave him in one more inning, while I coach him from the sidelines; then perhaps he will bear fruit. If not, I’ll cut him."
The coach shrugged his shoulders, then slowly nodded his head. "Okay, but you tell him, ‘It’s not about avoiding errors, it’s about making plays.’"
That’s exactly what Jesus was telling his disciples in the parable of the fig tree. Some of them had just been telling how Pilate had killed some Galileans. They wondered if this had happened because they were especially sinful. "No," replied Jesus, "absolutely not. All are sinners and in need of repentance, even you."
Jesus went on to mention another catastrophe, in which eighteen people were killed in Jerusalem by a falling tower. He again emphasized that it didn’t happen because of any sins they had committed. They weren’t any worse than anyone else, even his disciples.
Then to make his point clear, he told the parable of the fig tree. Why did the owner of the vineyard want to cut down the fig tree? Was it covered in thorns? No. Did it yield bad fruit? No, it didn’t yield any fruit. It just stood there, taking up space, like the young man at shortstop.
Like baseball, life is not about avoiding errors. It is about yielding fruit, making plays, contributing to the wellbeing of the team.
In life, if you don’t produce, you’re just cluttering up the infield.
The same goes for being a Christian. It’s not about sin-avoidance. It’s about bearing fruit. In the church, as in life, we can’t just stand there letting our chances to do good pass us by — whether because we’re afraid of doing something wrong, or because we’re too lazy and comfortable to be bothered, or for whatever reason we have.
If you haven’t made any errors lately, perhaps you should ask yourself if you’re really in the game ... or are you just cluttering up the infield?
Now, in many of my sermons I seem to be prodding you to get involved in ministry. My guess is that that’s something you’re not used to. Historically, Catholic lay people in this country have been asked to do just three things — pay, pray, and obey. As a matter of fact, the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church is trying its darndest to keep the laity out of ministry. The Vatican recently put out a document sharpening the distinction between ordained clergy and everybody else — including nuns and monks. They have decreed that only the ordained may be "chaplains," for example. So all over the country, hospitals, colleges, and other institutions ably served by sisters, brothers, and lay persons are now left in the lurch.
But, as you know, this church is different. We don’t want you to sit down, shut up, and drop your money in the plate. We want you to accept your role as members of the Royal Priesthood of all believers. We want you to bear fruit.
You never know how many more innings the coach is going to let you play. So don’t waste them standing around, letting your chances go by ... or worse yet running away from opportunities for service coming right at you.
Don’t think you can earn eternal happiness in heaven by avoiding sin. It doesn’t work that way.
When we come before the throne of glory on judgment day, what will we be asked? "How many times have you masturbated?" I don’t think so. "That weekend back in November, 1999, did you miss Mass?" Give me a break!
We know what we’re going to be asked! We’ve got a crib sheet. It’s called the New Testament. Jesus didn’t just give us a peek at the exam, he told us exactly what the questions would be and then he gave us the right answers.
"I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me to drink. I was naked and you clothed me. I was homeless and you took me in. I was sick and in prison and you visited me."
There’s not a single question on the exam about how many times we bobbled the ball. All the questions are about how involved we are in the game.
There’s not a single question on the exam about how many times we swung and missed. The questions are about how many times we actually got the bat off our shoulder.
Jesus knows none of us is perfect. Babe Ruth struck out more often than almost anybody. But I’d love to have him on my team and coming to bat with the game on the line. God has chosen you to be on his team. Now are you going to stand there, or are you going to play the game. It’s not about avoiding sin, it’s about bearing fruit.
All of us sin. All of us need repentance. All of us need to confess our failings to God. All of us need to throw ourselves at his infinite mercy and goodness and love. All of us need to open ourselves to his healing mercy and forgiveness. All of us need to make Christ the Lord of our lives. All of us need to accept the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and allow grace to change us. All of us need to live as new beings. That’s what it means to be born again.
And when that happens, yes, we will find that old sinful habits fall away. But more than that, we will find that we are able to do good. We are able to take chances for God, diving for grounders to our left and our right, leaping for line drives.
We will be in the game! And it will be exhilirating. No longer will we be obsessed with sin avoidance. We will be too busy doing God’s work. No longer will we be worried about having to avoid doing something that could send us to hell. We will be overflowing with the "blessed assurance" that we belong to God and that nothing — absolutely nothing — can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Christianity is not an uptight, button-down, play-it-safe religion. It is a carefree, joyous, swing-from-the-heels, risk-taking, running headlong, diving into the stands for Jesus religion. It’s by far the best game in town. So don’t just stand there; play ball!
Let us pray by singing together verse 2 of our entrance hymn, Ashes.
"We offer you our failures, we offer you attempts, the gifts not fully given, the dreams not fully dreamt. Give our stumblings direction, give our visions wider view, an offering of ashes, an offering to you." And all God’s people said, "Amen!"
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