Lent 3 - C

Pruning in the Garden

Gossip

“Hey.  Did you see what that Stephen Harper has done this time? Look at him trying to take away people's hard-earned money with all these EI changes. And all those problems with the Senate... I'm sure he's involved in that too somehow… And global warming... when is he going to stop killing the Earth?!   

Somebody really has to stop him!

And what about Obama? Now don't get me started on him! People still are walking around without healthcare down there in that country. I bet most of things he promised aren't even going to happen. And look what he has done to the poor budget!  Yikes! 

What we need is a revolution to get rid of all of these leaders.

And what's with that Pontius Pilate character? Did you hear about that war he tried to start? A bunch of people were killed. And I wouldn't be surprised if he was behind that tower that collapsed over there in Siloam. What a horrible man! Something must be done.” . . .

It's easy to come up with a laundry list of someone else's offenses and to get enraged.

A group of people came to Jesus with a list of their leader's offenses. They were sure that this would make Jesus angry and that he would jump at the chance to lead a revolt against Pilate and the Roman Empire.

They were really, really wrong.

Instead of doing what they expected, once again, Jesus did the unexpected. He turned everything around. He told the people in front of him to forget about Pilate and to look at their own lives instead. He told them to think not about how someone else should change but about what they had to change. He told them to repent of their own shortcomings.

Kids Story

Tug of War – Needing Help – Where do we get out strength?

Repent

Repent.  What a scary little word!

For a long time, repentance was understood as confessing to someone else or to God every little thing you'd ever done wrong.  The purpose of this exercise was to unload your burdens so you could feel less guilty. Somewhere along the way, repentance became about making a highly judgemental God happy. 

It became about seeing ourselves as “sinners” who needed to be punished for our crimes; and it took on a real negative connotation; which is unfortunate because the act of repentance is actually wonderfully cleansing.

What if we were to put that word aside for now and use the word “change” instead? Because that's really what repentance is – it's about changing ourselves. Change is about doing what we need to do in order to be healthy and whole. It's about intentionally making alterations to our lives so that we can have good relationships and contribute positively to the communities we belong to.

We don't change to please God; we change for ourselves.... so that we can be happy.

And the good news is that God helps us to do this.

At the end of the day, we don't need to feel bad about making mistakes or having flaws. Instead, we need to understand that we are meant to be human, we are meant to live,… even with all the flaws and the problems. 

As someone once said, you can’t make an omelet without breaking a few eggs.

Our job is to be always experiencing things, always taking risks, always experiencing life fully.

At the same time, we are supposed to be learning from those experiences, and striving to be better… and in order to do that we need to be intentional about changing.

Living with Intention

Throughout this season of Lent, I have been talking about getting deeper into who we are, and why we do things. We have been trying to see that Lent is a time to take a good hard look at ourselves and focus on what we need to be doing to live life right…. We have talked about choosing to live in God’s way; then we talked about choosing to live with hope…

Now I am taking a little bit harsher stand and saying that there are things that need to go – there are things that need to change in order to actually walk the path we have chosen. 

I am not saying I know what those things are for you… I know what some of them are for me; I am impatient, I get angry pretty easily, I am shy and find it hard to be the first person to talk… all of those things are little things that get in the way of me living with intention – there are certainly bigger things as well.

So I am inviting you to take the first step towards letting go of some of the things that get in your way… and that first step is to simply admit it… there are things you need to change… And then, and only then, can we work on step two…. Which is to actually start changing….

The Fig Tree

Scripture gives us a beautiful image to help us with this – the image of a fig tree.

There was this fig tree in the middle of a vineyard. It had become diseased and no longer would bear fruit. 

The landowner wanted to cut it down...to get rid of it. He thought of it as an eyesore with no value.

But just as the axe was about to hit the trunk of the tree, the gardener said, “Hold it! Give me a chance to heal this tree. Let me help it to grow again and you will see how beautiful it really is.”

The gardener knew that if he cared for the tree and paid careful attention to the problem areas... if he could dig at the roots and properly fertilize it... that it would come back to life. He knew that if he made some changes to the tree's environment and to the tree itself, that it would flourish once again.

We are the gardeners of our own lives. If we are intentional about identifying what we need to prune from our lives, we can bear fruit time and time again.

Of course, we don't do it alone.

God is the catalyst in our process of change. God gives us the tools we need for the pruning. God gives us guidance and gifts and wisdom and strength – all we need to grow.

Tree Meditation

Last week I talked a bit about the idea of us being a tree firmly rooted in our past, in our traditions, and in God. This week I want to take that the one step further that Jesus did and invite you to see that if you really want to grow and flourish, you need to work on pruning…

Are there parts that need to be cut away so others can grow stronger? Are there things you need to do differently so that life can be better?

We all know this is true… this metaphor. We have all seen plants that need to be pruned. And we can all admit that our lives could use a little too.

That is what I want you to take away from this today… the idea that we are in control of our lives, and we are always given another year to see what fruit we can bring into being – but we need to be intentional – we can’t just let it all grow wild and expect that something good is going to happen!

So I want to close with a little meditation exercise… I want you to close your eyes for a moment and try to imagine yourself as a tree in the desert – withered and wasting away?

Maybe you have bark that is hurting.

Maybe you have branches that need to be pruned.

Maybe you have leaves that need to be shaken off.

I want you to think about the spots on your tree that need to be transformed. Think about what you would like to see changed.

Now, can you reach down within yourself and find God's presence?

Maybe its way down in your roots. Maybe it flows through your trunk. But it is there. Grab on to that presence...to that Spirit. Use its strength to send your roots right down through the parched earth.

Send your roots out seeking the living water. Persist. Look for the love that is yours for the asking. And God will pour the waters for your soul into the dryness of the ground.

Feel God's love flooding through you... nourishing you... pushing up through moist earth.

Feel yourself changing, from dry and withered to vibrant and full. Feel your colour returning and notice how rooted you are in God's love. You are solid yet yielding – a fruitful tree in the wind.

Living with Intention means looking closely at yourself and at all you do. This week, remember the tree that is your life. Work at nurturing it and changing it into the tree you want it to be. And then we'll gather again next week, as a beautiful, thriving forest.