What Did You Do With My Gift?

The Rev. Dr. Skip Ferguson

Manassas Presbyterian Church

Manassas, Virginia

March 3, 2013

Third Sunday in Lent

What Did You Do With My Gift?

Luke 13:1-9

“Bear fruit worthy of repentance,”

shouts John the Baptizer to all of us.

John is the very voice of Lent, calling us to repent,

and reminding us loudly, urgently, even ferociously,

“Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down

and thrown in the fire.”

(Matthew 3:8, Luke 3:8)

Our Lord picks up on John’s warning to us

with words that are similar,

reminding us that,

“Each tree is known by its own fruit.”

(Luke 6:44)

Jesus’ words,

which come in the sixth chapter of Luke’s gospel,

seven chapters before our lesson,

are not as harsh as John’s;

they are words spoken to us,

rather than flung at us.

Still, Jesus doesn’t want us to miss the point that John makes,

that we are known by the fruit we bear,

and that we should hear those words,

and live by them with a sense of urgency.

Our lesson reminds us that while God is patient,

merciful,

and forgiving,

the reality is that we will all die,

all of us,

not because God decrees it in response to something we’ve done,

but simply because that’s how life as God created it works.

And in the natural order of things,

some of us will live to old age,

while others will die young from disease or accidents.

But none of us knows how long we have to live,

or when we are going to die.

What we do know is that when we die,

we will be held to account for our lives,

all of us,

as Paul reminds us,

called to stand before the judgment seat of God,

(Romans 14:10)

the Lord asking us,

“What did you do with my gift – the gift of life?

What did you do with my gifts,

all those gifts given you by the Holy Spirit?

What did you do with them in your life?

Did you use them for just yourself,

to assure yourself of a life of comfort and security?

Did you use them sparingly,

rarely making an effort?

Or did you use them energetically,

fervently, not only for your own good,

but also for the good of others,

the good of the larger community,

the good of the body,

the good of all God’s children

the good of all God’s creation?

Did you in your life bear fruit for the glory of God?

Did you bear fruit as my Son taught you to:

“thirty, sixty, a hundredfold”?

(Mark 4:20)

These are the questions Jesus asks us to think about

here and now, while we are still vibrant,

filled with life,

before we stand before the judgment seat.

Are we in our lives bearing fruit worthy of God?

Are you bearing the fruit God expects of you?

This is a question we should ask ourselves daily,

not just during Lent.

And the honest answer has to be for each of us – no,

we are not doing all we can to live as faithful disciples,

because we can always do more,

do more to bear good fruit,

especially thirty, sixty, or a hundredfold.

             

But the good news is

that we need not fear the ax and the fire,

if we acknowledge our shortcomings and weakness

and repent,

for forgiveness is ours from God in Jesus Christ.

Tomorrow can provide us with a fresh start,

with Jesus himself there to nurture and nourish us,

strengthening us so we can blossom and bloom

with deep, strong roots,

and become all God created each of us to be.

Jesus’ lesson for us should shake us, wake us;

he means it both as a reminder and as a warning,

even if the language is not as blunt as John the Baptizer’s.

Jesus, like John, wants to shake us out of our complacency,

our self-satisfaction,

The response, “I am doing all I can”

is not what Jesus wants to hear.

God’s words to us as they were spoken through the prophet Amos

help us examine ourselves,

provide a framework to help us put things in perspective.

Speaking through the prophet God says to us,

“…let justice roll down like waters,

and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.”

(Amos 5:24)

So now, confronted by the the question

how well we are bearing fruit,

we must ask ourselves:

are we doing everything we can possibly do

to make the world a more just place

a world filled with godly justice?

Are you helping to feed the hungry?

That’s good!

But God calls us to eliminate the injustice of hunger.

Are you helping to shelter the homeless?

That’s good!

But God calls us to eliminate the injustice of homelessness.

Are you cleaning out your closets regularly and donating the clothing?

That’s good!

But God calls us to eliminate the injustice of poverty

that condemns people to buy cast-off clothing.

To bear rich fruit is to live by Jesus’ teachings

in his Sermon on the Mount, each us:

hungering and thirsting for righteousness;

working for peace and reconciliation with and among all;

treating friends and strangers alike with goodness and mercy;

forgiving just as you have been forgiven;

serving God and God’s kingdom,

rather than the things of this world.

(Matthew 5-7)

Jesus reminds us that it is

how we live our lives that matters,

not how frequently we attend church,

nor how many committees we serve on.

As our Lord warns us,

“Not everyone who says to me,

‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of God,

but only the one who does the will of my Father in Heaven.”

(Matthew 7:21)

only those who bear the fruits of righteousness,

the fruits of justice,

mercy and goodness.

“Let all that you do be done in love”

Paul teaches us.

(1 Corinthians 16:14)

That’s as good a starting place as any

for the new life,

renewed life that is ours in Christ.

So come to this Table,

our Lord’s Table.

Come and eat and drink this meal he has prepared for us.

Come and eat the Bread of Life.

Come and drink from the Cup of Salvation.

For in this meal you’ll find new life,

renewed life.

And then go,

nourished by our Lord,

and with the warm rays of God’s love shining on you,

go and blossom, bloom.

Go and bring forth fruit thirtyfold,

sixtyfold,

a hundredfold:

the fruit of justice,

of righteousness,

of compassion,

of goodness,

of kindness,

of mercy,

of love.

“You did not choose me,

but I chose you,” says our Lord.

“And I appointed you to go and bear fruit,

fruit that will last.”

This is the word of the Lord.

AMEN