On Not Giving Up
Luke 13:1-9, 18-21
August 11, 12, 2007

I shared a story in the newsletter about Winston Churchill. If you know much about Churchill, he was one of those “larger than life” characters. And so, there are countless stories about him—many of them true and some of them apocryphal. One account comes from a time when he was asked to deliver the commencement address at a graduation ceremony. After enduring a lengthy introduction, Churchill is reported to have risen from his seat. Very deliberately, he approached the podium. He stopped and stared for an uncomfortably long time at his audience of new graduates. He finally spoke: “Never give up!” Churchill then turned, walked back to his chair and sat down. As the stunned students momentarily sat in silence, Churchill, with perfect timing, once again rose from his chair. He returned to the podium and again announced, “Never give up!” Now, concerned that they might respond improperly, the students didn’t make a sound. Churchill once again returned to his seat. And again, he marched back to the podium—and again—and yet again. Five times! And each time he delivered his single-minded message, “Never give up!” At last, sensing that he had driven home his point, Churchill himself did give up and sat down. But I suspect that every graduate in that auditorium never forgot the speech. And I suspect that everyone who was present never forgot the message.

After considering this story about Churchill, I thought to myself, “What a marvelous idea for a sermon!” This past week, I confess that I was tempted to “borrow” Churchill’s message. What if I kept it short and sweet and to the point? In fact there are some folks here today who might find a three-word sermon to be rather refreshing! “Never give up!” (sit down) But I have had second thoughts. I decided that I better “give up” on that idea. Perhaps there are a few more words that can be said about this passage and these parables?

AFTER ISSUING A PLEA FOR PEOPLE TO TURN THEIR LIVES AROUND, LUKE ADDS A BALANCE OF GRACE AND MERCY AS HE TELLS THIS STORY. The parable of the barren fig tree is found only in Luke. You might be thinking, “But I know there are stories about fig trees in the other Gospels!” And you are correct! Both Matthew and Mark record the story of Jesus’ cursing a barren fig tree. But Luke branches out into new territory, he turns over a new leaf, he offers a more fruitful option. Luke gives us a “kinder, gentler” version of the episode we see in the other stories. Since Luke’s story is different, let’s take a closer look at it. The owner of the vineyard visits the fields to survey their fruitfulness.

Why are we talking about figs when we’re in a vineyard? Well, it common for areas of vineyards to also include a variety of fruit-bearing trees. The owner’s visit seems to be quite intentional—he wants this visit to be fruitful! And although what he finds is fruitless, the owner does not immediately go for the chainsaw! He analyzes the situation, he expresses some disappointment, then he offers grounds for his decision to his servant—which are based on some gardening tips from Leviticus 19 about 3-year-old trees. So, the landowner is hacked off and wants the tree to receive the same treatment, “Why should it be wasting the soil?”

The gardener becomes the Voice of Grace at this point. Rather than letting this rhetorical question go unanswered, the gardener respectfully offers an option, “Sir, let’s give it a little more time; let me work on it, give it some more attention, let’s see what happens.” The gardener’s solution is to offer the tree both the grace of another year and the goodness of a richer environment. And we don’t know how the story ends. Did the fourth year also prove to be fruitless? Or did the fruitless fig tree become fruitful? We’re not sure—but in this story—as in many others, we see a balance between judgment and grace, rushing to judgment and waiting with patience. A few verses later, we hear Jesus proclaiming parables about the mustard seed and yeast. It may just be a coincidence that they are in this place? But perhaps they are there to echo and reinforce the message? Good, graceful things will happen in time—don’t give up.

THROUGHOUT THE BIBLE, WE READ STORIES ABOUT PEOPLE WHO MADE MISTAKES AND MESSED UP THEIR LIVES. And I don’t know about you, but I think that’s great! Most of us have never done, nor will we ever do, some of the things that these folks did! Thank God! But we also see that time after time, character after character, story after story—God did not give up on them!

Consider some of the better-known examples. Adam and Eve were rotten to the core, but God didn’t give up! Abraham wandered and Sarah laughed, but God didn’t give up! Moses murdered and tried to excuse himself, but God didn’t give up! David was a peeping Tom and plotted against Uriah, but God didn’t give up! Ahaz sold out to Assyria, but God didn’t give up! Mary and Elizabeth had some pregnant pauses when they heard God’s plans, but God didn’t give up! Peter petered out, but God didn’t give up! The disciples dashed away and hid behind closed doors, but God didn’t give up! Jesus’ fickle followers rejected him, crucified him, and buried him—but God didn’t give up! Thanks be to God that there are so many stories about people who had imperfections and problems and painful predicaments. But God didn’t give up! God’s resume is loaded with amazing accounts of inviting wayward souls to turn their lives around and bring about good things in this world.

FRIENDS, THIS IS GOOD NEWS FOR US! I believe we have a “second chance God,” a “third chance God,” a “fourth chance God,” and so on. Sometimes we bring judgment on ourselves by making decisions that get us in a heap of trouble. Sometimes we suffer defeat—and yet, even in the midst of defeat—we remember that God doesn’t give up on us! Sometimes we find ourselves up to our neck in manure—like the fig tree! But for the tree and for us, that can be a good thing. Those times can become periods of grace, periods of growth. Even in the midst of our messes and mistakes, we have to remember that nothing can separate us from God’s love. God doesn’t give up on us—and we should never give up on God.

And if we extrapolate a bit, here’s a tough one—as the people of God, we are also called to be patient and graceful with each other. Now, I don’t have to tell you how difficult that is! It is not easy to maintain hope in the face of a down-the-drain situation. Sometimes we feel like Jeremiah: “For twenty-three years ... I have spoken persistently to you, but you have not listened!” Have you been at it for 23 years? And this kind of patience and grace comes with a high cost. When the gardener in today’s story volunteers not to give up on the slow-to-fruit fig tree, there is a cost, right? He commits himself to a year of shoveling manure. And yet, is this what Jesus is encouraging us to do, even in our limited human way? Is this what Jesus wants us to know about the kind of God we have?

A church in Fort Lauderdale was put to the test. Under the guidance of elder Dennis Grant, this church took in and began to nurture a local 12-year-old whose name was Percy Campbell. Few in the community knew him by that name, however. His nickname was “Crime Boy,” because by age 12 he had already stacked up 57 arrests. Slowly and patiently, the church members and youth worked with Percy. He got a new nickname, “Church Boy.” The whole church celebrated when Percy marked one crime-free year. But it didn’t last. Percy broke into a shed and stole a bicycle. He has another nickname—“Backslide Boy.”

What is a church to do? What are parents and grandparents and teachers and bosses and friends to do when people keep making the same mistakes over and over again. Do we just let them slip through our fingers without even trying to hold on to their hearts, their souls? Are we willing to let backslide boys and girls and men and women fall through the cracks? We talk about the importance of “tough love” in our human relationships—and there are times when that seems to be the healthiest decision we can make. But I think that when we’re talking about God, we need to let folks know about God’s unconditional love, John 3:16 love, agape love, love that is patient, persistent and persevering.

Recently one of the local television stations did a follow-up story on the little girl who wandered away from her family a couple of years ago. You may remember how hundreds of local folks united in the search for that little girl and the family dog. When all efforts seemed to be fruitless, one of the members of the rescue team spotted some dog tracks along the bank of the river. The tracks eventually led to the little girl and the family was reunited. Her family members became living expressions of joy as they gathered her in their arms and welcomed her home. One of them said something like this: “I felt at that moment as though the whole world was mine!’“ Once lost, now found.

When the fruitless becomes fruitful, when the hopeless becomes the hope-filled, it is a moment of pure grace. Never give up! And even when life becomes so difficult that you do… Never give up on God… Because God never gives up on you.