Quill Pen Words in a 4G World
There’s a story that is told of a tiny country church in the state of Georgia where evening prayer services were in full swing on a Sunday night in October of 1938. In the middle of a hymn of praise, Sam, a member of the church who lived down the road from the church, charged into the sanctuary trembling with fear. When he was able to catch his breath, he shouted over the music, "Martians are attacking the earth in spaceships! Some of ‘em have already landed in New Jersey!" The pianist stopped playing and the entire congregation stared at Sam blankly. "I s-s-swear," he stammered, conscious of all the eyes staring at him. "I h-h-heard it on the r-r-r-radio."
What Sam had heard, of course, was Orson Welles’ now infamous Mercury Theater radio production of War of the Worlds, but no one in the congregation was aware of that at the time. For all they knew, the world they knew was coming to a flaming end. Those gathered in the tiny church looked apprehensively at their pastor. Caught totally off-guard by this unprecedented interruption, he stared at Sam in silent confusion. After all, he had never had a service disrupted by an interplanetary invasion. Finally, one of the oldest members of the congregation, a farmer of modest education, stood up… gripped the pew in front of him with his large, callused hands… and said, "I ‘speck what Sam says ain’t completely true, but if it is true, we’re in the right place here in church. Let’s go on with the service." And so they did.
Most of us don’t spend a lot of time, I suspect, thinking about where we will be when the world comes to an end. Nor, I suspect, do we think about what we should do before that happens. In both of our texts today, there is an urgency toward renewal of our relationship with God… beginning with repentance of our sins. Isaiah tells us to seek the Lord while he may be found… and to call upon him while he is near. The gospel tells us… not once, but twice… that, unless we repent, we will all perish. The more I looked at the word “repentance” this week, the more I wondered whether any of us ever uses that word outside of a context of religion or church. Do you think of the word “repentance” when you are at work… at school? Are you remorseful… or penitent? Do you seek to atone for what you have done? Repentance… remorse… contrition… penitence… atonement… penance… perish… expiation… recompense… Does anyone still use these words outside of the walls of a church? These words… which were once in common usage back in the day when quill pens were all the rage… does anyone really understand what they mean any more? Or are they as far removed from us as the idea of Martians landing was to those who heard it on that radio broadcast back in 1938?
Those of us who have survived the transition to mobile wireless telecommunication… and watched it expand to include gaming… streaming video and data… and HDTV… and are now poised for the next generation 4G technologies to emerge… we would have no idea what these words mean were it not for the fact that we were raised in the musty… dusty… cobwebbed… leather-bound, gold-leafed world of the church. How can we expect these words to have any meaning for anyone who has never set foot in a church? These words are as relevant to them as horses and buggies and quill pens are to us today. And we probably understand them as well as the tiny congregation in Georgia understood Martians in 1938. Just listen to this explanation of repentance offered by a scholar of religion… and I quote: “Almost all agree that repentance requires five elements: recognition of one’s sin and sins… remorse… desisting from sin… restitution where possible… and confession.” He then goes on to tackle each one of those concepts in greater detail, using the same five-dollar words that are virtually unknown outside of the word of religion or the law. At the end of it, I was not sure that I was any closer to being able to define it for you… or for me… than I was before I read his essay. I mean, really, when was the last time that you used the words “remorse” or “desist” in a conversation?
What if we try to put it in language that is simpler and more contemporary… recognizing that we might lose some nuances of meaning along the way? Let me take a stab at it: To repent is to recognize that we have done something that is bad or wrong… to feel sorry that we have done it… to admit that we have done it… to stop doing it… and to try to make it up to the person who was hurt by what we did. To miss any of these components of repentance is…according to this scholar… not to repent. You see, repentance is more than an intellectual exercise. It has components of humbleness and humility that are only achieved if others know of the depth of our awareness of our wrong and our regret for what we have done. How often have we encouraged our children to say “I’m sorry” and then realized that what came out of their mouths was not an admission of guilt at all, but a defiant repudiation of adult control that was couched in terms that minimally met our demands of them. This is, perhaps, why the image of Jesus washing the disciples’ feet is so powerful… because he demonstrates with his actions the level to which he is willing to go in order to serve others. Repentance for each of us is for us to go through the steps of washing the feet of the one we have wronged… even if… or perhaps especially if… the one we have wronged is our worst enemy.
Any of you who have been exposed to any Twelve Step Program can see the entire process of repentance… as this scholar has defined it… laid out as a program of actions that must be taken by the one who really wants to change his or her life. As summarized by the American Psychological Association, the process involves a) admitting that one cannot control one's addiction or compulsion; b) recognizing a greater power that can give strength; c)examining past errors with the help of a sponsor; d) making amends for these errors; e) learning to live a new life with a new code of behavior; and f) helping others that suffer from the same addictions or compulsions. Sound familiar? These are the actions of a person who is truly repentant… one who sincerely wants to change.
Do you remember the story of the fig tree in our text today? The master wanted to cut the tree down… to get rid of it… because it had not produced any fruit. But the issue is deeper than the lack of fruit. Richard Jensen, a Biblical scholar and author, defines repentance in this way: “Repentance,” he says, “is not a fruit problem; it is a root problem. It is the root of who we are that is a problem in God's eyes. So repentance cannot be composed of "I can" statements. "I have sinned, God. I am sorry, God. I can do better." Repentance, rather, must be composed of "I can't" statements. "I have sinned, God. I am sorry. God, I've tried and tried and tried but I just don't produce good fruit. I can't seem to do better. I need you… [or your gardener…] to work on the roots of my life. Give me a new life, God. Give me your life. I can't. You can." To recognize our human frailty… to admit publically that we cannot rise above our sinful nature without God’s help… is the first step to true humility… true humbleness… true repentance. Our refusal to admit our weakness… our human stubbornness… if you will… has its roots in pride. That pride gets in the way. It comes between us and our Creator… making it impossible for us to mend our broken relationship. “I was wrong… and I am sorry” is only part of the equation. “I know that I cannot fix it myself… I need you, God, to make me a better person” is the rest.
Going back to our story of the fig tree, do you remember the gardener? The master wanted to cut the tree down, because it had not produced any fruit. But it was the gardener who intervened… who asked the master if he could work with the tree for one more year… to see whether it could produce any fruit… with his help. There are some lessons that seem obvious to us here: The first is that the fruit we produce is the evidence of our faith… the tangible product of a lively and active faith. The second is that the gardener… in this case, Jesus… is willing to work with us to help us produce such fruit… even if we have never done so before. Jesus is, after all, the patron saint… if you will… of lost causes… the one who is well aware of our human limitations. Let me add just one more layer of interpretation to this story. Jeremias tells us that, according to Jewish laws laid out in the book of Leviticus, the first three years of a fig tree's growth were allowed to elapse before its fruit was considered clean (Lev 19:23). Since the master in this story has been looking for edible fruit for three years, we must conclude that six years have already passed since this fig tree was planted. This fig tree, then, is hopelessly barren. It hasn’t a chance of producing any fruit. Nevertheless, this gardener is willing to give this fig tree another year of his time and attention… providing far greater care than he would normally give a fig tree… in order to save this particular tree from the axe… from the fire.
You and I should have produced fruit by now. In fact, we are several growing seasons beyond where we should have produced some tangible evidence of our faith. Our time has passed. We should be cut down and thrown in the fire… giving up our space in God’s garden to new fig trees… ones that might produce fruit. But… while the Master has already passed judgment… our Savior has intervened… to obtain for us… a stay of execution. He is willing to work harder this year to help us grow in our faith and produce fruit. He will do everything he can to make the conditions right for that to happen. He… in fact… is willing to lay down his life for us. What are we willing to do for him? Anything? The gospel says to start with repentance… for, without that, we will all perish. Isaiah says do it now… seek the Lord while he may be found… and call upon him while he is near. And your pastor says, I think we need to listen up. All the 4G technology in the world won’t save us if we find ourselves the victims of an interplanetary invasion… if the end of the world comes. But God can save us… and our Savior will save us… if we will turn to him. Amen? Amen.
Luke 13:1-9