Lent III 03/23/2025
The Still Point
A Time of Meditation and Reflection
The Third Sunday in Lent
... At the still point of the turning world. Neither flesh nor fleshless;
Neither from nor towards; at the still point, there the dance is,
But neither arrest nor movement. And do not call it fixity,
Where past and future are gathered. Neither movement from nor towards,
Neither ascent nor decline. Except for the point, the still point,
There would be no dance, and there is only the dance... T.S. Eliot, Burnt Norton
Peace on each one who comes in need;
Peace on each one who comes in joy.
Peace on each one who offers prayers;
Peace on each one who offers song.
Peace of the Maker, Peace of the Son,
Peace of the Spirit, the Triune One.
Opening Prayer
God of our pilgrimage, we have found the living water. Refresh and sustain us as we go forth on our Lenten journey, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Scripture Reading Luke 13:1-9
At that very time there were some present who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. He asked them, "Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as they did. Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them--do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others living in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did."Then he told this parable: "A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and found none. So he said to the gardener, 'See here! For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and still I find none. Cut it down! Why should it be wasting the soil?' He replied, 'Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig around it and put manure on it. If it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.'"
Poem: “Possible Answers to Prayer” by Scott Cairns
Your petitions—though they continue to bear
just the one signature—have been duly recorded.
Your anxieties—despite their constant,
relatively narrow scope and inadvertent
entertainment value—nonetheless serve
to bring your person vividly to mind.
Your repentance—all but obscured beneath
a burgeoning, yellow fog of frankly more
conspicuous resentment—is sufficient.
Your intermittent concern for the sick,
the suffering, the needy poor is sometimes
recognizable to me, if not to them.
Your angers, your zeal, your lipsmackingly
righteous indignation toward the many
whose habits and sympathies offend you—
these must burn away before you’ll apprehend
how near I am, with what fervor I adore
precisely these, the several who rouse your passions.
Meditation
I think it's hard to read this week's Gospel and not feel a sense of harshness - coming from the multiple repetitions of the word "repent", the tone of "...or else" coming from Jesus, even the ominous threat of death hung over the poor little fig tree.
I wonder though, what if this passage has something to show us about where we might find our true worth? Jesus is showing his audience that it's a waste of time to go around comparing whose faults and sins are worse or better. What really matters, he says, is to repent. Let's unpack that word for a moment, because it evokes for so many of us a kind of Victorian finger-wagging "shame on you!" image. The basis of the word "repent" is to "turn around", to redirect one's focus. So, we might insert "focus!" every time we see the word "repent!" and get a sense of the lesson Jesus is teaching.
The message here, for me, at least, is: forget the superstitions and judgment back and forth. We won't get anywhere wondering what this or that person did to "deserve" reward or punishment. Instead, now is the time to focus, to "burn away" the "angers" and "righteous indignation" the poet Scott Cairns references, and say to oneself: "what am I doing that is life-giving and nourishing? How am I making my life an offering of nourishment for the world around me?" Self-judgment and self-criticism become the ground out of which judgment and criticism of others grows. "Focus!", Jesus instructs instead. Rather than condemning the fig tree in oneself and others because no fruit is visible at the moment, spread nourishment, inside and outside the soil of oneself, and then see what grows. Rather than looking for the worth of oneself or others in deeds and actions, and then declaring worthlessness when one doesn't see the deeds one thinks one wants, look for worth in the already beloved being of all living things, then tend and nurture them, and watch how life and abundance flow from the loving act of tending.
Questions for Reflection
- What makes something good to you? Name three things you think are "good" before God. What makes them good? Are they good because of what they do, or because of what they are? What happens for you when you name yourself good? Say to yourself "I am good". Now, add "...because..." Make a list of ten endings to this phrase "I am good, because..." Are these endings things that you do, or things that you are?
- Now, think of three things that you think are "bad". Name these things before God. What makes these things bad instead of good? What are these things worth to you? Are they worthless? What would happen if they did not exist? What would have to change about these things to make them good instead of bad? If those changes were to happen, would that change their worth to you?
- Is there a fruitless fig tree standing in the garden of your life right now? Name this fig tree before God. What are your feelings about it? Are you a frustrated owner? Are you a gardener hoping to save this tree? Why do you suppose this tree isn't growing fruit for you? What nourishment might it need to grow? How do you think you will know whether it's time to give it some extra support, or whether it's time to take it out of your garden of life? What might this tree be for you if it stays? What might this tree be for you when it's gone?
Prayers
We bring before God someone whom we have met or remembered today
We bring to God someone who is hurting tonight and needs our prayer
We bring to God a troubled situation in our world
We bring to God, silently, someone whom we find hard to forgive or trust
We bring ourselves to God that we might grow in generosity of spirit, clarity of mind, and warmth of affection
We offer our thanks to God for the blessings in our lives
We name before God those who have died.
Now to God who is able to do immeasurably more than all we can ask or conceive, by the power which is at work among us, be glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus throughout all ages. Amen.
Accept our thanks for all you have done, O God. Our hands were empty, and you filled them.
May Christ’s holy, healing, enabling Spirit be with us every step of the way, and be our guide as our road changes and turns, and the blessing of God our Creator, Redeemer and Giver of life be among us now and remain with us forever. Amen.
Reflections this month offered by: Kathleen Schmidt
