LENT III

Luke 13:1–9

There were some present who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. Jesus 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 Jesus 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?’ The gardener 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.’”

Reflection -- by Sam Prince

In a college drawing class, I was once given an assignment to create a narrative piece of art—one that would beautifully and effectively tell a story. The catch was, I could only use a pen and permanent ink. Despite my countless hours of intensive brainstorming, planned sketching, and focused efforts to “perfectly” execute my vision, it was in the final stages of my drawing that an unsuspected and unwanted blotch of ink appeared in the middle of the page.

After the horror of realizing there was no going back, I was forced to make a choice: I could give up on the piece, forget about the story I was trying to tell, choose to see the blotch as a waste of space, and wallow in my dismay asking the age-old question: "WHY did this happen?"

…OR, I could choose to see this blotch as an opportunity to re-engage my imagination, spark my creativity, and ask, “What now?” I could utilize this unexpected and seemingly dreadful circumstance to think of creative ways to continue drawing my picture, telling the story I had begun in a new way, now with a redemptive dialogue.

This is the agony of creation.

While it is not my intention to trivialize human suffering to a drop of ink, I think great truth can be found in the creative process. It is in this ongoing activity of re-imagination that we experience the call of God, the Great Creator, to repent—to see things differently and to do something about it.

Take the text at hand. Here, the people ask Jesus about suffering with a tangible experience of their own. What I love is that instead of allowing them to get stuck asking “Why?” Jesus encourages them to be creative.

As I read this passage in its entirety, I hear Jesus saying: Yes, suffering happens; and it’s not the consequence of this people’s sin. SO, unless you repent and see things differently—stop asking, “Why?” and start asking, “What now?”—you will be like a fig tree that bears no fruit. And this lack of creativity will leave you feeling unfulfilled and unresolved. YET, no matter how long you have been uncreative, and no matter how much you might feel like a “waste of space,” the Good Gardener, the Great Artist, is always there realizing your potential and, with Grace, offering you another chance.

Let this Lent be a time for repentance—for re-engaging our imagination and choosing to see suffering in a new way. Let us ask God and ourselves how we might be creative with the blotches of ink on our own page. How might we continue to tell the story that has begun, only now with a redemptive dialogue? …because after all, the roll of an artist is not simply visionary. The roll of an artist is to produce something that changes the world; and with God’s grace we can do it.

During the Week

What are the “blotches of ink” that have fallen on the page of your life? Offer them to God in prayer. Then, ask yourself how these circumstances might be an opportunity to engage your creativity and imagine life in a new way. How might you incorporate these blotches to continue making a beautiful piece of art that tells a story of redemption?

In order to create the “masterpieces,” artists must always dig deep within themselves and do the work of creating, no matter how ugly they think some of their creations might be. This is the digging and spreading of manure. Is there any work that needs to be done in your own life that will help you to bear fruit? Anything you could dig up and get rid of or take up and spread like manure? Are there things you can do today, this week, this Lent?

Do you ever feel like a waste of space? Maybe you feel like you ARE the blotch of ink or the fig-less fig tree? Try to re-imagine yourself and your life as part of a greater picture, a bigger garden, a larger story that continues to unfold. And know that the Great Artist, the Good Gardener, is always there waiting to help you be creative and bear fruit.