The Hoe Is Mightier Than The Ax

“Three years and not a single fig from it!”

The Hoe Is Mightier than the Ax
March 7, 2010, 3rd Sunday of Lent
Exodus 3:1-8, 13-15 1 Corinthians 10:1-6, 10-12 Luke 13:1-9

Alleluia, alleluia.
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke
Glory to you, Lord.

About this time some people arrived and told Jesus that Pilate had butchered some Jews from Galilee while they were offering sacrifice to God at the Temple in Jerusalem. Jesus replied to them: “Do you think these Galileans were worse sinners than any other men of Galilee just because this happened to them? I assure you that it is not so. You will all die just as miserable a death unless your hearts are changed! And take the case of those eighteen men who died when that tower in Siloam[1] fell on them. Do you think that they were worse offenders than any of the other people who lived in Jerusalem? I assure you they were not. You will all die as tragically unless your whole outlook is changed!”


Then Jesus told a parable which pointed out God’s disappointment with the barren people of Israel, but which also indicated God’s willingness to be patient with them.

Once there was a farmer who planted a fig tree in his garden, and came again and
again to see if he could find any fruit on it, but he was always disappointed. Finally he ordered his hired-hand to lay the ax to it. “I’ve waited three years and haven’t got a single fig from it,” he exclaimed. “Why bother with it any longer? It’s taking up space we can use for something else.” The hired-hand replied, “Sir, leave it be for another year, and I’ll hoe diligently around it and give it plenty of fertilizer. If we get figs next year, fine; if not, then I’ll give it the ax.”

An old manuscript of unknown origin finishes off the parable of the three-year-old barren fig tree with these words:

The hired-hand persuaded the impatient farmer to put aside his impatient ax. Then he diligently hoed around the fig tree, fertilized it and waited patiently. In due season the tree burst wonderfully into blossoms and then into a rich harvest of figs. -- Now learn this simple lesson which all good farmers know: mightier than the impatient ax is the patient hoe.

The Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

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Introduction
Fig trees: a frequent figure

Figs trees figured in frequently in the life of Jesus and his companions. “On the way to Bethany one day, Jesus felt hungry and noticed a fig tree in full leaf, so he went over to see if He could find any figs on it, even though it was too early in the season for fruit.” (Mark 11:12-13) Jesus told parables about fig trees. On one occasion He said, “Look at the fig tree and other trees. When you see their leaves beginning to sprout you know that summer is near.” (Luke 21:29-30) In today’s gospel He tells another parable about a fig tree. “Once there was a farmer who planted a fig tree in his garden, and came again and again to see if he could find any fruit on it, but he was always disappointed.” (Luke 13:6-9)

Disasters as God’s punishment

The Gospel today makes references to two disasters. The first: Pilate had butchered some Jews from Galilee, as they were offering sacrifice to God in the Temple. That event is not recorded in any historical document, but it quite likely happened. According to Josephus,[2] Galileans were especially prone to revolt, and that was a problem for Pilate. The second disaster refers to a tower in Siloam (a suburb of Jerusalem) which fell and killed eighteen people. Because of a lack of detail and the singular nature of that disaster, it very likely happened not too long before Jesus mentioned it. Both events were evidently news-stories of the day.

The Jews of old believed that disasters were God’s punishment for people’s sins. Many, like televangelist Pat Robinson, still believe that God works His revenge on sinners. Robinson recently uttered a pontifical statement that the earthquake in Haiti was God punishing sinful Haitians for their “voodoo pact with the devil.[3]” Jesus corrects that way of thinking: the two disasters were not God’s punishment for people’s sins. On the other hand, the absence of disasters doesn’t mean that people do not need repentance. Jesus affirms the need for everyone to repent and bear fruit.

Parables about patience

So He tells a parable about a fig tree which isn’t bearing any figs. The farmer becomes impatient with the barren tree and tells his hired-hand to give it the ax, and make room for something more fruitful. But the hired-hand, who proves to be a better farmer than his boss, pleads, “Sir, be patient. Let me diligently cultivate around the tree and fertilize it. Then if it yields us no figs, I’ll give it the ax.” (Lk 13:6- 9) It’s a parable about repentance and bearing fruit. It’s also a parable about patience – about giving the barren tree a second chance.

It calls to mind another parable about patience. A farmer sows good wheat seed in his field, only to find a bumper crop of thistles growing side by side with the wheat. The farmer’s hired-hands want to rip up the thistles without further ado. But the farmer, who in this case is a better farmer than his hired-hands, says, “Be patient, you guys! If you pull the thistles out now, you’ll rip up the wheat as well. For the time being, let the wheat and thistle grow side by side till harvest. Then we’ll separate the two and gather the wheat into the barns." (Mt 13:24-30)

Patience is power.

Patience isn’t a shabby word. It derives from the Latin verb patior, meaning `to suffer.’ Patience is the power to suffer! It’s the power to suffer a fig tree which isn’t bearing any fruit. It’s the power to actively suffer the barren tree – that is to say - to diligently hoe around it and fertilize it, and then to wait for figs. Patience is the power to put off presto `solutions’ that really don't solve problems, and to wait actively with solutions which, God willing, do solve problems. Rushing out to ax down a barren fig tree really doesn’t solve a problem; it merely destroys it. Just as rushing out to rip up thistles in a wheat field doesn't really solve a problem; it merely destroys it. Patience is the power to suffer the process of growth -- to wait actively for it in our kids, in our spouses, in the people around us, in ourselves and, yes, in our church.

Tiger Woods begging for patience

On Friday, Feb. 19, 2010, Tiger Woods, the world's wealthiest and most famous athlete, in a fairly brief but tightly orchestrated and choreographed speech, delivered one of the most awaited apologies in sports history. He apologized for multiple acts of adultery: “I was unfaithful. I had affairs. I cheated. I am deeply sorry for my irresponsible and selfish behavior which I engaged in.” He begged for forgiveness from his wife Elin, his mom, his fans and fellow golfers. And he asked for patience from all of them as he continues inpatient therapy for his problem: “Starting tomorrow, I will leave for more treatment and more therapy.”

He, who deposited “one billion bucks in his bank book,” had not deposited any fruits of the Spirit in himself. “The fruits of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” (Gal.5:22-23) Commenting recently on Wood’s sex scandals the Dalai Lama spoke of self-control as “among Buddhism’s highest values.” In his apology Tiger Woods confessed, “I was raised a Buddhist, and I actively practiced my faith from childhood until I drifted away from it in recent years. Buddhism teaches that a craving for things outside ourselves causes an unhappy and pointless search for security. It teaches me to stop following every impulse and to learn restraint.”

In the context of today’s parable Tiger Woods is a fruitless fig tree begging for patience - begging for a second chance – begging for the hoe in place of the ax.

Divine & human patience

Divine patience is God’s power to actively suffer us, when we aren’t bearing any fruit. That means that God doesn’t sit on His hands; rather, in His own way He hoes the ground around us and fertilizes it. And then He retires to a center down deep within Himself and waits.

Human patience is our power to actively suffer a daughter or son or spouse, who isn’t bearing any fruit. That, of course, means we don’t sit on our hands; rather we hoe the ground around the one we love and fertilize it. We do what we can. But after that, human patience is our power to retire to a center down deep within our self. There we summon faith, and let go and let God. There we stop talking with anger and frustration to a fig tree that isn’t bearing any fruit, and there we start talking prayerfully to God.

Conclusion

The hoe is mightier than the ax
A farmer asked his fig tree:"Have you no fruit for me?"
The tree said in reply, "How impatient you can be!"

The farmer put down his anxious ax, and took in hand his hoe.
And soon the grateful fig tree began to bloom and grow.

When at last the harvest came, to his delight he found
branches laden with lush figs, and bowing to the ground.

Now learn this simple lesson, surely proven by the facts:
the farmer’s patient hoe is mightier than his ax.

[1] A district in south Jerusalem
[2] A first-century Jewish historian
[3] Voodoo, a religion originating in Haiti, merges the beliefs and practices of West African peoples with Roman Catholicism.