And for that reason, we can come to the parables of Jesus thinking that we know what they’re all about and looking for simple messages. Parables are often treated as mere morality tales—stories that give clear directions as to what is right and what is wrong, but that is seldom the case, because parables are much deeper than simple morality tales. If they were just morality tales, they would be much easier to understand. But they’re not.
Parables are extended metaphors, indeed multi-faceted metaphors, narratives full of metaphors which are set in relationship to one another. And indeed, it does depend on how you enter into the parable, via which metaphor, what character, or aspect, as to what you gain from the interaction. And that makes them all the more intriguing because they are full of possibilities and potential.
Parables, by their very nature, have the capacity to ask deep questions of us, to open up unexpected issues, to set our minds thinking, our hearts feeling and our spirits searching for truth—truth that is beyond any one interpretation of the parable and certainly beyond any logical treatise or scientific treatise. Parables tell truth without ever nailing it down into single clauses or inflexible, rigid rules. They reflect the complex depth of real truth with all its mystery and puzzle.
So we come to our parable for today—the parable of the fig tree and the gardener who wins its reprieve. And if there ever was an enigmatic parable, it’s this one.
Someone had a fig tree growing in their vineyard and so naturally, they went looking for figs on it but there were none. So the owner of the vineyard says to a worker, "For three years, I have been coming here looking for figs from this fig-tree and I still haven't found any. Cut it down! It's only taking up space and using up the goodness of the soil!" But the worker says, "Just give it one more year. I will take care of it, working the soil and feeding it with fertilizer. If it bears figs in a year, so much the better and if it doesn't, then you can cut it down." (Luke 13:6-9 T.E.V. Adapted)
Now before we go any further let's take a little closer look. We have a fig tree but not in an orchard, in a vineyard, a place for growing grape vines, not for fig trees. The story does not say how it is that this fig tree has come there nor why it is that it was not pulled out when it first appeared except that the owner obviously hoped that it would bear fruit. But it sounds like the gardener hasn’t been paying it a lot of attention; and why would that gardener have done so, because it is a fig tree, not a grapevine.
The story doesn’t say how long the fig tree had been there, just that the owner had been looking for fruit on it for three years. They story doesn’t say whether the fig tree is mature enough to bear fruit or whether it still needs that year that the gardener gains for it. We have some very sketchy details—and perhaps that makes interpreting the parable all the more fun.
We do know that the story is told in a context. There has been some discussion about acts of terror and disaster and the possibility that they are punishments for wrongdoing. And, in that discussion, Jesus has reminded his conversation partners that it is not anyone else’s repentance that they should be concerned with, but they’re own. As they have looked to blame others, they should be wary of their own responsibility.
And then we have the parable of the fig tree…
Now the key to interpreting parables may often be to ask questions of the story and particularly questions about the characters and who or what they represent. And since these stories are about theological truth, some good questions to ask of parables are questions like: “Who in this parable is like God?” “Who is like Jesus?” “Who are we like?” But be careful, there’s often more than one answer; and no one answer will exhaust the truth that the parable has to teach us. It is not only the story’s context, but our context that will govern what the parable has to say to us at any particular point in time. And no particular interpretation at any particular time will be definitive, be complete, be unable to be extended by other readings at other times.
We haven’t quite got to that parable of the fig tree yet, but we’re going to look at it now. So let’s ask some of our questions and test out some different ways of reading this peculiar parable today.
Traditionally, in this story, God would have been seen as the vineyard owner, the one who seeks fruit from the fig tree but does not find it. That seems to fit in perfectly with the context of the story and the discussion with those seeking to cast blame. In this reading, the parable may be a warning about a God who only has so much patience for the waywardness of a sinful people. Turn from you sins or else! Or else I will have you cut down! If God is the vineyard owner, then the fig tree is perhaps a sinful humanity who will not bear fruit and the gardener, the Christ, who intercedes on behalf of the people and gains their reprieve. In this reading, the parable reminds us not to blame others, or to think that we can earn mercy for ourselves; but to trust in the work of Christ and allow ourselves to bear fruit. And that is a good and orthodox Christian interpretation, but it is not the only way of approaching the parable; and that that’s the beauty of parables. So let’s try some other readings out too.
Let’s approach the story by reversing the characters. What happens if we reverse the characters and think about not the vineyard owner, but the fig tree as God; and as humanity as the vineyard owner. The very human vineyard owner does not understand the ways of the ways of the fig tree; indeed, would prefer that the fig tree was cut down if it does not perform to expectations. It sounds an awful lot like the way we humans approach God—do this or else; this is what we expect and if you don’t come up with the goods, then we won’t believe in you.
In this reading the story, Christ is still the vineyard worker—the one who pleads with the vineyard owner to understand the ways of the fig tree and to offer it that which is due (the necessary care and protection that it requires; the necessary worship that is due to God). This reading too fits with the context of the passage and the conversation between Jesus and the people who do not understand the ways of God and who make judgements on their brothers and sisters as to their faith or lack of it.
And still we have not exhausted all the possible ways of reading the story. This time suppose we try looking at the parable thinking about the fig tree as Christ. The fig tree is planted in a place where it seems out of place. It’s been around for three years and still it has not borne the fruit which it will bear. God the gardener knows that the tree is not yet ready to bear that fruit, and pleads with the master of the place (humanity) to give the tree and little more time so that its purpose might be revealed. The gardener sustains and support the fig tree, Christ, as the time to bear fruit comes closer. Again, this reading fits the context of the passage. When the fig tree bears fruit, God's understanding of the world will be revealed to a people who now persist in concerning themselves with the adequacies and inadequacies of their brothers and sisters.
And still we have not exhausted the possible readings. Both the vineyard owner and the gardener may be seen as two different sides of God. The fig tree is humanity and the story becomes one of God struggling within God's self over the fate of a people are unable to cope with their situation in the middle of the vineyard. And it is God’s mercy that wins out. And yet again, this reading fits with the context of the passage where people have been struggling to find meaning in their existence and answers to their questions about the relevance of religious rituals and sacrifices, and the reason for terror and disaster.
In all of these readings, the mercy of God comes to the fore; and the blame game of humanity is shown to be the empty ritual that it is. In all of these readings, humanity is asked to change its mind, to repent, to turn around, and to discover the things of God—love and mercy, hope, new life, and a continuing second chance for all.
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