Spring Training #1 - Wait Until Next Year Series

Today we begin a new message series entitled, “Spring Training.” As you may know, Spring training is baseball’s equivalent to the preseason and it started sometime around 1870 when teams went out to California and Arizona to get ready for the real season. After a month of daily games, the team would barnstorm their way back to their hometown hoping to gather a few extra fans along the way. It was March 5th this year when the pitchers and catchers were required to report and it will be another couple of weeks until the games actually begin but this time of year comes with a lot of hope. It’s no longer “wait til next year.” It is next year and it’s time to figure out who the team can rely on, who’s good and who’s going to be there on opening day.

Lent is spring training for Christians. We were asked to report on Ash Wednesday and some of you held out. I know it was probably the contract that the management sent you. It does have some tough clauses. Or maybe for you, it was the contract didn’t specifically mention you has to participate. I know the bible doesn’t say anything about the Lent but do you really think the owner would disagree with a little extra training on a yearly basis? Of course not! As long as the practice is focused on generating a more authentic or real relationship based on crazy love, He’s already given his approval. However, instead of just pitching, catching and hitting, we are fine tuning our repentance, fasting and almsgiving along with the other basics of the faith.

In today’s reading from the Bible, Jesus is barnstorming towards Jerusalem, his hometown stadium, and fans and players alike are walking with Him as he teaches the finer art of following God. It must have been a great time to be with Jesus on that team of disciples. The camaraderie and the free flow of communication must have been so enriching.

It is from this free flow of info, Jesus comments on an idea we need to discuss this season. Before I read, let me give you a little of the context. The folks in the town of Galilee were considered terrorists by the occupying Romans. The Galileans were bent on an armed revolt of the Roman authority. The Roman leader of the area at that time was a man by the name Pilate. The best we can surmise because there is no written account, Pilate went into Galilee to search for traitors and killed them in the temple as they were performing rituals to God. Not a wise move. Ultimately, he would lose his position in the government for mishandling a disturbance in Samaria and because he was found to be an ineffective ruler. At one point, he diverted religious money from the temple and used it to attempt to build an aqueduct at the pool of Siloam. The Jews did not like him and often complained about his corrupt leadership. Now, let’s read the text……..

Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. Jesus answered, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them--do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish." Then he told this parable: "A man had a fig tree, planted in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it, but did not find any. So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, 'For three years now I've been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven't found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?' "'Sir,' the man replied, 'leave it alone for one more year, and I'll dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.'"

Jesus’ comments tell us of a deeply rooted religious error present during His lifetime. It was the Jewish thought that if you died as part of a tragedy, your suffering was because of some grave sin in your life and God punished you. While it’s true, some sinful behaviors do lead to our destruction and the destruction of others in the here and now, suffering and problems are a part of life on earth. Tragedies happen! There is not much you, I or they could do about it. We can prepare for the worst but life and death are going to happen. It’s a fact: no one gets out of this world alive. We will all die someday. I think many people want to avoid this fact or live like there is no life after this one. It sure makes it easy to justify living for oneself. It makes it easy to do whatever feels good. It makes it simple to think when you cheat at school, lie to your friends, steal from your employer, sleep with someone who you’re not married to, look at porn, over eat, criticize those in authority and don’t live up to your commitments that you are still a good person just smarter than the rest of the world because if there was a God He would have stopped others. However, this type of viewpoint is flawed. It fails to recognize there are two worlds at play – spiritual and physical. The real tragedy of life is not told in William Shakespeare play “Hamlet” but in the lives of those who fail to realize that what we do in life does have eternal consequences.