Manure Happens
2-28-16 (Lent 3C) Isaiah 55:1-9; Luke 13:1-9 Manure Happens The readings for this year during Lent seem to be taking us on a tour of some of the stranger passages in the Gospels. Last week, we heard Jesus telling some pharisees to go talk to a fox. This week, Jesus tells a parable about manure, gardeners and an unyielding fig tree. They’re passages that we don’t typically hear in our study and worship, passages that leave us asking questions and scratching our heads, and yet somehow they were still passages that were considered so important that they were included, both in the Gospels themselves but also in our lectionary as passages that should be held up for closer scrutiny, meditation, and reflection. The encounter starts simply enough as we enter into the passage from Luke - there are some people who come to Jesus, seemingly to get his take on some current events happening in the local area. They tell him of some Galileans who were murdered ...