Jesus tells a story of a fruitless fig tree, and later encounters one along the roadside. In one case, we witness God’s boundless mercy, and in the other, see how the “performance” of fruitfulness ends in a withering curse. In this Lenten season, might we all give up the act? (sermon begins at 01:00)Scripture & QuotationsPsalm 13:1-2Luke 13:1-8Mark 11:12-14“Calamity strikes and we wonder what we did wrong. We scrutinize our behavior, our relationships, our diets, our beliefs. We hunt for some cause to explain the effect in hopes that we can stop causing it. What this tells us is that we are less interested in truth than consequences. What we crave, above all, is control over the chaos of our lives.”- Barbara Brown Taylor, “Life Giving Fear”“During times of doom, people become what they never before imagined. Many are sucked into a black hole of shared, mutually confirming stupidity. Some become blamers, shamers, thieves, thugs, criminals, vigilantes, terrorists, traitors, escapists, hoarders, panic-stricken crybabies, cultic conspiracy theorists, scammers, or craven cowards. Others become heroes, saints, resisters, martyrs, organizers, problem solvers, protectors, community builders, non-anxious presences, leaders, healers, and old fashioned good neighbors. There may be times when we have to make our way alone, but finding or forming a little huddle of just two or three or five or fifty can make all the difference.”- Brian McLaren, Life After Doom: Courage and Wisdom for a World Falling Apart

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