Grace and peace to you as we look forward to this New Year. Amen.

O God, our help in ages past and our hope for time and eternity, You have gathered Your chosen people out of all the nations. Bless Your Church and make Your face to shine upon her, protecting her from the evil one and granting her faithfulness and fruits of faith in this coming year. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

There once was a sorcerer who fell into disfavor with the king and was sentenced to death. On the day of his scheduled execution, the sorcerer told the king that if the king would allow him to live for one more year, he would make the king world-famous. He guaranteed to make the king’s horse talk, and in so doing give the king worldwide fame. If the sorcerer failed, the king could kill him and the sorcerer wouldn’t object.

The king agreed and the sorcerer was spared for one year and placed in the palace dungeon. A duke, who was a friend of the sorcerer, sneaked into the dungeon and said, "You are a fool. I know you and know that you don’t have the power to make the king’s horse talk. You have no hope of success. You will surely die." "But," the sorcerer replied, "I have one more year to live. Many things can happen in one year. Perhaps the king will die. Or I may die. Or I may even teach a horse to talk. Regardless, I still have one more year!"

A lot can happen in one year. What will you do with the coming year that God has given to you? We are only a few days away from a brand new year.

Traditionally, the New Year is a time of new beginnings. It is a time when we make a commitment to do better this year than we did last year! Out with the old and in with the new. But, isn’t it strange that the same problems and perplexities that we went to bed with in 2004 are the same problems and perplexities we will probably wake up with in 2005? The same temptations. The same tensions. The same addictions. The same old sins.

Yet, with all of that bad news, the good news is that God has spared us for another year! Through all the ups and downs, joys and sorrows, victories and defeats, good days and bad days, we are able to see one more year. One more year in the land of the living. One more year where we begin six feet above rather than six feet below. One more year where we can come into God’s house and fellowship with God’s people and praise His name. One more year of abiding peace and overflowing joy and abounding love and assuring hope and amazing grace. One more year.

You see one more year brings new blessings. It brings new opportunities. It brings new hope and a new start. But it also brings new responsibilities.

As we begin this New Year, we examine the parable where Jesus talks about the responsibilities of one more year. It is a parable sweet in its simplicity yet powerful in its depth.

Jesus 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.'"

You and I are the fig tree. God is the owner of the vineyard. He has extraordinary patience. He expects to see fruit on the tree. He has left you and I here another year for a divine purpose. God has given us more time. The fact of the matter is simple: God has something for us to do. We are to bear fruit for God.

What God does not want is this … just taking up space in His vineyard. Using up ground without producing any fruit. God did not create us so that we could just occupy space until we die. God has something for us to do, and if we don’t do it, if we don’t contribute, if we don’t share it, then God will cut us down. If the fig tree isn’t going to produce fruit, why should it take up space in the vineyard and take nutrients out of the soil that the other, more fruitful plants could use? God will not waste space with a tree that does not bear fruit!

These fig trees that are mentioned in the Bible had leaves that were much bigger than the figs, so the leaves covered up the fruit. You had to lift up the leaves to get the fruit from the tree. A fig tree full of leaves would usually mean that there was some fruit on it. But not so with this one. The vineyard owner went seeking fruit, checking the entire tree, but all he found was leaves.

To an ordinary observer, this fig tree was doing all right. As far as the passers-by could see it was doing well. But when it was examined closely it was found to be fruitless.

How many of us in here are like that fig tree that looks good on the outside? Look good to those who hardly know us? Look good from afar? Look good to those who see us once a week?

We are like that tree. We know how to put on that look that says that everything is all right with us. We know the church smile and the holy look. We know how to greet everyone with a handshake and a warm hug. We know if come to church often enough and clean out our mailboxes, folks will believe that we are being fruitful. We know if we volunteer a few times and give regularly in our offerings, then others will think that everything is all right with us. If we pray and sing loudly and do things in the church, it looks like we are bearing fruit

But you can’t fool God. He knows the real you.

God is examining our lives to see the kind of spiritual fruit we have produced. Have you produced any fruit? Have you produced a little? Has your fruit-bearing performance been steadily growing, steadily declining, or all over the map?

For too long many Christians have lived with a once a week religion. We put the mask on every Sunday. Week after week, month after month, year after year. Engaging in the same sinful practices knowingly. Watching what we want, saying what we want, eating what we want. Giving God what we feel like instead of what He asks for. Refusing to obey Him. Neglecting to spend time with Him daily. Hiding our relationship with God from our friends and neighbors. Looking good to those who see us from afar, but if the truth were told we are barren spiritually. We hardly read our Bibles, seldom have family worship, don’t allow God to be the center of our lives. God doesn’t want us to just be busy, but to be productive.

The Bible says that the owner of the vineyard came and examined our lives. "For three years now I've been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven't found any. Cut it down!" That’s it! That’s the end!

I know someone is probably thinking now, this is a lot of bad news. A bad news text, a bad news parable, a bad news sermon. But verse 8 gives us some good news. The man who took care of the vineyard replied, "Sir, 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 is this gracious and patient man. In effect, Jesus is saying to God, "Don’t look at this tree’s past. Don’t look at the tree unfruitful years. Don’t look at the failings and fallings. Don’t look at those three years, but look at its future. Give it one more year."

People don’t pay to see losing teams. But this worker said he would invest time and energy in this fruitless tree. That sounds like God to me. He doesn’t give up on us when we mess up but He comes down and works with us. He labors along with us. He cries with us over the pieces of our brokenness.

Jesus came down to earth to hang out with the rejects of society. The prostitutes and the pimps. The tax collectors and the thieves. God invests special attention in unfruitful trees.

It doesn’t take long for us to see that none of us has produced fruit the way God wants us to. Thankfully, God is very patient with us. He wants all people to be saved. And so, although we certainly deserve to be cut down, he is very slow in taking the axe to us. Instead, he listens to the intercession of his Son, our caretaker. His Son became the perfectly fruitful fig tree in our place. He always produced the kind and quantity of fruit that God wanted. Never did God go to him and find him unfruitful.

Jesus now goes to his heavenly Father and says, "This tree is unfruitful, but forgive it because I was fruitful." And the Father agrees. Jesus’ fruit now counts as our fruit. Jesus also was cut down for our years of unfruitfulness. On the cross, he suffered our death so that we might continue to live. For that reason, the Son also can go to his heavenly Father and say, "You can’t cut this tree down for its unfruitfulness. You already did that to me. This tree stands forgiven for my sake." And the Father agrees.

As Lutherans, you and I believe that we are saved by faith in Jesus Christ alone. However, we also believe that faith is never alone. Therefore, if you have faith and have been granted a reprieve by God, you will produce fruit. You cannot stand idle and just use up the ground. Living faith can’t do that.

This, then, brings us to what God wants us to do. He does not want us to abuse his patience thinking, "Oh, I’ve got all kinds of time yet to produce fruit." As patient as God is, his patience can reach an end. And when it does, the axe will fall. And now one will be able to accuse God of being hasty or unfair.

No, instead of just taking up space, God wants us to produce fruit. And he even gives us what we need to produce the fruit he wants. Notice that the caretaker digs around the tree and fertilizes it. God does the same thing for us through his Word and sacraments. As he speaks to us in his Word, as he reminds us of our baptism, as he hosts us at his table, he digs around and fertilizes us. He sends us his Holy Spirit through his Means of Grace so that we have the power we need to produce fruit. As Jesus pointed out in John 15, we cannot bear fruit if we are not connected to him. But when we are connected to him, there’s no end to the fruit we can produce. And that fruit is fruit that will last.

So are we going to be fruitful trees this next year? On our own, no. As we reflect on the year gone by, we will see many times when we just took up space in God’s vineyard, just going through the motions. For these unfruitful times, we ask God for forgiveness and trust that for Jesus’ sake he has forgiven us. We look forward with excitement to one more year. In Christ, and in him alone, we are fruitful trees. Amen.