We often see what we want to see.  AbrahamMaslow is credited with coining the phrase, “If all you have is a hammer, then everything looks like a nail.”  Another
psychologist, Aaron Beck, realized that looking for negative things can be a
contributing factor to depression.  Beck noticed that many of his clients had ingrained destructive thought patterns nearly worn into their brains, like ruts in a muddy road.  We can hit a state where we feel so beaten down by life, that the brain no longer registers hope. Depression acts like a filter
that only lets in negativity, failure and criticism, while stopping compliments, positive feedback and hope at the border of consciousness.  Depression is like a drought of hope.  Beck’s life work was the creation of cognitive behavioral psychology, trying to find the ways through the filters,
ingrained thoughts, the ways that we feel habitually beaten down, so that hope can still spring in the mind and soul.  We all need to have a candle of hope lit somewhere in our soul.

One of the ancient signs of hope is the fruitfulness of fig trees.  Fig trees are right there in the beginning of the Bible, when Adam and Eve suddenly discover they are naked, after eating
from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they cover themselves in fig
leaves.  This is probably symbolic.  Look at the enormous fig tree on the cover of
the bulletin, and you see how incredible a shelter that a fig tree can
become.  Fig trees can live hundreds of years and are some of the oldest living things on the planet.  Rabbis often studied Torah on the cool shelter of fig trees, and the tree was associated with a quiet place to seek wisdom.  The Buddha attained enlightenment that liberated him from suffering, sitting on the Bodhi tree,which is in the fig family.

The fruit of the fig tree is often symbolic of blessings and prosperity in the
scriptures. Many times the Old Testament prophets spoke of the hope of grape
vines and fig trees.  If they saw trouble on the horizon, they spoke of fig trees being cut down by their enemies.  Eating figs in the shade of the tree is the good life.

Jesus speaks of fig trees three times in Luke’s Gospel.  In each case he spoke of the importance of
tending the fig tree, and being patient for its fruit to come, and working
towards bearing fruit in our own actions.  In Luke 13, he tells a parable of a man who is contemplating cutting down his fig tree because it has not given fruit for three years.  He is persuaded to wait one more year, fertilize and tend it, but after that he is not going to keep a barren tree wasting the soil.  Here the message is that God will be patient with us and tend us till we bear fruit, but hopefully we will get around to it and not just waste our space on earth. This would have been perceived as practical wisdom by his audience, since fig trees often took
two to five years to bear decent fruit. The Greek Stoic philosopher Epictetus, born 20 years after Jesus, said,

No great thing is created suddenly, any more than a bunch of
grapes or a fig. If you tell me that you desire a fig, I answer you that there
must be time. Let it first blossom, then bear fruit, then ripen.

In todays parable, Jesus uses the fig tree to note that we also must be patient
with the work of God.  The rest for our souls and peace in the world we long for does not always come quickly.  So we have to be watchful, paying attention to the signs of hope in our midst.  Jesus
says,” Look at the fig tree and all the trees; as soon as they sprout leaves you can see for yourselves and know that the kingdom of God is near.”

Letme note two interesting words of advice Jesus gives on how to be hopeful
through tough times.  Jesus notes that there will be times when “people faint with fear and for what is coming upon the world.”  In those times Jesus promises
to come to us, so “when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”  To me, that sounds like the opposite of what we do in times of trouble.  Most often when there is conflict, confusion,
hardship or threats to us, we hunker down and wait for it to pass.  That doesn’t naturally seem like a time to raise your head.  The Marines have a TV ad
that says they are trained to run towards the sound of chaos, towards tyranny,
injustice and despair.  Maybe Jesus words are challenging us to get involved before the Marines come in were their version of fixing things.  When others aint with fear, we are called to lift our heads and look for the signs of God’s presence.

Jesus also councils us to not get caught up either in wine or worry.  Don’t fall into
the trap of sedating ourselves in times of trouble (and in our times we have so
many ways to anesthetize our fears with prescriptions, TV and Angry Birds), nor
should we give in to the temptation of constant worry.  Worry stifles hope.  It keeps us looking for trouble rather than being vigilant for the signs that God is near.

It is Advent, and time to be vigilant and watchful for a light shining in the darkness.
We have lit our own candle of hope this morning, and during the coming
week it is our job to protect and nourish the flame.  Sometimes we must be patient with God, like
waiting three or four years for the fig tree to bear fruit.  Wishing for quick fixes is not true
hope.  Band aids and duct tape wear off.  The wound or the problem are still there underneath.  Hope seeks true healing, lasting fixes, real change in our lives.  Hope is like
planting and tending a fig tree, paying attention and being patient that we may
reap a lifetime of good fruit.

How will you live into God’s hope this Advent season?