Our gospel lesson for today brings up a troubling question that people have asked for hundreds, even thousands of years. Is the cause of unexplained catastrophes the result of sin? Or, in the example given in today's gospel lesson: a brick tower falls and kills a bunch of people. Did the tower fall and did those people get killed because they or someone they loved had sinned? Was it God's punishment upon those persons that they were killed by the falling bricks? Does God work that way? Do the wicked always suffer because of their wickedness and do the good somehow get through life unscathed?

When faced with this problem, Jesus responded in faith by expressing a profound message to his hearers. And his message was this: God never gives up.

From the many true stories about the life of Winston Churchill comes the report of one particular commencement address that he once gave. After enduring a lengthy introduction given stuffily by the college president, Churchill is reported to have risen from his seat, strode to the podium and stared fixedly at his audience of new graduates. "Never give up!" he pronounced solemnly. Churchill then turned, walked back to his chair and sat down. As the stunned students momentarily sat in silence, Churchill, with perfect timing, once again rose from his chair, returned to the podium and again announced, "Never give up!" Now, terrified they might respond improperly, the audience never uttered a squeak as their speaker once again returned to his seat. Sure enough, Churchill returned to the podium again, and again and yet again – five times -- each time delivering his single-minded message, "Never give up!" At last, feeling he had exhausted his audience and driven home his point, Churchill himself did give up and returned to the podium no more. But you can be sure that every graduate in that audience never forgot that speech and never forgot that he or she was to "never give up!"

Has the church forgotten that it has received the same message from the divine? God has promised never to give up on us. All of the Scriptures -- Old and New Testaments together -- are a record of how God never, never, never, never, never gives up.

- Adam and Eve, disobeyed the very First Rule. But God never gave up.
- Abraham wandered in the wilderness, and Sarah laughed that she, as old as she was would have a son. But God never gave up.
- Moses hid and shook with fear upon being asked to lead his people out of bondage in Egypt. But God never gave up.
- Saul went insane and put Israel into a situation that appeared hopeless. But God never gave up.
- David plotted against Uriah and made it appear that his relationship with God was finished. But God never gave up.
- Ahaz sold out to Assyria, causing Israel to be set up for invasion. But God never gave up.
- Israel fell into pieces and was conquered by foreign armies. But God never gave up.
- The Jewish people became exiles in Babylon and stayed there for two generations. But God never gave up.
- John the Baptist, a holy prophet of God was beheaded. But God never gave up.
- Peter denied he even knew him Jesus three times. But God never gave up.
- And after the crucifixion the disciples all ran away. But God never gave up.

To never give up should be the hallmark of every Christian. But it is not always easy to maintain hope in the face of a down-the-drain situation. Ever feel like the great prophet Jeremiah, who after preaching repentance for what seemed like a lifetime finally said: "For twenty-three years ... I have spoken persistently to you, but you have not listened" (25:3)? Have any of us ever been at it for 23 years? Parents, do you have a wayward child that you have been praying for for what has seemed to be an eternity? Spouses, do you have a husband or a wife who you have been working on for the last few decades? Do any of you have friends or neighbors you have been inviting to church since who knows when? The message of our gospel lesson to us is this: Don't give up! Even though the going may get rough – Even though the job may seem thankless – don't give up!

When the gardener in today's gospel text volunteers not to give up on the slow-to-fruit fig tree, he commits himself to a year of shoveling manure. Have any of us ever been there?

To never give up doesn't mean the same thing as to never suffer defeat. In this week's gospel text, Jesus refused to give those questioning him the easy answer – that only the wicked suffer while the just go through life unscathed. Murder and mayhem may come even while you are involved in carrying out good deeds or sacrificial duties. But that doesn't mean you give up on God or give up on the existence of justice and mercy and grace.

The Fellowship Center Church in Fort Lauderdale recently experienced again what it means to "never give up." Under the guidance of elder Dennis Grant, this church took in and began to nurture a local 12-year-old whose name was Percy Campbell. Few in the community knew him by that name, however, for by age 12, Percy had already stacked up 57 arrests. His nickname was "Crime Boy." Slowly, as the church elders and youth worked and won with Percy, he began to be known instead as "Church Boy." The entire congregation celebrated when Percy marked one year free of crime. But now something has gone awry. Arrested once again, this time for breaking into a shed to steal a bicycle, Percy is now being rechristened "Backslide Boy."

But, should Fellowship Center Church give up on Percy? Do we just let backsliders slip through our fingers without even trying to hold on to their hearts, their souls? Are we willing to let possibly a whole generation of "backslide boys" and girls fall through the cracks because we all -- parents, teachers, friends, churches -- gave up?

Our gospel lesson for this morning has a parable in it that begins begins with the owner of a vineyard visiting his fields to survey their fruitfulness. In Palestine, it was not uncommon for land given over to a vineyard to also include a variety of fruit-bearing trees. The owner's visit is quite intentional -- the text clearly emphasizes how purposefully this man sought the fruit to which he was entitled.

Even though this landowner is justifiably perturbed at the fruitless condition he discovers, the man does not simply fly into a rage. First, he presents his observations; then he expresses his disappointment; and finally he proposes his solution to the gardener, his servant. The landowner argues that he has given this recalcitrant fig three years to produce fruit, and it has failed. The significance of this three-year hiatus is probably based on the mandate given in Leviticus 19:23, which forbids gathering fruit from newly-planted trees for the first three years. Having given this fig tree its bare minimum allotment in which to prove its worth, the landowner decides enough is enough. "Cut it down," he orders, and then further justifies the logic and rightness of his decision by rhetorically posing to the gardener, "Why should it be wasting the soil"?

But instead of letting the land-owner's question go unanswered, this gardener offers another possible solution. His tone is respectful, but this servant is obviously on the side of the fig tree. The gardener's solution is to offer the fig tree both the grace of more time and the goodness of a richer environment.

The parable ends without the reader's knowing if the additional year of growth and the enriched soil succeed in bringing fruit to the fig tree's branches that next year. The gardener had agreed that if there were no results forthcoming after this special attention, the tree should indeed be cut down. The intervening mercy of both the gardener and the landowner is a great gift, but it is not intended to last forever. Mercy is offered with the understanding that repentance must follow. The Day of the Lord may be mercifully delayed, but it is surely coming. But Jesus' teaching is very clear – we must never give up.

A parent searching for a lost child can never give up. Ever read some of those heartbreaking "missing children" posters hanging in the post office or stapled to neighborhood telephone poles? Look carefully, and you will be shocked to see that the "last seen" dates on some of these pictures are 1986, 1983, 1982, 1979. Even when over a decade has passed, a parent cannot stop the search.

"Some time back, a brief news story recounted how a 2-year-old boy had wandered off and become lost in the woods outside a certain Southern town. Hundreds of local townspeople searched all night for the lad. The next morning, the family dog led the distraught parents and others to where the little tyke, worn out from fear and crying, was sitting under a bush at the edge of the woods. The father became a living expression of joy as he ran to his son, swept him up and hugged him close. Answering a reporter's question, the father said later, 'I felt at that moment as though the whole world was mine!'"

When the hope-less becomes the hope-filled, it is a moment of pure grace. What a rush -- a rush of unabashed joy! The rush of realization that the ultimate nightmare has been transformed into a dream come true.

This is what God accomplished when the Crucifixion became the way to the Resurrection. Judgment and death -- the ultimate "give-it-ups" -- have been replaced by redemption and everlasting life -- the eternal "never-give-ups."

Amen.