Over the 40 days of Lent, we prepare for our annual remembrance of Jesus’ death on Good Friday. When Jesus was here in the first century, he prepared for his own death. Part of his work was to tell his disciples what was going to happen – but, they were not always adept at understanding his warnings. Jesus also worked to impart upon his listeners that he was here only for a short time – he had limited time to preach, teach, and heal. Jesus wanted to accomplish as much as he could before he departed the earth.
Listen now to some of Jesus’ teachings as they are recorded in Luke chapter 13, verses one through nine and thirty-two through thirty-five:
Scripture Luke 13: 1-9, 32-35
Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices.
Jesus answered, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way?
I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.
Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem?
I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”
Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree growing 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.’”
At that time some Pharisees came to Jesus and said to him, “Leave this place and go somewhere else. Herod wants to kill you.”
He replied, “Go tell that fox, ‘I will keep on driving out demons and healing people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal.’
In any case, I must press on today and tomorrow and the next day—for surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem!
“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing.
Look, your house is left to you desolate. I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’”
Here ends this reading of the word of God for the People of God. Thanks be to God. Amen
Let us pray….
Message A Change of Mind
Sometimes, I feel like I have the knack of saying the worst possible thing at the moment….”foot-in-my-mouth” syndrome. I have had many sleepless nights when I wake up and obsess over something I regret saying to someone many years ago – an insensitive comment to a high school friend or a college classmate.
I doubt I am alone in this. Religious scholar and devotional writer Kate Bowler wrote a book about this after her cancer diagnosis. Her neighbor, in an attempt to be comforting when talking to Kate’s husband, referred to Kate’s cancer diagnosis and said, “Everything happens for a reason.” Her husband was not comforted….He could not think of any good reasons for his wife to have cancer. The neighbor was trying to be kind, but ended up infuriating Kate’s already upset husband.
This morning, our reading starts with a group of people asking Jesus about a tragedy. Apparently, Pontius Pilate killed a group of Jewish pilgrims and mixed their blood with the blood of the animal sacrifices they brought to offer to God. The people who brought up this situation with Jesus wanted to know if the pilgrims were killed because they were sinful…did they do something to deserve their cruel treatment by Pilate?
Jesus insisted that God doesn’t work like this. People aren’t punished for their sins. And, bad things can happen, do happen, to good people. Why this happens has been a problem, a concern, for people since the dawn of time. There is a whole branch of theology, Theodicy, that focuses on this – why does God allow bad things to happen to good people? And, conversely, why does God allow good things to happen to bad people?
We must remember, no matter how good we are, that all people are imperfect and make mistakes. There is no causation between our sins and how much God loves us. God loves us…period. And, we happen to sin.
In response to the questions about the tragedy, Jesus told a parable about a fig tree. Unlike many of Jesus’ parables, Jesus did not explain its meaning. Many religious scholars presume God is the farmer, Jesus is the caregiver, and the people of Israel are the tree. Jesus ministered for three years – and despite the years of preaching, teaching and healing many people were not convinced by his message….they didn’t all change their lives for the better. After three years of growth the fig tree did not bear fruit. The gardener wanted to cut down the tree, but the caregiver convinced him to give the tree more time…..because, despite Jesus’ best efforts, many people needed more time. Through the death and then resurrection of Jesus, more and more people came to believe in the truth of Christianity – now, Christians live on every continent of the earth.
We are all in need of repentance. We all need to do more to serve God. First John the Baptist, and then Jesus, called upon the people to repent and do better. Repent, and do better.
The final portion of today’s reading concerns a group of Pharisees who came to Jesus and warned him Herod wanted to kill him. Jesus again predicted that his death was coming – Herod would achieve his goal. Jesus told the men who came to warn him that he had work to do and would keep doing that work until his death. This is another moment recorded in the scripture when people who had the opportunity to follow Jesus and change their lives didn’t all do so. Herold was threatened by Jesus because he wanted to keep control and power for himself – and Jesus was becoming more and more popular – Herod was more worried about his status and clout than he was worried about reforming his life and following God.
We all need to repent and do better. God doesn’t want bad things to happen to us – God didn’t punish the murdered Galieans or the people who had the tower fall on them – these horrible things were caused by Pilate’s cruelty or engineering mishaps – things people caused, not God. Sometimes our bodies don’t work the way we want. Sometimes accidents happen. Sometimes other people cause disasters that affect us. Sometimes other people are cruel or neglectful or careless.
God is with us. The bad things that happen to us are not a result of our own sins or mistakes. God loves us even when bad things happen. God wants for us to feel God’s love and to have a relationship with God. Part of being human is that we make mistakes….we sin. But, even though we mess up, God loves us. Before we mess up and after we mess up, God loves us. God wants us to admit to our failures, and admit to our sins, and do better…but our salvation is not predicated on anything we do. There is no correlation between how we behave and how much God loves us. God loves us….and we make mistakes.
So, we must do as Jesus suggested – repent for our mistakes – work to do better – and remember that God loves us no matter what.
Amen.
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