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Lent 3C - Luke 13:1-9
In today’s reading, some people come to Jesus with news… apparently some Galileans were preparing animals for sacrifices and were killed… It was said that Pilate mixed their blood with the blood of the sacrifices. We don’t know why they came to Jesus with this… Maybe they were seeking to arouse his anger are so that he would rise up and lead the rebellion so many longed for. Or maybe they were hoping to trap him by getting him to speak out against the atrocity… offering a word of sedition so that he might get in hot water with the Romans. But I think that maybe… Maybe… they really were curious to know what Jesus would have to say about this terrible event. After all, Jesus has spoken often about judgement… and the Jews did believe that calamity and suffering were the result of sin. They did hold onto the idea that bad things happen to good people. When bad things happened… There must be a reason. Those it happens too must a deserved it even if others did not know why. Jesus, plainly states that this is just not the case: “He asked them, “Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans? No, I tell you….”” Jesus then goes further relating this story two another known tragedy, and again states that the tragedy is not a result of the victims being worse sinners than others. They did not die because they were sinners… They were no worse than those who did not die. This was not some punishment from God… Calamity does not pick and choose so cleanly. As Jesus points out in his Sermon on the Mount “… [God] makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the on righteous.” [Matt. 5:45] In fact there are many times in scripture where Jesus contradicts the theory that suffering is caused by some perceived sin… whether the victims or their parents’. He says that’s not the case… the unfortunate reality is that bad things do, in fact, happen to good people. Sometimes the good suffer… Sometimes the bad prosper. Jesus made his statements, and then refused to debate the idea any further. Instead, he turns the subject from those who perished to those who were still there… He offered an urgent warning… Not once but twice… he warned his listeners that “unless you repent, you will all perish as they did.” You see… Last week, we heard how Jesus offers a lament over Jerusalem and their failure to heed the word of God told by prophets. Jesus recognizes that, while Israel was the chosen people of God, they were heading for disaster… They had it wrong… He did not come to lead a rebellion … To overthrow the Roman Empire… He came, offering grace and revealing the fullness of God’s love for all of creation. He came to lead God’s people in their mission. Israel was privileged… they were the people who knew the Lord and were in a covenant relationship with God. But their privilege came with responsibility. They were called not only to love the Lord their God … But they were expected to bear fruit… To be a light to all the nations. To make God known to the rest of the world by being the example of those who lived God’s ways. That’s why he goes on to tell the parable of the fig tree. He tells of a fig tree that is planted in a vineyard But it fails to bear fruit. The owner of the vineyard Decides to have a destroyed, but the caretaker asks for another chance … “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.” Israel was the fig tree… the one that was failing to bear fruit. Instead of following God’s ways, Israel had turned to the things of this world: power, wealth, status, and had failed to bear the fruit they were meant to bear. So Jesus calls the people to repent… Not to spare them from any calamity that might be coming… Not as a guarantee of their safety and prosperity… Come on… The world doesn’t work that way… They needed to repent so they might live. They needed to repent… to change their ways and turn back to God. To live as God calls them to live, and bear the fruit that is their responsibility to bear. God is patient… but patience sometimes runs out… thankfully Jesus came and has acted as a mediator… A caretaker … Making the intercession not just for Israel, but for us as well . Requesting more time… saying “give me another year… Let me care for them and see if they bear fruit. “ Jesus tells the people that they must repent because Jesus knew that it was possible for a person… Even on nation… To turn to make a change and by an act of faith receive the power for creative, abundant life. So, let me ask you… How are we any different? How are we any better? If Jesus came today what would he say about our nation in this time? I don’t know about you, but that thought actually scares me… Would he look at us and tell us we are good … That we are right… That we are better than the other sinners of the world? The truth is we are not. We are now what Israel was then. We are the fig tree planted in God’s vineyard. We’re called … As children of God… As disciples of Christ Jesus… To live God’s ways. We’re called to follow God’s commands and God’s laws. We are called to be a light to the nations and show God to the world through our words and our actions… to not only love God, but to love our neighbors and our enemies… ALL of them… and yet far too often we find that we fail to bear the fruit and we’re meant to bear. We fail to shine the light of God’s love for the world to see… We fail to bear the fruits of the spirit: Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Just like the people of Jesus’ time… We look around this world today and see calamity and tragedy all around us. Sometimes we wonder if it’s God’s will for these terrible things to happen … Did the one who suffers do something to deserve it? But more often, we turn it around… we prosper and good things happened us because we believe… We have faith that are rewarded… But as Jesus said God “makes a sunrise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the on righteous…” [Matt. 5:45] … calamity and prosperity neither one is so picky… Neither one is that specific in choosing… Life is not Santa’s list of naughty vs. nice with the good receiving the great gifts and the bad receiving coal in their stockings. Are victims of tornadoes and earthquakes, accidents and wars any worse sinners than we are? No… We are all sinners. We all fall short. The problem is we often forget is that sin does not come in degrees. This sin is a small one… so don’t worry… That sin is great… so panic! WE act like since we don’t commit the “biggies” … murder, theft… etc. we are ok… we are better than others… but… Sin is sin. All sin is bad in the sight of the Lord and we all need to repent as Jesus warned us otherwise our fate will be like the innocent who perished… If we continue to sin we too will perish. If our lives are like the fig tree in Jesus’ parable… Fruitless, barren, a waste of space and good soil… There are only two choices; 1. To be cut down, destroyed or 2. To repent … To turn back to the Lord and begin to bear fruit. We are the fig tree. We were planted by God: created and cared for… and also responsible for bearing fruit. Jesus gave his life on the cross… Not for his sins… but for ours… Offering salvation, and giving us the time and ability we need to repent and live. The Holy Spirit is our caretaker. Caring for us… Fertilizing us (so to speak) … Helping, pruning, and guiding to enable us to bear fruit and live eternally. God has been patiently waiting. Giving human beings chance after chance after chance to be fruitful… but God’s patience is not without limits… Unless we repent… unless we turn back to God and change our ways… The justice of God will one day be visited upon us. The useless, fruitless person risks perishing. Lent is a time of pruning… It’s not meant to cause pain or sorrow, but to make our lives more productive for the fruits of the spirit. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we are able to live fruitful lives… to learn and grow and become more and more like Jesus… becoming better human beings. This will not spare us from the calamities of life but fruitful lives will never be destroyed. Because as John tells us “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” [John 3:16] Amen
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Yeon Shin
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