Luke 13:1-9
At that very time there were some present who told him about
the Galileans
whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.
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; but unless you repent,
you will all perish as they did.
Or those eighteen who were killedm when the tower of Siloam fell on them —
do you think that they were worse offenders than all the
others living in Jerusalem?
No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish
just as they did."
Then he told this parable:
"A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard;
and he came looking for fruit on it and found none.
So he said to the gardener, 'See here!
For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig
tree,
and still I find none. Cut it down! Why should it be wasting
the soil?'
The gardener replied, 'Sir, let it alone for one more year,
until I dig around it and put manure on it. If it bears
fruit next year, well and good;
but if not, you can cut it down.'
Today’s scripture is in two parts, and therefore your sermon
will be also. The first part of
the scripture addresses the age old question, of, “Does God
punish sin with suffering?”
In the beginning of the scripture. Jesus is told of Pilate
killing a group of Galilean
religious pilgrims in the temple. Jesus responds, "Do
you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse
sinners than all other Galileans?” in other words, Jesus asks, “Do you think
they were killed because they were sinful? No, I tell you.” Jesus says. Jesus
doesn’t see this suffering as a punishment for the Galileans’ sin. He is
unwilling to blame to blame the victim. Likewise, he points to random
accidents, saying that those eighteen whom the tower fell on, were also no more
sinful than anyone else. Jesus does not try to explain why bad things happen to
people. Jesus does not try to explain why kindergartners are slaughtered, or
why hurricanes hit Haiti.
Jesus does not try to explain why there are wars Syria, or a teenage suicide in
LaGrande. Jesus does not try to explain why young parents die, or a little
local girl had to wait for a new heart. Perhaps, if we are to be like Jesus,
our job is not to explain either.
Jesus instead lets the questioners know that bad things
happen, and our response is to
repent, to turn to God. Jesus says, “Unless you repent, you
will perish as they did.” Wow, this seems harsh and confusing. As if, on the
one hand, Jesus is saying that suffering and death is not caused by sin, and on
the other hand, Jesus is saying that if we do not turn to God, we will suffer,
and perhaps die. I read it like this, suffering can happen because of sin, but
not all suffering is caused by sin.We know suffering can happen because of sin.
Look at the commandments. If someone commits adultery, there is suffering that
happens because of it. If someone kills another person, there is suffering that
happens because of it. Even by not observing the sabbath, and making a time to
rest, we suffer. In this scripture the tower wall might have been fraudulently
built and therefore have fallen on the people. Pilate, and his Roman forces
killed the Galileans. “There are all kinds of sin, that contribute to much of
the suffering in the world. Jesus doesn’t sever the connection between sin and
suffering. He severs the connection between suffering and punishment.1”
Likewise, we know that suffering can happen because of sin,
but we cannot look at
suffering and assume people have sinned. We cannot look at
the poor and think they are poor because they have sinned. We cannot look at
the oppressed and think because they are oppressed they be sinful. We cannot
look at the prisoner and assume just because they are imprisoned they have sinned.
Suffering can happen because of sin, but not all suffering is caused by sin.
Like Jesus we are not to judge, or to equate suffering with God’s punishment.
Instead Jesus calls us to repent. We are called not to see
our fortune as evidence of God’s
blessing. In looking at suffering, we are called to see the
fragility, and finiteness of life, and turn to God. We are to turn to God,
because we are fortunate enough to have time to do so.
Part 2 - after calling the listeners to repent, Jesus then
tells the parable of the fig tree,
"A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard;
and he came looking for fruit on it and found none.
So he said to the gardener,
'See here!
For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig
tree,
and still I find none.
Cut it down! Why should it be wasting the soil?'
The gardener replied,
'Sir, let it alone for one more year,
until I dig around it and put manure on it.
If it bears fruit next year, well and good;
but if not, you can cut it down.'
How often are we like the man drawn to the fig tree looking
only for it’s fruit? How many years have we come to the tree and finding no
fruit walked away? How many times have we blamed the tree for its barrenness,
called it worthless and wanted it cut down?
How often are we like the fig tree, barren, unable to
produce fruit, and seemingly stuck in
the wrong place, like a fig tree in a vineyard? How often
because of where we are, because of our inability to produce do we fear someone
cutting us down? How often do we long for someone to dig around us, and nourish
us with good soil?
In the parable we are given an image of God in the gardener.
We are given an image of
patience and nurture. We are given an image of God seeking
to bargain for us, that we might have one more year to live and bear fruit. I’m
not sure God, the gardener even thinks we need to bear fruit, perhaps God sees
us as whole just as we are. Yet, God wants to help us be all that we can be. We
are given an image of God nourishing us, just as the gardner digs around the tree and puts manure
on it. Lastly, we are also given an image of God allowing us to be cut down.
God does not stop the suffering, but in the end, if the tree bears no fruit, it
is the man who cuts it down. Our time is limited. We only have so long to
repent, and turn to God.
It is Lent, Jesus will be crucified in 27 days. Our time is
limited. How in this time, might
we turn to God as individuals? How, in this time, might we
bargain for the weaker among us? How, in this time, might we be patient and
nurture one another to bearing fruit? How might we turn to God and repent? Our
time is limited.
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