Luke 13:1-9 Christians are killed in church on Christmas Day by Muslim terrorists. A bridge collapses and with it dozens fall to their death. A tsunami sweeps thousands out to sea. A family on vacation is killed in a car wreck. And a madman breaks into a school and kills little children. These are the tragic headlines—big and small--of a world that has been wrecked by sin and evil. And we can’t help but wonder: why? Why that place? Why those people? Why this moment?
But rather than trying to figure out why some die this way and others do not—rather than speculating about the lives of others and what God is doing in the hardships he allows--Jesus says that we are to view each tragedy as an opportunity for us to repent of our own sins so that we do not perish eternally. The Bible says that:
There were some present at that very time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”
The tragic headlines of Jesus’ day were the result of a madman on one hand-- and a construction accident on the other.
On one occasion Herod’s soldiers came into the temple and murdered people as they worshiped so that their blood mixed with the blood of the sacrifices they were offering. On another occasion, a building project in Siloam collapsed killing eighteen workers. In both cases there were victims and there were survivors.
What the people wanted to know was: what the difference between those who died and those who lived? Was God reaching out and directly punishing those who died? Did they have some secret sin that made them worse than others? And conversely, were those who were spared, the good folk with whom God was pleased?
To all these questions about others Jesus simply says: no! Then and now Jesus does not permit us to delve into the providential mysteries of how God runs the universe. He does not invite our speculation about the sins of others.
Instead, he wants us to understand that we are not magically immune from tragedy and so we are to be spiritually prepared through repentance and faith—at any moment-- to stand before God.
We live in a broken world. Satanic activity and human sin have wrecked God’s good creation. There is moral evil in the form of madmen who kill innocent people. There is physical evil in the form of hurricanes and earthquakes that destroy cities and nations. And there is personal evil in the form of the devil and his angels who try to destroy our life with God by tempting us to sin.
All of us are affected to one degree or the other by sin and evil. All of us will finally succumb to death—unless the Lord comes first.
It is an exercise in futility-- and sinful speculation—to assign moral guilt to people because they get cancer- or die in car wrecks- or suffer through natural disasters- while others don’t. Instead, Jesus says that we are to view these scenes as an opportunity for personal repentance.
Each time we read some headline in the paper about some violent crime—each time we hear of someone struck down by cancer—each time we hear on the evening news about some terrible car wreck—right then and there we need to repent of our sins and turn to Jesus in faith.
Rather than sinful speculation about others, we can repent over our thanklessness for God’s mighty provision that preserves and protects our lives.
Rather than sinful speculation about others, we can repent over our lack of compassion for those who are undergoing the hardships of living in a broken world.
Rather than sinful speculation about others, we can repent of our judgmental attitude that wants to find secret sins in the lives of others that has caused them to suffer some tragedy.
Each time the brokenness of this world strikes down a fellow human being, we have an opportunity to turn from our sins and turn to Jesus—the One who has truly suffered the fullness of God’s wrath over our sins upon the cross—offering us in their place the assurance that in all things God is working for our good and that no evil thing can separate us from his love.
We should heed these opportunities for personal repentance that tragedy provides because there is coming a day for each of us when the time to repent and believe in Jesus will come to an end. Jesus said:
“A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. And he said to the vinedresser, ‘Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground?’ And he answered him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure. Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’”
Noah preached for 120 years, calling the people of the world to repentance before the flood. Jeremiah preached for 40 years, calling Judah to turn from her evil ways before her destruction by Babylon. Jesus preached for 3 years, calling the people of Israel to repentance and faith before they were destroyed by the Romans in 70 A.D.
An early church father said that God is merciful and “does not bring in punishment silently and secretly but by his threatenings first proclaims them to be at hand, thus inviting sinners to repentance.”
The Bible says that God is “patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” and bear fruits in keeping with that repentance and faith. That is why he has redeemed us and that is what he desires from us—a life of genuine, heartfelt Christianity that shows itself in the fruit of faith.
Farmers plant for a purpose: to gather the harvest in the fall. They are not doing because of the aesthetic appeal of straight rows of green plants—they are doing it for what the plant produces.
Two thousand years later we have no trouble understanding Jesus’ illustration about the fig tree. The believer is portrayed as a plant—either fruitful in good works or barren.
The question for us to ask ourselves in all seriousness is this: when God examines my life of faith---does he find the fruits of that faith? Am I diligent in doing good works? Am I bearing fruits of the Spirit such joy, peace, and patience? Am I walking by the Spirit, guided by God’s Word?
God has created us and redeemed us and sanctified us for that very purpose! Most of us were born to Christian families and grew up in Christian homes. We were baptized and heard about Christ at a young age. We have been in worship throughout our lives, hearing the Good News of the Gospel and being fed with Christ’s true body and blood. What more could God have done for us than he has already done?
And yet when we look at our lives (and more importantly when God looks at our lives!) does he find a fruitful faith consistent with the care and concern that he has lavished upon us? Too often the answer is “no” and we need to hear that warning (“cut it down”) that God speaks to us in all seriousness.
But the Good News for us today is that Christ intercedes for us. Jesus is that vinedresser who sees more in us, than we could have ever imagined or hoped for from our Christian life, because he sees his own work on our behalf.
He is the One who stands between us and judgment with his own holy life and bloody death as that which takes away God’s wrath. He is the One at work in our life, shaping us into a fruitful Christian filled with good works. He is the One who provides spiritual nourishment to us in Word and Sacrament just like a gardener fertilizes his plants so that we can be the faithful, fruitful Christians God wants us to be.
We have a tendency to look at our spiritual lives and see only what we lack but we also need to be assured that we can be better Christians in the future than we have in the past because of Christ’s ongoing work in our lives.
In Jesus’ story, the vinedresser goes to work with purpose and hope—not in futility and despair. He knows better than the plants what they can become when they receive his care.
And so the Lord is at work in our lives—speaking his words of law that rebuke and correct us and his words of Gospel that comfort us and encourage us and build us up.
The Good News for us today is that Jesus has given us this day of salvation—this period of time in our life-- to hear and heed his call to repentance and faith-- and be fruitful in that faith so that do not perish.
But we also need to realize that this opportunity of grace is not unlimited so that we do not squander it or postpone our repentance but turn from our sins and trust in him. Amen
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