The Gospel for Lent 3

Luke 13.1-9 (NRSV)

Repent or Perish

13At that very time there were some present who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.²He asked them, ‘Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans? ³No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as they did. ⁴Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them—do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others living in Jerusalem? ⁵No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did.’

The Parable of the Barren Fig Tree

6 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. ⁷So 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?” ⁸He replied, “Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig round it and put manure on it. ⁹If it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.” ’

In the first part of this lesson Jesus refers to two recent disasters. He was told that Pilate had just done something absolutely dreadful. In verse 1 Luke records:

            Pilate had given orders for some people from Galilee to be killed while they were offering sacrifices.

From Jesus' reply, we know that there were many in his audience who believed that these people had suffered because of their dreadful sin. They believed that because the Galileans had suffered such a terrible death at the hands of Pilate, they must have been very sinful people. Many people today are also under this delusion. They believe that they are suffering greatly because they must have been terribly sinful. When they look at the suffering of others they hold that they must be going through such hell on earth because they too must be terribly sinful.

Jesus rejects this notion. Disasters and accidents and pain and suffering are not inflicted by God on people as a punishment for their sin. This is totally contrary to the image of God that we know so well and which is perfectly revealed to us in the person and work of Jesus Christ. God does not want any single person to suffer. Rather, God wants all people to turn away from sin and turn to him so that they might realise their true potential.

In order to stress this point, Jesus provides his audience with another illustration. 18 people had been killed in Siloam when a tower fell on them. This sort of thing always seems pointless. But we can be sure that it is not the hand of God we are seeing at work, punishing people for being sinners.

This mistaken view was expressed in Job - perhaps the best study of suffering known to humankind. Job's friends said to him that he was suffering because he was a sinner for if he was right with God; this is evident because things go right with you. The fact of the matter is that things very often do not go well, even for Christians.

We can be very grateful for the fact that God does not treat us as we deserve - if He did - our suffering would be unbearable.

It is true, sin causes suffering. But it is also true that the sin of one person can cause an innocent person to suffer. This is why God hates sin and why he commands all people to turn away from all sin and follow him in faithful obedience. Satan also causes people to suffer - sometimes innocent people, Godly people, people like Job.

We must be careful not to think that people do not suffer as a result of their own sin - they often do. Chain smokers who have emphysema have brought their suffering on themselves. People who commit adultery often have their marriages break up and find themselves alone. But the sadness is that sin always causes innocent people to suffer as well - the passive smokers - the families of heavy smokers also often suffer respiratory problems. The children of unfaithful parents are often messed around and suffer terribly through divorce proceedings and custody arguments.

All people have things in common with those who suffered the atrocious death at the hands of Pilate or those who were killed in the accident in Siloam - because all people are sinners. These sort of incidents should warn us of the fickle nature of life on earth. There are no guarantees. Your life might be alright now, but for how long we can never tell. All of us could face injustice or unfairness. In keeping with the tenor of what Jesus had been teaching in the previous chapter about being prepared for the end - Jesus stressed the need here once more. In verse 5 Jesus states:

            ... you can be sure that if you don't turn back to God, everyone of you will also die. (CEV)

It always comes down to the same thing. Is a person in a right relationship with God? If so, then there is always meaning in everything, even suffering, because we know that while our bodies and minds are weak and frail and in torment - our souls and spirits are being renewed, purified and strengthened. We can know that we are right with God if we bear spiritual fruit. Jesus explains this in a parable and demonstrated this truth in practice by healing a woman on the Sabbath.

Fig trees and vineyards were symbols of the Israelite nation which God had cultivated and cherished in the hope that they would bear spiritual fruit. According to Leviticus, fruit from a newly planted tree could not be eaten for the first three years. The crops of the fourth year belonged to the Lord. This tree had nothing to give to the Lord. The tree is an image of Israel. The special relationship that God had with them had turned into a barren religion. In the parable, the barren tree is given yet another chance to bear fruit. Later, just before Jesus' death we encounter the fig tree again - but still there was nothing - no fruit. Jesus then cursed it and declared that it would never bear fruit again. But only as a dramatic hyperbole, never meant to be understood literally, shocking us into considering what we miss out on if we persist in turning our backs on God.

We need to tread very carefully when it comes to dealing with suffering, because it is a mystery that defies over-simplification. The journalist, Mark Dowd, in a Channel 4 documentary entitled: Tsunami: Where was God visited a Vatican Observatory Conference on the problem of suffering where one of the scientists put it beautifully. He explained that an all-knowing God must have known of the reality of suffering before creating the universe, and because of this, probably paused and wept, because it distressed him so. But he still went ahead and created it all because he thought was worth it in the end. The love of God is so great that – even though we might not even come close to understanding it – it is there for all, especially for those in the midst of their suffering.

God is the gardener in Jesus’ parable, not the owner, and he never tires of giving us chance after chance after chance. By his grace he is always pleading our case for us willing us to be embraced by his love.