Another Chance

Luke 13: 1-9, page 738

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, planted 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.’”
Sermon
You have to be careful with people, because if they don’t know the answer, they may well just make something up.
About two years ago a group of us were flying over Haiti in a little propeller plane driven by a Cuban Pilate.
The turbulence was horrible and we were all thankful to finally be on solid ground again, and Jane Carney, I think it was, says to someone else from our congregation, “I wasn’t worried. Our pastor was head bowed in prayer the whole flight.”
And I’m glad that when she saw me with my head bowed on that turbulent flight that’s what she thought I was doing – that description paints me in a much holier light than what I was actually doing – putting my head down between my legs because I thought doing that would keep me from throwing up.
Sometimes we make up what we need to hear in the moment – and whether what we make up is the truth or not may not matter because what we make up may be more comforting than the truth.
There was a group of Galileans, whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices – this phrase isn’t as descriptive as it could be, but what we may assume is that they were murdered, perhaps unjustly, by Pilate while on pilgrimage to make a sacrifice at the Temple in Jerusalem.
And then there were the 18 who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them.
When confronted with such bad things we want an answer, and whether the answer is true or not may not matter because having an answer feels better than not knowing.
Why do bad things happen?
Why did Pilate murder those people?
Why did that tower fall?
Any answer to these questions will do, just so long as there is a reason, an answer, because living with the reality that stuff just happens isn’t very comfortable.
An answer that the masses seemed to cling to was that of retribution for sin – that bad things happen to bad people – that suffering is deserved – that when people suffer, when they are punished, you need not worry about falling to the same fate as long as you keep your nose clean and mind your own business.
This is a Biblical enough answer – we read from Deuteronomy that disobedience results in punishment laid out, not only on the disobedient, but the children, even unto the grandchildren.
Experience would testify to this truth – as my mom has said, when there is an alcoholic in the family no one leaves unscathed, even when only one member of the family embodies that alcoholism.
But when the crowd comes to Jesus pointing fingers – first at Pilate – though poised in a campaign for King of the Jews, Jesus does not seize an opportunity for mud-slinging, but calls the crowd to account for their own infractions.
“But unless you repent,” he says.
“Unless you repent, you too will all perish.”
So Christ calls us to focus not on what lies outside of our control because what does judgment of our neighbors serve but to build up our self-righteousness? Christ calls us to focus on what we are in control of.
Something that I love are nights when sleep comes so easy I realize I am dreaming before I’ve put my book down. On those nights I place my book on my bedside table, turn out my lamp, kiss my wife – on the lips or the cheek, but if I can’t find her lips or her cheek I’ll settle for her shoulder. Then I’ll close my eyes and rest sweeps over me.
Something that I hate are nights when worry about tomorrow preoccupies me, thoughts flashing back in forth about things I need to do, that I’m worried about doing, and I don’t have enough time to do it all before the day has even started.
But who really knows about tomorrow?
“Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?” The vineyard owner says to the gardener.
“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.”
The scripture lesson ends with that – an ambiguous ending if ever there was one.
But if we have today we can all assume we have been spared the ax, unlike the men, women, and children victim to the tragedies of life.
So what will you do with today?
Our church has surely been spared the ax having bounced back from a huge deficit. We’ve been given another year thanks be to God – but should we use God’s blessing as an opportunity to return to old ways that got us into trouble in the first place?
Whatever yesterday was like, disappointments, mistakes, we have all been given the gift of today – and today the gardener is ready to work through you, nourishing you by his Spirit, forgiving you your sins by his almighty grace – that you might bear fruit.
In this time of lent – you are called to give thanks to the one who has spared you from the ax and given you the gift of today.
Do not squander this gift by returning to the ways of sin, but be about the practice of examination – not to the examination of your neighbors to fuel self-righteousness – but to examine something you can actually change.
Do not waste this gift.
You have been given today – so turn away from your own sin and live into the new life that our Lord Jesus Christ has provided you.
No you do not deserve it.
No you could never earn it.
But here it is – here today is – a chance for new life.
-Amen.