Spared the Axe

Luke 13: 1-9, page 76 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 killed 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? He 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.’ Sermon Our daughter Lily has a friend at school named Jack, and one afternoon this week Lily reported to me that Jack’s father had been in a car accident. She didn’t volunteer any additional details, even when I asked, so on Saturday when we ran into Jack at the Children’s museum downtown I asked him about it. “Jack, I heard your dad was in a car accident. Is he OK?” Jack’s response was matter of fact: “He’s not dead.” I guess he could tell by the look on my face that I was a little confused, so he clarified. “He’s still alive.” “That’s good,” I said, though I said it to myself because Jack had moved on. He had communicated all the information necessary. His dad had been in a car accident but he’s still alive and that’s all that really concerned three year old Jack. I suppose that’s really what concerns all of us – after a car accident or surgery or any trip to the emergency room. If he’s going to be OK I can stop worrying and get back to doing whatever I was doing too. But if he’s not OK – then there are a whole host of additional questions: “Is there anything I can do? How are you handling this? Did he have on his seat belt? Was he driving over the speed limit? How was the tread on his tires?” Some of these questions are helpful but some of these questions are doing something else as they don’t have much to do with the victim of the accident and they have more to do with figuring out why his accident happened. I’ll often read the obituaries and will do the same thing: if someone died I want to know why – did they smoke, were they an alcoholic or a drug addict? If they died from testing nuclear missiles or wrestling alligators that’s one thing – but if they just died – that’s something else altogether. We want there to be a reason, and if there isn’t a reason we may well just make something up. This tendency to make something up isn’t restricted to explaining tragedy either – finding themselves in need of an answer people make things up all the time. About two years ago I was with a group on a mission trip to Haiti, and we were flying from one side of the island to another in a little propeller plane driven by a Cuban Pilate. The turbulence was horrible and once we landed we were all thankful to finally be on solid ground again. While unloading the baggage, one member of the group says to another, “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. That was the case with this group who told Jesus about the Galileans, the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. Certainly this phrase isn’t as descriptive as it could be, but what you may assume is that these Galileans were murdered while on pilgrimage to make a sacrifice at the Temple in Jerusalem. They weren’t there to make a spectacle or to start a revolution – no they were only doing what every devout Jew had been doing for thousands of years. And then there were the 18 who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them. Were they trying to topple the tower or climb up the side of it? If they had then there would be no need to go any further – but because their death just happened another explanation had to be found – for when we are 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. We want to know, “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 an answer – and the more an answer allows me to believe that the same thing won’t happen to me the better. An answer that the masses seemed to cling to in Jesus’ time was that people got what they deserved – that bad things happen to bad people – that when people suffer they are being punished for something so you need not worry about falling to the same fate as long as you keep your nose clean and mind your own business. But when the crowd comes to Jesus pointing fingers – first at Pilate and then at the Galileans – Jesus calls the crowd to account for their own infractions. “But unless you repent,” he says. “Unless you repent, you will all perish as they did.” He lumps us together with them by these words – while all our thoughts and worries and speculations so often try to make them different. Surely the same thing won’t happen to me we imagine – surely they had it coming – but in the mind of Christ, if they had it coming, than so do you. “Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?” The vineyard owner says to the gardener, and he’s not just talking about a tree. “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 axe, unlike the men, women, and children victim to the tragedies of life. So what will you do with today? Too often today, yesterday, and tomorrow are all blended in my head. Rather than living I’m just trying to get through - not thinking about what I’m prioritizing or what’s best – struggling to pay for everything, not wondering whether or not I need what I’m paying for. When lunch time comes I don’t necessarily think about what would be best so much as I want what’s convenient and fast. When I come home I’m not thinking about seizing the opportunity to cherish my family so much as I’m looking forward to dinner and laying down on the couch. And then when I finally do have some time to relax there I am – glazed over and sullen – as though talking with my wife can wait. There are words that come from a doctor that can change all of that – suddenly life is to be lived and cherished – but don’t wait to hear those words from the doctor – hear them now from the gardener: “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.” He’s talking about you – for you have been given today – and before you go assuming you’ll have tomorrow remember that it is only by the grace of God that you woke up this morning. 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. Today is the day for me to become the kind of pastor they thought I was on that plane over Haiti – the kind who prays in times of trial – the husband and father I should be rather than the husband and father that I too often am - but what will it be for you? 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. Cherish your family – value your days – change - slow down – give thanks. For here it is – today – the chance for new life. Amen.