St. John’s Lutheran Church, Toluca, IL – 3rd Sunday in Lent
Isaiah 55:1-9; Psalm 63:1-8; 1 Corinthians 10:1-13; Luke 13:1-9
Gospel
1At that very time there were some present who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 2[Jesus] 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.”
6Then 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 around it and put manure on it. 9If it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’ ”
NRSV
We Get What We Don’t Deserve
Grace and peace to you, beloved of God, from our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ.
How is your bracket going? Oh my gosh, that Illinois game last Friday, Madness. If you had Baylor on your final four? More madness. Then comes the scrutiny of those unexpected losses. Pundits on TV and social media going viral. Oh, the drama and the tragedies; then someone goes, oh well, they didn’t play well, did not show up, or did not rise to the occasion. Fire the coach, fire the player, wait, this is college. Fire the referee, then. That is OK; that is the madness that is fun. It will pass. We will recover. We will not even remember.
We need this fun kind of madness to distract our minds, even if for just a bit, from the kind we don’t forget so easily. The kind of madness that opens wounds disrupts and breaks things, takes things and people away from us, and leaves us wondering who to blame and if we, or they, got what they deserve from God. Except God does not go to sleep every night or wake up every morning thinking, who am I going to judge and punish today or tomorrow?
Sure we are subjected to judgment. God always warned us that those who do not listen to him may not end up well in some shape or form. However, that is not the same as establishing that tragedies that destroy lives are the result of actions of a vindictive and punishing God. If supernatural forces are driving the disasters we see in the world, those are likely the ones that oppose God. God does not want things and people to die, God wants his creation to flourish and us to live abundantly.
Sisters and brothers, it is foolish to spend our precious spiritual vitality, generosity, hospitality, and goodwill, wondering who deserves our grace or who has earned our mercy and our forgiveness. First, because if there is any judgment, we are not the ones in charge of it. That is not part of the mission that we received. Second, because we all have gotten what we absolutely do not deserve, God’s assurance of mercy, forgiveness, and life, through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. And the best part, he never stops interceding for us.
Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love.
Bridging Faith 