Friday, March 07, 2008

"Save me from an evil death"

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.'" (Luke 13:1-9)

One of Martin Luther’s prayers to God was, "Save me from an evil death." What would you consider to be an "evil death"? Slowly wasting away from cancer? Your mind becoming lost in the fog of Alzheimer’s? Years confined to a bed as MS or MD steal your strength? I imagine that, like most folks, you would rather die quickly, than slowly over time.

But Martin Luther defined an "evil death" as something different. For Luther, an "evil death" was a death that came suddenly, unexpectedly. Why did he regard such a death as evil? Because when death comes suddenly there is no time to prepare for it. When a person dies suddenly, there is no chance to make sure that the last will and testament is up to date, no chance mend fences with people over old hurts, no chance to gather loved ones near to tell them how much joy they have added to life. When a person dies suddenly, there is no opportunity to review life and seek God’s mercy for unrepented sins. For Martin Luther, a blessed end is a death that allows time to take stock of your life, and try to settle any unfinished business.

In today’s gospel lesson, Jesus challenges you to examine your life and ask yourself the question: if I should suddenly die today, are my affairs in order? As things stand right now, what would I say to God if summoned before His throne in heaven to give an account of my life?

Our text begins with Jesus receiving word of a terrible tragedy. Pontius Pilate was the man appointed to govern Palestine in the name of the Roman Empire. Pilate was not a native—he had no interest in Jewish culture or religion. His job was to keep the peace—a job that the Jews did not make easy for him. The Palestinians resented being ruled by foreigners who prayed to false gods, so there were constant attempts to force the Romans out of the country. But Pilate was a cruel, ruthless man. Whenever insurgents were identified, Pilate immediately had them put to death. In this particular case, the rebels were caught by Pilate’s men in the Temple. On Pilate’s orders, the soldiers killed the Jewish rebels in God’s house, as they were offering their sacrifices—thus the statement that Pilate had mixed their blood with the blood of their sacrifices.

Of course, this act of brutality, taking place in the most important place of worship in the entire country, outraged the Jews. But it also raised a question in their minds—by allowing this horrible thing to happen, was God punishing those Jews who had died? Had they angered God somehow, and this was God’s punishment for their crimes? It was typical for Jews to think this way; when Jesus met a man who was blind from birth, He was asked, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" (John 9:2) In Jewish thinking, when good things happened to you it was evidence that God was pleased with you, and when bad things happened to you it was evidence that God was angry with you.

But Jesus makes it clear that you cannot draw conclusions about a person’s relationship with God from the tragedies of life. He says, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you, no!" Paul tells us that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). James tells us that whoever keeps the whole law, and yet stumbles at just one point, is guilty of breaking all of it (James 2:10). It doesn’t matter if you commit one sin or one hundred—as soon as you sin, you are made imperfect, and Jesus’ expectation is very clear: Be perfect…as your heavenly Father is perfect (Matthew 5:48).

Jesus’ point is this: everyone is imperfect because everyone sins. Paul writes, the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). The fact that 18 people died when a building collapsed had nothing to do with God punishing their sins with death—if God killed people because they were sinners, there would be no one left alive! Tragedy is not proof of God’s displeasure. Psalm 103 says he does not treat us as our sins deserve, or repay us according to our iniquities.

So why do tragedies happen? Tragedies happen because of sin. Sin is rebellion against God and the way that He wants things to be done. Mankind cursed itself with sin by rejecting God’s leadership. And while God was perfectly justified in adding the curse of His anger to our curse of sin, He spared us and instead cursed the world we live on; in Genesis 3 God says, "Cursed is the ground because of you." These two curses—the curse of sin that each of us are born with, and God’s curse on the earth as a consequence of our sins—these two curses of sin are the cause of the tragedies in our lives. The cursed earth gives rise to floods, drought, windstorms, earthquakes and insect infestation. Cursed humanity gives rise to fighting, disloyalty, dishonesty, laziness and greed. In such a world, men hungry for power murder those who oppose them; in such a world, building materials decay with time and collapse. Because of sin, tragedy can come to anyone at any time.

Because of this, Jesus issues us a wake-up call. He says, unless you repent, you too will all perish. The key to understanding Jesus here is by knowing what He means by the word "perish." Up until now, Jesus had been talking about physical death; but when He uses the word "perish", Jesus has changed the focus to what lies beyond the grave. We will all live forever. We will either live on with God, or we will live on apart from God. Speaking of the resurrection, Jesus said a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out--those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned (John 5:28-30). Every soul and body will be reunited—but while this will result in joy for some, it will be a terrible curse for those who have rejected Christ. Eternity in hell is described in Revelation as the "second death"—John writes: the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral…and all liars--their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death (Revelation 21:8). When Jesus says unless you repent, you too will all perish, He is warning us of the eternal ramifications of choosing to live in sin instead of seeking God’s mercy in Christ. In Revelation chapter 2 Jesus promises, Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life…He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death.

Jesus tells us that, in light of the fact that tragedy can strike at any time, we should examine our lives right now to determine if we are ready for death. If you died today as the result of a terrorist attack, if you died today in a car crash, are you ready to face Christ as He sits on the Judgment Seat? All those people who are on the "outs" with you—have you tried to make up with them? All those people who have made your life worth living—have you told them how much they mean to you? And most importantly—all the ways in which you have ignored God as you’ve lived your life: do you regret that you’ve lived that way? Have you told Jesus in prayer that you are sorry, that you want the opportunity to start living a different kind of life, one dedicated to following Him? God loves us, and in Christ He forgives us, but He does not guarantee that our lives will continue beyond today. Sin can bring a sudden end to life at any time. Are you ready for that eventuality?

Jesus goes on to tell a 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.' In this parable, the owner of the vineyard is God the Father; the tree that He expects fruit from represents each of us. John the Baptist told us that we should produce fruit in keeping with repentance (Matthew 3:8). The fruit that God looks for in our lives is humility, sorrow over sin, a need for fellowship with God, and a desire to share the Good News of salvation with others. When there is no evidence in our lives of a relationship with God, we are like a barren fruit tree—a plant that uses up resources for no purpose. A human farmer will eventually cut down such a tree, and so will God—if a person’s life is not advancing God’s kingdom on earth, our heavenly Father has no reason to prolong that life.

But we have a man who works to bring worthwhile fruit out of our wasted lives. This man is Jesus, Son of God and Son of Man. It is Jesus who pleads with the Father to give Him a little more time with us, to loosen the packed soil of our hard hearts and fertilize us with faith in Him as our Savior. Jesus wants us to grow into healthy, productive Christians, so that we will not be cut out of God’s vineyard, and so that others can find nourishment for their souls by our influence in their lives. Jesus made all this possible by producing the fruit of a perfect life in our place, and suffering the Father’s anger on the cross for the barrenness of our sin-stunted lives. Because of Jesus’ perfect life and sacrificial death, the Father gives us another chance to produce fruits in keeping with repentance. But that opportunity is not promised to be a long one. When the thief on the cross next to Jesus finally repented of his sins and asked, Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom, our Lord replied: I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise (Luke 23:43).

When you heard Jesus speak about the collapse of the tower in Siloam, killing 18 people, did you think of the deaths on 9/11 at the World Trade Center? I wonder how many of the people who died that day were ready to leave this life? How many of them had tried to find peace in troubled relationships? How many of them had spoken of their love to those who were special in their lives? How many of them lived each day in a relationship of repentant love with Jesus Christ? Sin ended their lives abruptly. The same could happen to you. Jesus warns you to repent and be ready, because He loves you and doesn’t want you to be caught unprepared. May the Lord preserve you from an "evil death".

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