Tragedy

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 13:1-9b)

When Hurricane Katrina struck the gulf coast and devastated New Orleans, people asked, "why did God let this happen?" When the Christmas tsunami of 2004 killed hundreds of thousands living in 13 different countries, people wondered what kind of message God was trying to send. And when Haiti was devastated by a record-breaking earthquake, people speculated on what the Haitians had done to deserve such horrendous punishment.

We live in a world where love and tolerance are king and queen. You dare not criticize another person’s behavior lest you be called hateful and bigoted. We are a nation founded on freedoms like the freedom of speech, yet many are reluctant to voice their opinions for fear of being publicly censured.

Sadly, the morality of our society has invaded churches throughout the land. It’s the rare minister who dares to preach like men of previous generations; these days, if you criticize sinners and demand change in their behavior, pretty soon the church will be mostly empty. People don’t want to hear that they are doing wrong; they want to be reassured that God loves and accepts them just the way they are. They expect God to be kind and loving always; the thought of an angry God who punishes sin harshly makes them feel uncomfortable.

How often have you heard someone say, "I could never believe in a god who would let that happen"? How often have you heard someone say, "I could never believe in a god who would punish someone for doing that"? Most people don’t want religion to scare them; they want to be reassured, affirmed, comforted. They don’t want to believe that God punishes behavior they feel comfortable with. They don’t want to believe that God lets bad things happen to good people.

Frankly, I want God to take a hard stand against evil. I don’t want to live in a world where rape and murder are excusable mistakes instead of serious crimes. I don’t want heaven to be filled with awful people who never felt a moment’s regret in life for their horrific actions. I rejoice that God is just and righteous.

Of course I realize that, like you, I am a sinner who deserves nothing from God except harsh condemnation. Like you, I have violated God’s laws in more ways than can be counted. Like you, I would have no hope for merciful treatment from the Almighty were it not for Jesus.

In today’s Gospel lesson, Jesus responds to a recent tragedy by relating a parable. The parable is about a landowner, his servant, and a fig tree. The landowner is God our Father; our world is His vineyard. The servant is Jesus, God’s Son and our Savior. The fig tree represents you and me and every person who lives on God’s green earth.

Fig trees are planted to bear fruit. Unproductive plants are dug up and replaced. God the Father has planted each of us in this world to grow and bear fruit. What kind of fruit? Paul gives a partial list in Galatians chapter five: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Sadly, we usually produce just the opposite. Instead of love, we show hatred. Instead of being joyful, we complain. We ruin peace by fighting. We are often impatient and rude. We get a thrill from evil. We break promises when they are inconvenient. We treat each other harshly and we indulge our sinful appetites with little thought for the consequences.

God expects us the bear good fruit but sin makes us barren, a waste of earth’s resources. Even non-Christians realize the truth of this; some radical environmentalists claim that our world would be better off without humanity living here, making a constant mess of things. God would be entirely justified in ridding His vineyard of us.

But our heavenly Father is patient. If you had a mature plant growing in your garden, would you tolerate three years of no produce coming from it? I think not. But God is patient—although our failures anger Him, He is slow to reveal His wrath. Yet even His great patience has its limits.

Thankfully, we have Jesus as our gardener. He pleads with the Father for more time to work a change in us. He digs around us, pulling up the weeds of earthly distractions that limit our growth. He fertilizes us with His word and sacraments, that we might be invigorated and grow strong in the faith. Without Jesus we would be lying dead at the edge of the field, unwanted and unloved.

But even with Jesus’ help, the future is not guaranteed. Eventually God will end our lives, and if we are still barren despite Jesus’ efforts, tragedy awaits. God is loving and merciful, but He is also holy and just. Hell waits for those who die while under God’s terrible wrath.

When news came of a recent tragedy, Jesus took the opportunity to warn the complacent. To those who anticipated living to old age, Jesus warned that life could end at any time so they’d best be ready. To those who believed that good things happen to good people and bad things happen to bad people, Jesus made it clear that no one can claim moral superiority—all people are sinners who deserve nothing from God save for His punishment.

You see, we look at things from the wrong perspective. When disasters occur, we ask why God didn’t save more people. The truth of the matter is that no one deserves God’s mercy. When hurricanes and tsunamis and earthquakes cause mass destruction, we should be asking why God spared anyone at all? Instead of getting angry over loss of life, we should rejoice in every life that was unexpectedly spared and saved.

Because of the sin introduced to the world by humanity’s foolishness, the universe crumbles everywhere with decay and collapse, leading to death. Were it not for God’s loving concern and mighty power, everything would fall to pieces in an instant. Scripture says, in Him all things hold together (Colossians 1:17). Whenever order prevails over chaos, it is because of God. Whenever life wins out over death, it is because of God. When bad things happen, they happen because sin has ruined creation. When good things happen, they are evidence of God’s undeserved mercy and love.

Bad things don’t happen to good people. Psalm 14 says, The LORD looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God. All have turned aside, they have become united in corruption; there is no one who does good, not a single person. Jesus said, no one is good, except for God alone (Mark 10:18). Bad things only happen to bad people because everyone is bad, so we have no right to complain.

Thankfully, The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust (Psalm 103:8-14).

Earlier I mentioned the kind of fruit God expects from us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Paul tells us that such fruit only grows by the power of God working in us. Jesus digs around us, uprooting the weeds that want to choke us—weeds of hatred, greed, lust, gluttony, pride, envy, and laziness. It hurts when Jesus tears away the sinful things we love—if a bush could speak during pruning, I’m sure it would cry out in protest. But for us to grow and be fruitful, unnecessary things must be torn away. Such times can seem tragic, even if we’re the only ones affected.

Jesus also fertilizes us with the words of Holy Scripture and the cleansing touch of the Sacraments. Sin has made this world a spiritual desert; in order to grow strong, we must have nutrients from heaven. How can you expect to grow and bear fruit if you avoid being fertilized by staying away from church and letting your Bible collect dust?

Jesus suffered on the cross to forgive your sins and revitalize your life with His own blood. He looks for three things in response: contrition, devotion, and service. The Lord expects you to confess your sins and seek the mercy that He offers to sinners. The Son of God expects you to reject sinful things for Him, and to seek His help in doing so. Jesus expects you to give your life as an offering to Him in thanks for being saved, seeking His guidance in how to use the time and resources He has placed at your disposal.

When Jesus revitalizes your life, you will bear fruit that is pleasing to God. You will also find satisfaction as a planting in His vineyard, even in times of pain and tragedy.