The Third Sunday of Lent

March 11, 2007

"Following Jesus on the Right Path!"

Luke 13:1-9

Preached at Providence Lutheran Church in Holland, Ohio

By Pastor Dennis R. King

The Grace and Mercy of our Lord, Jesus Christ, be with you all. Amen.

A Christian family gathered at the dinner table one evening. Mother and father and all the children folded their hands and bowed their heads for the prayer. No sooner had had they said “Amen” than one of the children said, “Mom and Dad, Jimmy didn’t close his eyes when he said the prayer just now!” The parents replied, “How do you know he didn’t close his eyes? Were you watching him?”

Have you noticed how well people end up incriminating themselves when they try to incriminate others? Accusers often expose their own mistakes while trying to expose the mistakes others have made. For some reason we would rather tell on others than admit our own shortcomings. And we would rather give advice on solving the problems of others than to deal with our own.

Our Sunday morning series right now is about “Following Jesus.” This morning the theme is “Following Jesus on the Right Path.” How do we know that we are on the “right path?” In the ninth chapter of Luke, a man said to Jesus, as they were walking along, “I will follow you wherever you go.” But Jesus knew the man could not or would not follow, and so he did not invite him. In Matthew 7, Jesus says, “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life and only a few find it.” Where is this “narrow road?” What is the “right path?”

The gospel lesson for today, the third Sunday in Lent contains three little stories which point us toward the right path. The first story is one told to Jesus by some of the people who were with Him. They said that Pilate had massacred a group from Galilee as they were preparing to offer a sacrifice at the temple in Jerusalem. The ones who reported the news may have thought those people deserved to die, because they were plotting an uprising against Pilate and the Roman rulers. Chances are, this group had a reputation as troublemakers, and their violent death was seen as their “just reward.” Jesus seemed to read their minds when he asked them, “Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans?”

Jesus tells the second story as a parallel to the first. He made reference to a construction accident in which eighteen people 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?” Jesus asks. Here, too, there was speculation among the public over why the tragedy had befallen those particular individuals. No doubt there were certain religious leaders who were saying that the tragedy was God’s punishment for something they had done.

It’s risky to speculate about the cause of tragedy in this way. For one thing, it puts you in the position of slandering your neighbor if you are wrong. And for another, it distracts you from dealing with the reality of your own life, saying, “No, I tell you they were not worse sinners! But unless you repent, you will all perish as they did!”

Tragedies happen for reasons we cannot understand. It is not fruitful to spend much time trying to figure out why bad things happen to people, At the time of Jesus most people thought of sin like this: Sin caused suffering, and therefore, suffering must be the result of some sin. And, indeed, sometimes there is a cause and effect. Chain smokers are more likely to suffer from lung disease. Drunk drivers are more likely to suffer accidents. Promiscuous people are more likely to suffer sexually transmitted diseases and unplanned pregnancies. But many people are simply the innocent victims of suffering. They just happened to be walking beneath the tower of Siloam at the wrong time. They just happened to be there when a driver crossed the centerline or when a bus driver mistakes an exit for a freeway. They just happened to be born to a mother with the AIDS virus.

Jesus’ point is this: Suffering happens, but everyone needs to repent – whether pious Jews living in the Holy City, or insurrectionists intent on overthrowing the government, or Lutherans living peaceably in northwestern Ohio – and the need is urgent. The path of repentance is the right path on which to be.

Human sinfulness is destructive. There is no question, even if there is the matter of degrees. The drunk driver who kills a family has certainly caused more pain and suffering than a person who will not drink and drive. But the person only drinking tea who condemns everyone who drinks is just as sinful as the one behind the wheel who does. The teenager in San Diego who shot several classmates certainly caused more suffering and destruction than the students who teased and belittled him; yet his harassers, too, were guilty of destroying life with their words. Jesus warned us about the sinfulness of insulting others and calling them names: “I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment; and if you insult a brother or sister you will be liable to the council; and if you say, ‘you fool,’ you will be liable to the hell of fire.” All of us need to repent.

The third story in today’s gospel is the parable of the fig tree. It was the practice back then not to pick any fruit from the tree for the first three years after it was planted. The tree in question is now six years old and is hopelessly barren. A fig tree absorbs an unusually large amount of nourishment from the soil, so it takes away nutrients from the surrounding vines. The owner wants the tree cut down now. But the gardener proposes a one-year ‘stay of execution’ for the tree. He begs a little more time, a second chance. The tree’s ‘sin’ is not that it is doing something bad, but that it is doing nothing!

The parable points us toward the right path – the path of repentance. You are, we are, that fig tree. We have not bore the fruit of repentance that we should. We have judged, even though we are under judgment. We have been presumptuous before God, when we ought to have begged for mercy. We have enjoyed our prosperity at the expense of others. But we have been granted a reprieve. The fact that you haven’t died tragically gives you the opportunity to repent now!

But what is repentance? Richard Jensen says something very helpful on this subject.

“Repentance is not a fruit problem; it is a root problem. It is the root of who we are that is a problem in God’s eyes. So repentance cannot be composed of ‘I can’ statements. ‘I have sinned, O God, I am sorry, O God. I can do better.’ Repentance, rather, must be composed of ‘I can’t’ statements. ‘I have sinned, O God. I am sorry, O God. I have tried and tried and tried, but I just don’t produce good fruit. I can’t seem to do better. I need your Vinedresser to work on the roots of my life. Give me a new life, O God. Give me your life, I can’t. You can.”

Like the child at the dinner table, we are all too often tempted to spy on others to see if they have their eyes open or closed while they are praying—failing to see that, by doing so, we ourselves are lacking in proper devotion. Repentance means that we resist the temptation to report to our Heavenly Father all the sins we see in others, and that we confess only the sins we see in ourselves.

What would you do if you had only a year left to live, only a short time in which to make up for wrongs done and opportunities squandered? How important that year would be! The lesson of sudden tragedy and the lesson of the fig tree challenge us to live each day as a gift from God. You will have no fear of giving an account for how you have used God’s gift if you keep on the right path and follow Jesus on the path of repentance. Amen.