What Wondrous Love Is This: Repentance

Isaiah 55:1-9; Luke 13:1-9

            We are witnessing a global tragedy.  It is a deliberate act of human evil, something I didn’t think I would see again in my lifetime.  An arrogant dictator has invaded a peaceful, weaker nation.  The dictator has sophisticated weaponry.  Laser guided missiles.  Nuclear bombs.  And, reportedly, chemical and biological weapons.  While he has might, the people of Ukraine, he has discovered, have right.  They have soul, pride, bravery, and love of country.  Mr. Putin may be successful, but the world has seen the character of the people of Ukraine, and we’ve seen the character of Mr. Putin.  History will remember both.

            There was another tragedy this week.  It was local, out in my neck of the woods.  It wasn’t deliberate.  It was a terrible accident.  A 33 year old man was walking alongside highway 431 late at night.  He was hit by a car and killed.  Parts of highway 431 were closed for hours.  I had to take an alternative route to church.

            Two tragedies.  One deliberate.  One an accident.

            If we had lived two millennia ago, in the time of Jesus, we would have looked at these two tragedies differently than most do today.  God, they believed, was behind all things.  Nothing happened by chance, good or evil.  They saw a direct correlation between suffering and sin.  If you suffered, that was evidence of your sinfulness.  God was punishing you.  It was just retribution.  You got what you deserved.  Likewise, if you prospered and were healthy, that was evidence of your righteousness.  God was rewarding you with prosperity and good health.  You got what you deserved.

            So the people looked at two recent events in their day—one an act of human evil and the other just an accident—and they asked Jesus, “Were these victims worse sinners than everyone else?”  That was the common belief of their day.  “Is that why these tragedies occurred, Jesus?  Was this God’s punishment because of their extraordinary sinfulness?”

            The first incident involved Pontius Pilate, a despicable human being. On this particular occasion, he murdered some Galileans, probably in the temple when they were offering sacrifices, and then mingled their blood with the blood of their sacrifices.  It was sacrilegious.  He was  another powerful, evil dictator.  His action was deliberate.  It was an act of human evil. 

The second incident involved a tower near the pool of Siloam.  It fell killing eighteen people.  This incident was not deliberate.  They happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time.  It was just a terrible accident.

            “So tell us, Jesus!   Did God get ‘em?  Is that why this happened?  Did God pour out vengeance upon these people because they were greater sinners than others?”

            Allow me to insert a footnote here.  People with disabilities have long been victims of this kind of thinking.  He’s blind.  Poor fellow.  I wonder what he did to deserve that?  She’s stuck in that wheelchair.  Bless her heart.  I wonder what she did to deserve that?  It’s hard enough to be blind or to be in a wheelchair.  People with disabilities should not be further stigmatized by ignorant religious people.

            Jesus surely didn’t do that.  Were they greater sinners than others, Jesus?  His answer could not be clearer, “No.”

            Jesus then said something I find very interesting.  It is about repentance.  At first, it doesn’t seem to fit this occasion.  “Unless you repent,” he told them, “you will all perish just as they did.”

            Then he told a brief parable about a fig tree.  It bore no fruit.  The farmer had waited for three years, but received no figs.  So the farmer told his gardener to cut it down.  The gardener intervened and requested a little more time.  “Let me take care of it for one more year,” he suggested.  “I’ll loosen the soil around it, fertilize it, and if it is still unproductive, then we will cut it down.”

            This text and the brief parable about the fig tree serve two purposes.  The first is to debunk the horrible thinking of their day that suffering was a direct result of sin, that suffering was God’s punishment. Now, let me say this.  That is taught in some parts of the Bible, especially the Old Testament. Then it is corrected in other parts of the Bible, especially the book of Job and the teaching of Jesus. Jesus went so far as to declare God’s favor on the poor, the maimed, the blind, and the crippled.  He singled them out for blessing, not punishment.  And then Jesus himself became the sufferer, the man of sorrows, acquainted with grief.  It wasn’t because of his sinfulness.  He suffered because of his righteousness. 

            As important as that is, that is not the driving message of this text.  The driving message is Jesus’ call to repentance.  Now, I know that word has fallen out of favor with some. Not many people want to talk about repentance anymore.  It makes them think of tent revivals and high-pressure preachers.  I understand that.  I’ve been there too.  But I want to suggest that this is a good word, a word we still need to hear, and it fits this occasion perfectly.  What Jesus is saying here is that we need to awaken to the reality that life can be taken away in an instant.  An act of war.  An accident on the highway. A barbaric act by a dictator.  A tower falling.  Jesus’ call to repentance is simply this:  be aware that life is a gift and use it well.  Be aware that it will end.  So be a fruitful fig tree.  Bring love and goodness into the world.  Make your community a better place.  Be people of integrity, graciousness, forgiveness, and kindness.  Care about the little people.  Know your neighbor.  Produce good fruit.

            So, no, God did not do that to them, Jesus said.  But be aware that it could have been you.  It could have been you at the Temple that day or underneath the tower at the pool of Siloam.  So repent, Jesus said.  Wake up to the reality that you’re all going to die one day or another, just as they did.  Until then, you have a gift.  It is life.  Use it to do good while you can.

            I read a great dad story this week.  It involved a young father named Nick.  He agreed to watch their three year old daughter, so his wife could go out with friends.  The little girl’s name was Ramanda.  Nick decided to try to get some work done while Ramanda played in another room.  He could hear her playing, so he knew everything was okay. 

            But you know what happens.  After a while, the other room became very quiet.  Too quiet!

            “Ramanda, what are you doing, dear?”

            “Nothing,” the little voice responded.

            Of course, parents know that “nothing” is code for “something I don’t want to tell you about.”

            “Nothing,” Nick repeated.  “What does nothing mean?”

            When he stood to go check on her, he heard Ramanda run out of the room and down the hallway.  She started up the stairs, and he was right behind her.  She turned into the bathroom, and she was cornered.  No way out.

            Nick said, “Okay, young lady, turn around.”  She refused.

            In his most authoritative, fatherly voice he said, “I said turn around.”

            She slowly turned around, and he noticed his wife’s new lipstick in her hand.  Every inch of her face was covered in red lipstick.  Except for her lips!

            Nick said he could see the fear in her eyes.  She’d been busted.  And suddenly he could hear every parental voice that had scolded him as a child.  “How could you….  You should know better than that….  How many times have I told you…. “

            Before he could pick the right parental message to use on her, he noticed the sweatshirt his wife had put on her an hour earlier.  In large letters, it read, “I’M A PERFECT LITTLE ANGEL.”  

            He looked into her eyes again, and that’s what he saw, a perfect little angel.  His words: “a perfect little angel full of worth, value, and wonderful spontaneity I had come dangerously close to shaming out of her.”

            This is what he said instead, “Sweetheart, you look beautiful!  Let’s take a picture so Mommy can see how special you look.”

            Nick ends his story with this, “I took the picture and thanked God that I didn’t miss the opportunity to reaffirm what a special little angel God had given me.”  (Nick Lazaris, A Cup of Chicken Soup for the Soul)

            We all miss some opportunities.  That’s life.  That is why repentance is part of our Lenten journey.  It challenges us to wake up.  Because this life, this day, is a gift.  And we do not know when it will be taken away.  So live today.  Love someone today.  Extend a hand of support today.  Forgive someone today.  Repent and produce good fruit today.  Come.  We’re journeying together.  Let us hear the call to repentance as we experience the wondrous love of our Lord.

Closing Prayer

        For this gift of life, O Lord, we give you thanks.  For opportunities this day and every day to matter, to make a difference, we give you thanks. During this Lenten season, awaken us to our potential.  Amen.