Sermon for March 12

The reading

 

Luke 13:1-9, 31-35

At that very time there were some present who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.  He asked them, "Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans?  No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as they did. Or 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?  No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did."  Then 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.  So 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?'  He replied, "Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig around it and put manure on it.  If it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.' "

At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to him, "Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you."  He said to them, "Go and tell that fox for me, "Listen, I am casting out demons and performing cures today and tomorrow, and on the third day I finish my work.  Yet today, tomorrow, and the next day I must be on my way, because it is impossible for a prophet to be killed outside of Jerusalem.'  Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!  See, your house is left to you. And I tell you, you will not see me until the time comes when you say, "Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.' "

The message

This is not the best reading to deal with today we as all live with that one less hour of sleep and we face a very complicated and serious reading. For most of human history people have wrestled with Theodicy, in English, the question “why does a good and all powerful God allow bad things to happen”.  There are several major explanations that appear again and again in people’s religious belief. These ways that help us get up in the morning and live in an unfair world while knowing a good God loves us include.

1:  It is not our place to ask this question, how can we expect to know the mind of God   

2:  There is a big picture we cannot comprehend, reasons we cannot understand. 

3: Free will, God made people, not obedient robots. These are the consequences of our choices

4: Testing of faith, a fire to shape us / punishment for sin  

5: These things are the results of sin and a broken world.

6: this life is not all there is. 

7: something else

Today’s story starts with a group of people listening to Jesus and then asking a very important question, why do bad things happen to good people. The group refers to the mixing of the blood of the Galieans with sacrifices in the temple.  We are not really sure what event they are referring to.  We piece together that King Herod had a group of Galileans killed while they worshipped and offering sacrifices in the temple. Galilee was known to be a place of rebellion.  I suspect such an offensive and public act had been done to prove a point, scare people, get everyone’s obedience and quiet the rebels).

This attack at worship would have greatly upset and angered many people. The Galileans were killed while fulfilling their religious responsibilities through worship and offering sacrifices in the temple.  This was frightening and upsetting and shook people’s view of the world.    Today, we would compare it to the shooting at Emmanuel AME Church in Charleston South Carolina, where a young man shot and killed 9 people at a church service. Our world is filled with attacks on safe spaces, the bombings and shootings at churches and Christian festivals around the world. There are also the attacks on mosques, synagogues, temples, hospitals, shelthers and other sacred or safe spaces.  Today, we occasional have counter terrorism patrols parked in front of our church on Sunday morning (part of a city plan to show protection for everyone)  These sort of attacks matter, they are used to upset, scare and unsettle others, show power and push for a response.

The group that asks Jesus about the killing of the Galileans in the temple wants to know the same thing we asked after Charleston, certainly God would protect people in the temple,.How could God let this happen. One possibility the group speaking to Jesus comes up with is that the people killed must have been sinners, really bad sinners (and then it would make sense that they were punished in such a hideous way).   

Many people look at this story and say “Jesus avoids this question” Jesus does not hide from the question.  In response Jesus urges repentance and refers to another event, an accident at the tower of Siloam. Like the murders in the temple, we are unsure about this event as well. We have no idea where or what the tower of Siloam was or what happened there. We can piece together that this was known at Jesus time, there was an accident there and innocent people died   

Jesus invites them to think about why these things happened in two ways. First there is the call to repent, for people to control what you can. Repentance will not stop earthquakes or floods, but it can stop war, inequality, global warming, the devastation of easily cured diseases and a lot of other human made disasters. Repentance is not just a way to do some good deeds to make the world better.  It reestablishes our relationship with a God who does not give us what we deserve. In a quote I love from Issac the Syrian, never say God is just, if God were just, you would be in hell, instead rely on God’s injustice, which is mercy, love and compassion. To not repent, to not acknowledge God’s mercy and love, to wish we can stand on our works, means dying like the fig tree.     

Second, Jesus reassures the group that God is present in suffering.  The Pharisees warn Jesus that danger is coming, King Herod wants him dead and gone. Perhaps they want to protect him, get him away from them, expose him as a fraud afraid to confront empire or even actually help him.  Jesus responds by calling Herod a fox (meant in a very negative way) and continuing his journey into suffering, the journey to Jerusalem, where he will face trial, abandonment, abuse and death on the cross. Jesus knows there will not be a last minute reprieve, God will allow this to happen too. Even the messiah is not shielded from undeserved suffering.

This idea of God present in suffering comes through in Jesus last example in the conversation of the messiah as a mother hen, putting herself between her children and danger.  Now there are a few animal metaphors used in the old testament to describe the Messiah. In Hosea 11:10 the Messiah is a lion, who uses strength to intimidate and crush enemies with a single blow, a military savior-king who promises safety and security in the face of border incursions and terrorist attacks. In Deuteronomy 32:11 the messiah is an eagle, a spiritual hero or teacher of righteousness who soars above earthly things, carrying followers to mountaintops of ecstatic experience. In Hosea 13:6 the messiah is a bear, a powerful, prophetic savior who charges in to critique a culture that has lost sight of God. 

The eagle, bear and lion are the top of the food chain, in control of their environments and express great power. They are rarely in danger, have no real natural predators and do not have much to fear.  In Luke 13:34, the Messiah is a mother hen. Now a mother hen will nurture, care for and protect her children at all costs but there will be costs.  There are lots of animals (and people) that attack, kill and eat chickens. Here, Jesus is once again reminding the crowds, God’s power will be revealed in weakness, in the unexpected, in the suffering and in death. Everyone could celebrate a messiah who was like a lion or eagle, but a mother hen, that’s a different thing.  God’s loving presence in suffering will be revealed by God’s loving presence in suffering.