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S. Lent 3.25 Luke 13:1-9

‘Or those 18 on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse sinners than all the others who lived in Jerusalem?

(Or the pastor in Raleigh, NC upon whom the old 60’s hippy crucifix fell during service, killing him? Do you think he was a worse sinner than all the other LCMS clergy? Well, OK, everyone knows he’s a sinner, but anyway the point is 😉

‘Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.’

I had to throw in that middle part (from the NIV 😉 just so the Gospel would hit home harder [see what I did there?]. Partly because, examining our old crucifix close up, the thing was decaying so fast it really could have fallen and killed me or the vicar at anytime—not mention destroying the altar. Vicars and pastors can be replaced, but altars are really expensive! Sure, my death by crucifix crushing would have been a truly marvelous article for the Lutheran Witness, loaded with irony, and I do like irony—but maybe not that much?

Anyway, I throw it in because it’s tough to identify with all those bad sinners Jesus denounces in the Gospels. Seeing ourselves as the disciples on one of their good days—like when Peter confesses Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God, or as one of those lost lambs Jesus is always scooping up is more where we like to find ourselves in the story. And… me too!

But before we can be faithful apostles or rescue sheep, we really need to be those Galileans whose blood Pilate mingled with their sacrifices, or the 18 on whom the tower of Siloam collapsed and killed after the terrorists flew the hijacked plane into it. And even when we are Peter confessing Jesus is the Christ, 5 minutes later we’re denying that Jesus needs to die on the cross or anything so drastic because it’s not like we’re that bad, for Christ’s sake!

It’s tough to get through to that rotten sinner that lurks in all of us—a sneaky SOB!

We don’t know who rushed up to Jesus that day with the terrible, tragic news. But who doesn’t secretly relish such opportunities? I remember the barely concealed glee of Pr. Ron rushing into our Winkle Sept 11 ’01 saying we had to turn on the TV and see the World Trade Towers, burning. Or the gleam in my classmate Greg’s eye when he rushed into the refectory late January ’86 to tell us the Challenger Space Shuttle had just exploded and they were replaying it on TV.

And we all rushed to the sets and were glued.

We race to tell Jesus about these terrible tragedies because we want him to say: “Well, they were left-wing woke extremists or alt-right wing-nuts who got what they deserved. I’d planned on a gruesome end for those guys, from the start! But don’t worry; nothing so terrible will ever happen to Good Christian folks like you, bless your hearts!”

Search your hearts. You know that’s what’s behind all your questions about the “problem of evil” or “why bad things happen to good people”. You want assurance that you may not the be smartest or the richest or the best looking, but, gosh darn it, you’re a good person to whom bad things, really terrible things, will never happen!

Jesus has news for you. I have news for you as his messenger. THERE ARE NO GOOD PEOPLE IN THE WORLD!!! Well, except Jesus. And look what we did to him…

Jesus is pretty clear that the wages of sin is… death! and as sinners one and all, the terrible end of those poor Galileans or finance guys working in the tower of Siloam will happen to any of us unless we repent.

And we’re like, “Oooh! Oooh! Jesus! I repent! Like right now, totally, completely penitent I am. What is repentance though, exactly, remind me?”

Ah, great question now that we’ve got your attention. The Greek word μετανοια is not well rendered by the English “repentance”. The Greek is a simple compound word that literally means “Mind-Change” (change of heart is in the semantic field of play as well). But, change my mind and heart in what regard? Well, in regard to Jesus and his love! Instead of thinking you’re fine the way you are, nearly heaven-ready just you stand, repentance means realizing your sins have barred heaven’s gate like a super-max’s barbed wire, barking dogs…

Mean what you say! starting out every service, “I a poor miserable sinner…” as in you’re Peter saying the cross’ll never happen, totally impossible!; or in Caiaphas’ courtyard insisting: “I don’t know this Jesus fellow at all” or Saul persecuting the church, or the hooker wetting Jesus’ feet with her tears because she’s gone so far off the right path, or the Galilean hedge fund managers that Pilate slaughtered, or the fat cats of Siloam whom the terrorists took out, or the insurance CEO assassinated on the streets of Gotham for whom hardly anyone shed a tear.

Believe, as my old teacher Paul Holmer would confess with a twinkle in his eye, “Deep down, we’re all pretty shallow.” All rotten apples, to the core! If God dropped the crucifix on my head and killed me during the liturgy, well; the relentless irony of it would not be lost on anyone. I mean it’s what the cross does… 😉

That’s a start on the Mind/Heart Change Jesus has in mind. 😉

What’s the fig tree in the parable that the Master wants cut down because it uses up the ground? It looks a lot like us! “What? God wants to cut me down?!?” Uhm, well… yeah.

“Why?” Because you bear no fruit! “What is the fruit he’s after?” Well; it’s the 10 commandments—fear and love God with all your heart, soul, and mind and love your neighbor as yourself (or just a smidgy more would be better, still 😉

Seriously: is there one of those you haven’t broken 7 ways from Sunday? And so repentance secretly begins… 😉

I think the Master in this parable is God the Father, and the vinedresser’s God the Son who says: “Sir, let it alone one more year until I dig around and dung it. Then if it should bear fruit next year, great, and if not cut it down.”

What is the dung? I’d say it’s the wages of sin: death, hell, damnation. But how exactly does all that shtuff make for growth, anyhow?

Here’s my take: Jesus is the only fig tree that bears fruit, in season and out, but takes our place, all of our shtuff, on himself, gets cut down on Golgotha for it. But, surprise! Jesus’ sinless death produces the fruit of the Resurrection—his body glorified, death destroyed, heaven opened!

We bear fruit when Jesus squeezes himself into our hearts and minds, through our ears, by his Word, through our mouths by the Holy Supper. By faith, we put on Christ, and he makes a great exchange: our sin, death, and hell, for his forgiveness, life, and salvation—for his Peace, that surpasses all understanding, guarding our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.