From the Daily Lectionary for Tuesday in the Twenty-Second Week after Pentecost
Luke 13:1-9
At that very time there were some present who told him 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 round it and put manure on it. If it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’”
Jesus’ Jewish audience is struggling with “Covenant” theology: Worship and obey the one true God and you will be blessed; turn from God and be cursed. Not only were some Galileans executed, but Pilate debased them by using their blood in a ritual sacrifice. Not only were these people killed; they were shamed as well. Is this punishment for sin, the people ask. Jesus answers that God is not about the quid pro quo of sin and blessing. Bad things happen to people. These people were executed by a violent and oppressive regime. Plain and simple. And then Jesus gives them a further example of calamity that comes at random. He is exhorting them not to blame the victim. To do so undermines the energy of community, the community’s ability to move on. We know in our own time that “victim-blaming” subverts the cause of justice, and worse, creates scapegoats in our midst.
Then Jesus calls on his followers to repent, a rich word in the Greek that is lost to modern ears. To repent is to give one’s mind towards “reasonableness.” It has everything to do with common sense, and perspective… waking up to the truth, in short. The truth of the matter is that the movement has vital work to do. Maudlin self-indulgence in calamity keeps us from the cause at hand. Our faith is stronger, and faith demands we keep our eye on the greater good. It seems apt that Jesus follows his exhortation with the parable of the fig tree, a parable about bearing fruit, and a call to persistence, and perhaps patience. Mind the essentials of the ministry. Do the work; and trust that the work will bear fruit in its time. Allow nothing to keep us from the truth. And what is truth, Pilate will ask at Jesus’ trial. The truth is to love kindness, and to do justice, and to walk humbly. There is nothing more reasonable than that.
A Prayer for the Poor and Neglected (BCP p. 826)
Most merciful God, we remember before you all poor and neglected persons whom it would be easy for us to forget: the homeless and the destitute, the old and the sick, and all who have none to care for them. Help us to heal those who are broken in body and spirit, and to turn their sorrow into joy. Grant this O God, for the love of your Son, who for our sake became poor, Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
