Did you hear the shocking news out of Egypt on Tuesday? 19 tourists died when a hot air balloon exploded and plunged 300 meters to the ground. One moment these people were enjoying something they had dreamed of doing for years - floating above ancient Egyptian ruins in the soft light of an early morning desert sun. That dreamed mutated into a nightmare when something went terribly wrong with the gas burners attached to that giant balloon. What does the tragedy mean? One person I overheard speaking about the incident thought it was a sign to go horseback riding this spring break instead of taking a hot air balloon ride as he had been planning. The people of Jesus’ day would have said that those 19 tourists must have been guilty of some wrongdoing for which God was punishing them. What do you think? Is there a lesson to be learned from this or any other tragedy? What was God saying with 9/11 for example when 3,000 people died in a horrendous act of terrorism? Or do bad things just happen and we have no explanation for them? There is no need for us to remain clueless if we listen closely to Jesus this morning. He informs us that misfortune is God’s megaphone. It amplifies his call to repent individually, and immediately. Let’s make some sense of what that means.
Misfortune was a regular occurrence in Jesus’ day as it is today. Take for instance the tragedy that had fallen upon some worshippers from Galilee. While they were offering their sacrifice in the temple, Pilate, the Roman governor, sent in his troops to slaughter them, mixing human blood with the blood of the animal sacrifice. That would be like a gunman spraying bullets on a congregation while it was celebrating Holy Communion. What a gruesome scene that would be: the blood of the congregants mixed with the wine of the sacrament staining the floor of the church! Those who had told Jesus about the incident thought that the calamity was proof that God was punishing those Galileans. Oh sure, they may have seemed pious for travelling from their home in the north to offer sacrifices, but God really knew their hearts and he had exposed them as hypocrites by allowing them to be killed in such dramatic fashion. Was that really the lesson to be learned? Listen to Jesus’ response: “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? 3 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. 4 Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? 5 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish” (Luke 13:2-5).
Misfortune, explains Jesus, is God’s megaphone. He uses it to broadcast an important message, but the message isn’t about the people who died in the tragedy; the message is about and for us who are still alive. God uses calamity to amplify his call to repent individually. In other words when we start to wonder, “What did those people do to deserve such an end?” we’re missing the point. The questions we should be asking are “What if that had been me? Would I be ready to meet my Maker? Do I live in daily repentance of my sins, hating my self-centeredness and striving to live for God and for those around me? Or am I just coasting through life unconcerned that the crack I made at my sister’s expense, the sarcastic reply I gave my parents, or the demeaning look I shot those teenagers are at odds with the way God wants me to live?” Oh we may think of our sins from time to time. In fact we even confess them here in church. But have we really repented of them? Jesus highlighted the importance of true repentance when he told the following parable. “A man had a fig tree, planted in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it, but did not find any. 7 So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’” (Luke 13:6, 7)
The vineyard owner represents God and we represent the fig tree. Jesus invites us to consider the question: “Am I a productive fig tree?” Sure, I may be planted in the church. I may give all the right responses in Bible class so that outwardly it seems that I’m a true believer but that might not be the case. John the Baptist had to deal with people like this. He said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance…” 10 “What should we do then?” the crowd asked. 11 John answered, “The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same.” 12 Tax collectors also came to be baptized. “Teacher,” they asked, “what should we do?” 13 “Don’t collect any more than you are required to,” he told them. 14 Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?” He replied, “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely—be content with your pay” (Luke 3:7b, 8, 10-14). True fruit is not just saying that we are sorry for sin; it’s stopping the sin and undoing any harm our sins have caused. Does God find such fruit in your life? Have you stopped downloading copyrighted music you haven’t paid for? Have you stopped grumbling about household chores? Those who make excuses for their sins instead of confessing them and seeking God’s forgiveness are barren trees in danger of being cut down and thrown into the fire – no matter how great their church attendance or Bible knowledge might be.
We shouldn’t think, of course, that God is eager to chop us down. No. Look again at the parable. Jesus said: “So [the owner] said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’ ‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. 9 If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down’” (Luke 13:7-9). The vineyard owner was a patient man. He had waited three years for fruit but none had come. Although he was frustrated, he let himself be talked into giving the tree one more year. He even consented to investing more in the fig tree. He would allow his gardener to concentrate on the tree and to expend precious resources to coax that tree to do what it was supposed to do: produce fruit.
Doesn’t the gardener in the parable remind you of Jesus? The gardener wasn’t hesitant to get his hands dirty to help that failing tree just like Jesus did not hesitate to let himself be charged with the filth of our sins when he died upon another tree. The crowds had asked Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had shed with their sacrifices. Little did they realize that the Galilean with whom they were speaking would shed his blood as a sacrifice for their sins! Do you marvel at this miracle of love? I hope so because with this message God is digging around in your heart working hard to root out proud self-sufficiency and to make room for his loving forgiveness. It’s this forgiveness that motivates and empowers us to produce fruit.
But we’re easily sidetracked aren’t we? Satan has a knack for getting us to think that we can always get serious about repentance later. “Forgive my brother? Maybe in a year or two but not right now. I’m so angry at what he did to the family!” “Give God my firstfruits? Sure, after I’ve become established and paid down a few debts.” But Jesus doesn’t say we should repent and produce fruit “some day.” No. He used the present tense in our text literally saying: “unless you keep repenting, you too will all perish” (Luke 13:3). To convince us that he’s serious, he’ll let tragedies hit close to home, like when a friend dies in a head-on collision. Such an accident brings to life the reality that our time of grace, that is, our time to repent could come to an end on our next trip to Wal-Mart. Since God made us he can recall us at any time he wants. That’s his right. So are YOU ready to stand before God NOW? That’s what I mean when I say that misfortune amplifies God’s call to repent individually (YOU!) and immediately (NOW!).
While tragedies are meant to highlight God’s patient love for us, Satan will use them to cast doubt on that love. Sure, we can understand why a calamity might strike someone who has lived a long life and had a chance to hear about Jesus, but how do you explain what God is up to when little children die in a senseless shooting? That doesn’t seem fair or loving. When we have these thoughts we need to keep this truth in mind: tragedies call for contrition, not speculation. Anyway how can a sinner like me, someone who has done more than his fair share of bringing misery to this world, question the way God governs the world? O Lord, forgive us for our arrogance! Forgive us for questioning your goodness while failing to see our own sinfulness.
God has forgiven this arrogance. Like a white linen cloth that transforms a stained picnic table into an attractive place to share a meal, Jesus’ righteousness has covered our sin-stained hearts so that we now stand ready to serve the King of kings.
There were many headlines after those 19 tourists perished in Egypt. One of them could have been this: “19 Die in Tragic Hot Air Balloon Accident…Because God Loves You!!” No, I’m not saying that God didn’t love those who died. We know he did because he sent Jesus to pay for their sins too, and those who died believers are now in heaven. But with that tragedy God is making another loving attempt to grab your attention. With this and every misfortune he’s turning his megaphone towards you to amplify his call to keep repenting of sin and trusting in Jesus’ forgiveness so that you will be ready when he calls you home to heaven - heaven, that place where gunmen, natural disasters, car accidents, and disease can never touch you again. Don’t let anything keep you from that place Jesus worked so hard to build for you. Amen.
SERMON NOTES
What did the people in Jesus’ day think was the reason for misfortune? How have you felt the same way at times?
Misfortune is God’s megaphone. What’s the message?
Jesus told a parable to emphasize the need for sinners to produce fruits of repentance. What does that mean? What are some ways you can do that THIS week?
In what ways is the gardener in the parable like Jesus?
Satan tempts us to question God’s love when we hear about tragedies. But as our text points out, tragedies are cause for contrition, not speculation. Why should contrition (repentance) be immediate?
How does today’s text demonstrate God’s deep love for you?
