Amen
We begin with headlines that are all too familiar. Political and religious interests are reported today to have collided in violence when a group of religious devotees on pilgrimage are killed by militia forces-the story could have come this past week from Saudi Arabia where millions of Moslems are participating in the hajj to Mecca-or it could have been in Afghanistan where the Taliban blew up ancient Buddhist shrines-or it could have been in Indonesia where clashes between Christians and Moslems continue in violent ethnic fighting-or it could have been Jerusalem this past week where Palestinians strove to find accord allowing self determination in a new Palestinian state. The general headline of a clash between religious and political forces is a story that sweeps across our modern world-and yet the details of the story this morning are drawn from our Gospel lesson describing an incident involving the Roman Governor Pontius Pilate ruling ancient Jerusalem 2,000 years ago in the first century. Sadly the impact of the headlines whether from today or 2,000 years ago make about the same impression on us-tragic tales of people and places removed from our lives. And even when we continue on to the next headline in our Gospel lesson-a construction accident that killed 18-we find ourselves immediately cataloging it against the untold number of disasters we have witnessed in just the last months-construction failures are a too common occurrence in our busy overbuilt world. And when the disaster is not of human making we collect our tales of so called natural disasters-earthquakes, volcanoes, tornadoes, floods and blizzards-the list is almost endless. All this without ever even considering the constant specters of famine and disease that touch every culture and country on the planet. If ever there were a Lenten theme-somber, serious, depressing-our Gospel lesson for today is it.
Two weeks ago we began the Lenten journey looking at texts that called us to consider the nature of temptation in our world and our lives-we have begun to focus during our Wednesday evenings on marks of discipleship-those things in our lives that witness to our living faith in the face of temptation and all that would lead us away from God. Today we are confronted by perhaps the most challenging question that faith must ever embrace-the headlines. The headlines are the hard realities of life-the dark truths of our world that haunt our most happy moments-the what ifs-the possibility that no matter how good or blessed our lives may feel we are always but a moment away from circumstances that could change all that-that would try our faith to the limit-and no matter how bad the situation may seem to us at this moment-there is always the possibility that it can get even worse. Midway through Lent we are invited to plum the depths of our understanding of God and the message of the Gospel. Jesus takes the headlines of his day-the death of religious pilgrims-faithful Galileans from the country around where Jesus grew up-He asks the question that we all wonder about at some time or another-Why did this happen? Why does a perfectly normal day at school suddenly result in the shooting death of teen age students who were doing nothing more then following their class schedules? Why does one plane crash killing all on board while hundreds of others take off and land each hour without incident? How could it possibly happen that in the whole ocean one fishing ship was positioned exactly over a submarine at the moment the sub decided to surface? Fate? We want to believe it is something more. We look for explanations-somewhere to lay the blame-there are investigations-analysis-rationalizations-litigation.Yet when it is all said and done what we really want is for God to explain it all. We want some cosmic explanation that gives ultimate meaning to our suffering-For our faith to produce just the right words to take away the pain-wipe away the tears-remove the fear that we might be next.
But Jesus doesn't do that in our lesson for today. In fact, what Jesus does is exactly the opposite-He says, 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." These are not words of comfort-they are harsh judgment-"unless you repent, you will perish just as they did"-Why would Jesus threaten that? What have we ever done to deserve such judgment? The answer comes in the form of a parable-a story told that invites us to consider the place of faith and hope in our world. It is a simple story of a man who plants a fig tree in a vineyard but when the man comes looking for fruit to harvest he finds none. The man tells the gardener that he has waited three years for fruit from the tree and found none-"Cut it down," he orders. But the gardener petitions the man to give the tree one more year-let him fertilize and water the tree, he says, and then see what happens. If nothing comes of it, then cut it down.
It may be hard to remember what the church grounds looked like last summer-especially after all the snows of this winter. They were green and groomed with flowers and various plants all around. What you may not know is where many of the flowers and bushes come from. Chuck Heyward who volunteers to care for our grounds has connections with local nurseries and plant growers. Now, I'm not sure we would consider this connections to be totally healthy since the plants he is provided by these sources for free or next to nothing are usually the saddest, sickest, weakest looking plants-the ones that no one else wants-but Chuck accepts them and finds them a home on the church grounds-He fertilizes and cares for them and the results are the many blooms and plants that fill our forest setting-I guess our grounds are a sort of rehabilitation center of the plant world-a retirement home for weary plants-the last hope for many hopeless hosta. That is a fitting perspective on our parable for today-and our lives. In the face of all that is hopeless-death, disease, crisis and catastrophe-we are invited to have hope-have faith. The simple truth is that there are at least two ways to look at most situations-the human view and God's view-the faithless and the faithful.
I love reading the sports pages this time of
year-the NCAA basketball playoffs that make up March madness
are filled with stories of upsets and reversals of fortune. One
coach will be quoted as saying it was a great win while the next
coach-who also won-will be anxiously describing how they almost
lost. Every story will have at least two sides to it-there will
be the despair of a season ending and the hope against hope that
the little underrated school will survive the game against the
highly rated university. We began the season of Lent on Ash Wednesday
with the reminder that we are but dust-a reminder that we are
mere mortals-that life is short-a truth that becomes clearer with
each passing year. We are all but one breath away from eternity-that
is what Jesus was trying to convey through his call to repentance.
Faith is not something for the future-its meaning and value is
here and now. The word of God is offered in this moment-in this
place-it is not future promise but present tense. When the sacrament
is offered it is real. The body of Christ is not just symbolized
in the bread or promised for some future time-Christ said this
is my bodythis is my blood.
The forgiveness of sins-the gift of life everlasting-the meaning
that you will find in your life is real now-the love that you
share is real now. Is God looking for fruit from our lives? Of
course-and so are we. Each of us wants our lives to be as rich
and full as God does-And the good news is that Jesus has faith
in us-Jesus has provided for our nourishment in his Word and sacraments-surrounded
by the church we have rich soils of tradition and community from
which to draw. There is not just bad news but also good news in
the headlines -sometimes you just have to look a little harder-sometimes
you have to even read between the lines. Our lives are filled
with trials and temptations-2,000 years ago the Apostle Paul lived
the same kind of life-regularly persecuted for his words-thrown
into prison time and again-but he remained faithful and in our
second lesson for today he provides a valuable insight to help
us deal with the headlines. Faced with a world like ours that
at times seems to be going to pieces-caught in lives that are
filled with reversals to finances, health and family-St. Paul
writes to the church at Corinth, God is faithful, and he will
not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing
he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure
it. (I Cor. 10:13) God is faithful-and from the day of our
baptism that has been the promise-God is faithful. God is with
us-God around us-God beside us every day. So we read the headlines-hear
the news stories-and still ask why-but we ask not in fear or despair
but in thanks for the grace that takes even the most confusing
moments and points by faith toward God-toward the light that leads
us out of the darkness of temptation into the promise of new life-renewed
purpose-eternal life embraced by God's love for all people. God
is faithful even when we are not-Give it another year and watch
for the fruit-we live in faith.
Amen