Lent 3 C
A Fair God and Good People
St. Luke 13:1-9
28 February 2016 – Redeemer
Sermon idea from Pr. Harold Senkbeil Where in the World is God?
Jesus said, ‘Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” Lk 13:3
Why do six random people get shot in Kalamazoo? Why do teenagers get cancer? Why do houses burn and families die? The tragedies of life turn us all into philosophers, pondering the source and cause of evil.
Who better to ask for an answer than Jesus? He had taught the crowds as One having authority. He is God in the flesh. He is against evil and sickness and death as evidenced by His casting out demons, healing the sick, and raising the dead. Surely He has an answer for us. So let us go with the crowds in Jerusalem, for their question is our question, “Why does evil befall good people?”
There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. A group of worshipers from Galilee was in the temple offering their sacrifices. Pilate’s soldiers desecrated holy ground by entering the temple and then killing the worshipers, mixing their blood with the blood of their sacrifices. God’s people murdered at the altar. We could hardly imagine a more horrific crime.
Jesus, why did this happen? Were these Galileans worse sinners than anyone else? Was God angry with them? Was it the government’s fault? They’re always a good culprit. What should we do about this?
Jesus does not allow the crowds to speculate. “Why” questions are dangerous questions they are usually based on two false beliefs – two teachings that are contrary to Scripture and contrary to Christ’s cross. The first false belief we have is that God is fair, the second is that we are good people.
God is not fair. We falsely project the rule of earthly kingdoms onto the heavenly kingdom. We make our way of handling evil into God’s way. We reason that the council of the Holy Trinity in heaven works like our legal system here on earth. If you are good and keep the laws you will be rewarded or at least not punished. If you obey the speed limit and the tax laws and respect your neighbor’s rights you’re not going to end up in jail or land in the courtroom. Good people are normally blessed with freedom and safety and peace. Evil people are punished, fined, and end up in jail. Our system isn’t perfect, but its goal is to be fair. Reward good. Punish evil. Fair is receiving what you deserve.
God is not fair. If you think God should be fair you’ve taken your eyes off the cross. For on the cross an innocent Man dies bearing the sin of the world. Jesus does not deserve death. He has committed no sin. Yet God lays on Him the iniquity of us all. God punishes the wrong guy. The rebellious children are pardoned and the perfect Son is slain. The children who wasted the inheritance on wild living are welcomed back to the table, while the faithful Son is grounded in his tomb. The criminal is set free and the Innocent is condemned. You are declared “not guilty” of your sins while Christ is given the death sentence. God is not fair. The cross is not fair. God is merciful. The cross is God’s compassion. God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Rom 5:8
When the crowds question and speculate, Jesus calls them to the cross, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”
In His answer Jesus challenges the second false belief that takes our eyes off the cross. We falsely believe that we are good, or at least better than most. And that may be true in terms of earthly appearances, but it is not true in God’s judgment. The Galileans in the temple were no worse sinners than any other Galileans, but they were sinners. The people on whom the tower fell weren’t worse offenders than those who escaped that tragedy, but they were offenders against God’s law. Jesus will not allow us to run the game of comparison and conclude that “I am better than most and therefore do not deserve to suffer.”
Jesus response to the crowd is this, “Do you want to find a purpose behind a tragedy, some reason it happened, some message to take away from this? Here it is, ‘Repent!’” Towers crumble. People die. Accidents happen. Businesses fail. Sickness comes. Murders are committed. Jesus preaches the same sermon in every event. Repent! The world is under the curse of sin. You are dying. Nothing here will last, because you are a sinner, no worse than any other sinner, but unless you repent, you too will perish.
The call to repent is the loving call of God. He doesn’t want us to be lost. As I live, declares the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel? Eze 33:11 Repent! Turn your eyes away trying to see God’s fairness and your goodness. Turn to the cross. You are a sinner and Christ’s death alone forgives your sins, puts an end to death and brings life and the resurrection to you now. There is still time to repent. Not tomorrow, but today. You don’t know what tomorrow will bring, but today, right now, you know what God has done for your sin. He has been merciful and patient.
Like the vinedresser in the parable, He does not want the tree to be destroyed. He pleads with the owner for a little more time. Let me dig around its roots. Let me get another load of fertilizer. Come back later and if the tree bears fruit it is alive. If not, then cut it down.
This is Christ pleading for you. This is His Holy Spirit working on you. Digging around in your roots with His Word of Law exposing your sin that He might speak to you the Word of forgiveness. Pouring on you the water of baptism to give you life. Feeding you with His body and blood in the Sacrament. He died for your sins. That’s not fair. It is grace. He is pleading for you with His Father. His Spirit is digging, watering, fertilizing with His Word and Sacraments. He wants you alive. He wants you now and forever. That’s not His fairness speaking. That is His love calling you.
So what answer do we have for the “why” questions? We must first answer “we are not good people.” We are sinners living in a fallen world and we will suffer. The second answer is that God is not fair – thanks be to God. He gave His Son to suffer all, even death for us and for our salvation. The answer to suffering is the cross of Christ. In the name of Jesus. Amen.
Pr. Bruce Timm
27 February 2016 anno Domini