Luke 13:1-9
13 At that very time there were some present who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 2 He asked them, “Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans? 3 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as they did. 4 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? 5 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did.”
6 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. 7 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?’ 8 He replied, ‘Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig around it and put manure on it. 9 If it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’”
Meditation
Picture this, Jesus is presenting his TED talk about being ready (see Luke 12:35-38) and being diligent (see Luke 12:41-48) while waiting for “the boss” to return from vacation. He has just finished talking about “[judging] for yourselves what is right” (Luke 12:57) and settling disputes out of court when he is interrupted with breaking news about the Governor being particularly nasty to some Galileans. Suddenly, it’s like nobody is listening to his innovative teachings about spiritual reinterpretations. They have completely lost track of what his point is. Everybody has switched to self-righteous indignation against the government and probably is asking what Jesus is going to do about it. Under all this outrage are the murmurings of blame and relief that sound like “they must have done something to deserve this” or “Thank God, my righteousness is better because it did not happen to me.” Jesus is not distracted nor is he fooled; he pointedly explains that self-righteousness (indignant or otherwise) in the face of tragedy, is a false comfort and a false qualifier. Repentance is the only way to true righteousness. Either you have changed the way you think and respond to the world around you and to God or you have not. That is the deciding factor for your future. Oh, and just to be sure, Jesus adds—corporate and systemic negligence cannot be used to justify the lack of repentance either.
Then, Jesus switches from judgement to grace with a vineyard parable. In the parable, sin is described as a form of complacency. The fig tree (the audience then and now) is complacent in the knowledge that it is in the protected garden of God (also known as Israel) and need not be productive to secure its place in the garden. In essence, this complacency is a type of self-righteousness. But the parable is about grace. You see, the gardener (namely Jesus) intercedes and commits to nurturing the fig tree to its full potential. The grace is the fact that nothing that Jesus has presented in his TED talk is done alone. In fact, it really isn’t possible for to live into repentance without the aid of the loving gardener. Going it alone or relying on a firm location in the vineyard does not offer protection from the owner of the vineyard deciding you’re just taking up space. But the gardener, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, will always intercede on our behalf before God. He commits to nurturing and encouraging us toward healthy wellbeing which produces restoration with God and with our surroundings. The work of repentance is recognizing our own self-righteous complacency and acknowledging that the grace of Jesus Christ sustains us. Only then, can we meet our full potential and be a pleasing sacrifice to God. Thanks be to God, Amen.