“Grace and Judgment”
3 Lent C –
Luke 13:1-9
Brothers and sisters in Christ, Grace and Peace to you from our Triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
In our gospel today, Jesus asks two questions that are horribly relevant in light of the events in
In response to the latest buzz about two Jews killed by the Romans whose blood was mingled with other sacrifices and offerings in, we suppose, in the temple, Jesus asks: “Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans?”
And he goes on to address another recent public tragedy: “Or those eighteen who were killed when the
In other words, Jesus addresses the unasked question, the question that is so often on our minds, if not our lips. It is the question of law and judgment: Who is responsible for this horror? A question that often is asked, as it is in the gospel: What did these people do to deserve such suffering and death?
Jesus immediately connects this question, not just to those who died, but to every one: were they worse sinners than all other Galileans? Were they worse offenders that all the others living in
And then he answers this question as only the Son of God can, not in words of the Law, but with the very emphatic proclamation of Grace: NO! I tell you! They did not die because the way they did because they were worse sinners or offenders than the rest of us. In fact, they are no better and no worse than we.
When we judge the sinfulness or offenses of our neighbors on the basis of good or bad things that happen to them we are not only foolish, we are blasphemous. And we blind ourselves to our own sin.
Jesus’ final words, “but unless you repent you will all perish just as they did.” remind us that grace does not mean there is no judgment. It’s not they are worse sinners, it is that we are just as bad as the ones who died. The difference between life and death -- no matter when or where or how or why it comes -- is repentance.
This is not easy stuff to understand or accept. It’s the “Why do bad things happen to good people? or why do the evil prosper? questions we struggle with. And what Jesus is saying is grace and mercy precede judgment. It is Grace and Judgment, not Judgment and Grace.
We live in fear of Judgment hoping that we were good enough to get sent to the right place. When the truth is we are not and never will be good enough to stand before God. Why? Because of what happened with an apple and a tree in a garden at the beginning of time.
Do you think it was a coincidence, then, that Jesus decided to tell a story about a man who had a fig tree planted in his vineyard? I don’t THINK so! Do you think it’s coincidence that Jesus’ words of grace and judgment concerning the daily events of his time -- “ripped from the headlines,” as they like to say about TV show plot lines -- probe deeply into our desire to judge others before we even think of being gracious?
This story of the fig tree really resonated with me, because I’ve been procrastinating on some major pruning on a couple of Haralson apples trees in our yard. I’m kind of attached to them, since I planting them myself when we first moved here 22 years ago. So I’ve watched those trees grow right along with our kids. And over the years we’ve gotten a lot of apples from them -- the trees not the kids! -- a lot of applesauce, a lot of deer food! Very unlike the fig tree that Jesus describes, which was barren.
But the woods around the apple trees have grown much taller and begun to overshadow the shorter habited fruit trees, so the quantity and quality of the apples has been declining. And I’ve thought, going to the trouble of pruning them again, maybe I should cut the trees down and plan new in a better location. Are they really worth the bother?
That is very much in the mix when Jesus tells this parable of the barren fig tree. The owner tells the gardener, “Put the axe to it! We gave it three years to bear fruit and what have we got? Nothing. Zip. Let’s cut our losses. It’s wasting valuable soil.
It is a very logical point of view. And you can’t fault the owner for wanting to be a good steward of the soil. But he has made a judgment call, a final decision on the life or death of the tree. This is not greed at work, nor it is cold-hearted or mean. This tree is not living as it was intended to live: bearing fruit. You could say that because it’s not bearing fruit, it’s not even a fig tree. Put the axe to it!
But the gardener begs for a stay of execution. “Let it alone for one more year, until I dig around it and put manure on it. If it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not you can cut it down.” It’s a stay of execution, but not indefinite; there is a time limit. Nonetheless, the gardener is going to do all he can. Give me a grace period. Let ME work in this fig tree that is not a fig tree and if it still will not bear fruit, then it must die.
The fact is, however, that fig trees don’t need tending or fertilizing. So what the gardener is doing here is really extraordinary, above and beyond the call. This is a labor of love, an act of grace. It is not that the owner is being unfair or harsh in his judgment, but that the gardener is merciful.
Now I think you can guess who the owner and the gardener are. They are both God. The owner is the God of Judgment, the gardener is the God of Grace, you can call them God the Father and God the Son. You could make an argument that they are both God the Son. You might remember that when the newly risen Christ appeared to Mary Magdalene outside the opened tomb, he appeared as a gardener! I think you could even make a case that the Holy Spirit is at work in the digging and feeding of the soil.
And if the fruit that the gardener is hoping to see on the tree is the fruit of repentance. “But I tell you unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did.”
We are given a grace period. A time when by God’s grace and mercy, we can confess our sins and repent of them. That is what Lent is about. And indeed this story, this parable of grace in Luke, takes place on the road to
However, it Matthew and Mark this story is acted out: Jesus curses the fig tree. Instead of a parable of grace, as in Luke, the same story in these other two gospels is an enacted judgment. Grace before judgment. God keeps the door open as long as he can. But there will come a day . . . Until then, he feeds us with his word and waters us with his grace. He stirs up the soil within hoping to see even a single fig of repentance.
Grace is Jesus’ proclamation of the promise of mercy and forgiveness in the face of our sin. The gardener will love us, not to death, but to life. He waters and feeds and cares for us in extraordinary ways. He shows us who we are and who we were meant to be. And as we admit the contrast between who we are and who the gardener made us to be, we receive the voice of repentance. And I need have no fear or anxiety about any judgment to come.
And after thinking through this parable of grace, I’ve made a decision about my apple trees. I think I’ll but down some of the tall birch on the edge of the yard for firewood, and let more sun in the apple trees, and maybe prune them back, all so they flourish and can bear more fruit.
If seeing those apple trees serves to remind me of the gracious gardener who makes it possible for me to repent, it will be joy enough for a lifetime. And so, our Lord proclaims today, it will be for you. Amen.
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