To read: Luke 13:1-9
New Revised Standard Version Bible,At that very time there were some present who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. [Jesus] asked them, "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."
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. 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?' He replied, 'Sir, 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.'"
copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the
National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.
To think about:
Sometimes
, when my wife and I encounter a circumstance, one will smile at the other and ask, "Is this a sign or a test?" We laugh because, through the lens of faith in Jesus Christ, it seems laughable. In our hearts we know that Jesus died for our sins nearly two thousand years ago. Certainly, the fully deflated tire on our car was neither a sign nor a test. It was the merely the next event in our lives.
But there are circumstances where the stakes are much greater, when we will ask the question without laughing. I remember the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center five years ago, and many were seeking the answer to their own questions. "Was this a sign from God? Is this a test of our faith? Did we deserve this?" In such moments the same faith that engaged us in the changing of the tire is called upon to minister to our compassion for humanity.
Many of the two million incarcerated people in America are baptized Christians, and of those, many see their lot as a payment required by God. Like us they think of God two opposing ways: on the one hand, God punishes the wicked, and on the other hand, God forgives the sins of those who are profoundly sorry and accept responsibility for their actions.
Jesus tells us in today's Gospel reading from Luke that the owner of the vineyard has agreed to a stay of judgment. God is allowing the stewards of his fields time to produce conditions that will bear fruit. We are in that time now. Our repentance is past due. It is time to take responsibility for our sins and to give all things to God.
Susan Ashton, in her song, Song of Reconciliation, wrote: "Where there is faith, there is a chance, to alter the course, to fight the winds of circumstance." Let it be so in you.
To pray:
Living God, help us to see that you sent your Son to stand with us in the circumstances of our lives. Give us the faith we need to reveal you in our compassion for others and our love for all that you have made, through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Community of St. Dysmas,