This is a text that, in the past, I’ve made fun of Baptist “turn or burn” preachers with. I’ve grown a bit; This time I’m hoping we’ll look at it from a little different angle.
Luke 13:1-9; 1 Corinthians 10:1-13; Psalm 63:1-8; Isaiah 55:1-9
At first glance, this is not a very happy gospel reading. First you have Jesus being told of some Galileans whose blood Pilate mixed with their sacrifices. There’s really no way of interpreting that in a way that makes Pilate look good, or for that matter in a way that makes the whole situation look good. Then Jesus’ response isn’t exactly the most helpful, as at first glance he sounds like he’s just telling people that unless they repent they’re going to die just like those Galileans.
But I really think Jesus really is being quite helpful hear, especially in light of what our other readings for today are saying. Let’s start with the bit from 1 Corinthians. Starting in chapter 8, Paul talks about something that really isn’t a huge issue for us – what to do about food that has been sacrificed to an idol.
Now there’s a few reasons this was an issue. First, one of the most popular places for social interaction was the temples to Roman gods, kind of but not really like how we go out to restaurants to eat today. The food at these places would almost always be from animals sacrificed to the temple’s god. Another reason was that this food would often be sold in the market, and one could buy it and bring it to one’s home to eat.
So the believers in Corinth ran into this issue all the time, and Paul basically tells them not to stress out about it, the idols are just pieces of wood or metal, but not to let their freedom in Christ to cause someone to sin. He actually phrases is quite cleverly, so that the people who see no issue with eating food sacrificed to idols seem like “stronger” Christians than those who do not, and telling them to take care to not lead a “weaker” Christian into sin.
But back to chapter 10. We’re in the midst of this discussion about food sacrificed to idols, and Paul says to look at the people of Israel. They messed up a lot, and it didn’t go well for them when they did, but we have their example as a warning to us, to keep us from falling into sin. In a way, it’s a little bit friendlier way of saying exactly what Jesus said in the gospel.
What Paul says in Corinthians is also the other side of what God says, through Isaiah, in Isaiah 55. While Paul is writing in a more preventative way, encouraging people to live their lives in a Christ-like way, the passage from Isaiah seems more focused on a people who are burdened by guilt and sin. With phrases like, “Give ear and come to me; hear me, that your soul may live,” and “Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon,” there’s definitely an open door for people to come back to God and no longer have to worry about what they’ve done.
So, back to our gospel text, I think what Jesus is really saying is that both groups of people, the ones who are worried about sinning and the ones who have guilt over a sin, need to focus primarily on God. The parable of the fig tree that didn’t produce fruit seems to reinforce this idea. Instead of chopping down the tree after three years of not making figs, the tree is given every opportunity to succeed, as it were.
So it is with us. We can all do a better job of following God. Maybe it’s a sin that we have that we feel guilty about; maybe there’s a sin we worry about committing; maybe we just aren’t doing the sort of things that we should be doing as Christians. No matter what it is, God is, thankfully, very patient with us.
Yet even still, he wants us to be able to say what the Psalmist sings, “O God, you are my God; eagerly I seek you.” “My soul clings to you; your right hand holds me fast.” That’s what it really comes down to – no matter what is holding us back, in Christ we can find true freedom. Freedom from worry or from guilt, and freedom to live our lives in service to God and in service to others.
So even though Jesus says, “Unless you repent, you too will all perish,” it’s really a positive saying. It’s by turning back to God and letting ourselves be loved by him that we really and truly live – free from all of the things that held us back before. It’s a life filled with love and joy – even in difficult times – that God has planned for us.