Jesus NOW: Luke 13:1-9 - Third Sunday in Lent

¹At that very time there were some present who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.²[Jesus] asked them, “Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans?³No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as they did. ⁴Or 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? ⁵No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did.”
  ⁶Then 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. ⁷So 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?’ ⁸He replied, ‘Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig around it and put manure on it. ⁹If it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’ ” (NRSV)

Moreton Bay Fig Tree by Prescott Pym on flickr. CC BY-NC 2.0

“Go tell that long-tongue liar

Go and tell that midnight rider

Tell the rambler

The gambler

The back biter

Tell ‘em that God’s gonna cut ‘em down

Tell ‘em that God’s gonna cut ‘em down.”

As a singer, Johnny Cash isn’t exactly in the same league as Pavarotti. Nevertheless, his is the song of a sinner who knows his time is running short and the day of reckoning is drawing near. Incidentally, this is one of the last songs he recorded before his death in 2003.

The song carries a message very similar to that in today’s Gospel: repent, or perish.

And that’s not without precedent: Paul reminds the Corinthians of when God struck down twenty-three thousand Israelites in the desert for their idolatry and immorality.

But Jesus sets the record straight: death does not discriminate against righteous versus unrighteous. Jesus refers to two deadly tragedies that were fresh in people’s minds—a brutal persecution of Galileans at the hands of Pontius Pilate, and a catastrophic building collapse where eighteen people died. Death can happen at any second, without warning. Therefore, the time for repentance is now. Tomorrow may be too late.

Remember—repentance is not something you do to make yourself right with God. Repentance is what Jesus does to you. Whatever the moment, whatever the situation, Jesus is present. You don’t have to go hunting for him or wait around for him to hopefully show up. You don’t need to clean up your home or clean up your act in order for him to come. Jesus is with you RIGHT NOW. His forgiveness and self-giving love turn you away from sin and self toward God and God’s purposes.

Therefore, NOW is the moment of salvation. NOW is the moment of deliverance. NOW is the moment where resurrection and rebirth begin.

How easy it is to forget that…

When you’re angry, you want to lash out. When you’re frightened, your fight, flight or freeze instincts kick in. When you’re depressed or discouraged, it seems impossible to escape it.

When something you crave is sitting right there in front of you, you want to grab it—and you don’t think of the consequences. Love and compassion are not your first instincts. Obedience to God’s will does not guarantee instant happiness. This is how quickly sin can take hold of you.

Lent is the time for discipline—which you need, so that you can be mindful of Jesus in the moment, no matter what the moment brings.

Jesus likens discipline to a landowner, a gardener, and a fig tree. No fruit had appeared on the tree. But instead of cutting it down, the gardener fertilizes it with manure. Isn’t that a pretty picture?

How do you feel about inviting godly discipline? How prepared are you for Jesus to dig up your life and fertilize it, especially considering what God uses as fertilizer?

We all would prefer a life without trials and without temptations. I don’t want to fail. I don’t want to face changes and challenges. I don’t want to wait for God to answer prayers. And I don’t want to have to make difficult decisions, especially when none of the choices will lead to desirable outcomes.

But the result of that discipline is that when temptation comes, you’ll take Jesus’ hand as he leads you out of it. Troubles won’t get the worst of you. Anger won’t get the best of you. You’ll have peace instead of panic. You’ll have wisdom and guidance amid the confusion. You won’t give up on God or yourself when you’re disappointed. You’ll embrace change and challenge because they bring you closer to God. When you fail and shame gets its grip on you, you’ll know that you’re forgiven. When you find yourself drawn into something that you think is going to make you happy, you’ll hear the voice of Jesus saying, “follow me—and I will show you something better.”

Better still, you’re alert to Jesus’ constant outpouring of grace. You’re mindful of the little ways God is acting to bless you. You’re seeing the face of Jesus in your neighbors in need, whereas before you’d just walk on by. And, God forbid, a building is falling down upon you, you will know you’re in Jesus’ arms.  In Christ, the worst thing is not the last thing.

God’s grace is present in any moment. That is a gift too beautiful ignore or put aside until a more opportune time. And if, for whatever reason, you aren’t feeling the presence of Jesus in your life, know that your church is here for you. The purpose of your family of faith is to magnify the presence of Jesus. Trials are never as scary when a fellow Christian is walking beside you, as Jesus is.

Jesus is with you RIGHT NOW. NOW is the moment of salvation. NOW is the moment of deliverance. NOW is the moment where resurrection and rebirth begin.

So what does this mean for your next moment?