7 Mar - Lenten Thought

Luke 13:1-9

This gospel lesson today sounds so strange to our ears. People brought Jesus this report about Pilate killing Galileans in the midst of their offering sacrifices in the temple. The crowds wondered what those people had done wrong – why were they being punished. And more to the point, how could they avoid meeting the same fate. As is quite normal for Jesus, he doesn’t give them the response that they expect. After adding two more stories of his own, the story of the tower of Siloam and the story of the Fig Tree, he says, “Unless YOU repent, YOU will all perish.”

In other words, Jesus took two violent stories, and used them to talk about repentance – to warn people that they too would perish unless they repented. The story of the fig tree was similar. Jeremiah had talked about the people of Israel as barren fig trees – the people to whom Jesus was speaking knew that. This is also a frequent theme of Jesus. Our lives, he tells us again and again, are accountable. We are responsible beings who are judged by the fruits of our lives. Then, the parable gives us a glimpse of a merciful love which will give this tree more nourishment, more tending, more time – yet another chance. So will a merciful God respond to any possibility of a response in us. So Jesus says, “Unless YOU repent, you will perish.”

When we think of repentance, we usually think of feeling sorry for something we did wrong. But feeling sorry is just the first step. The second step in repentance means changing something – changing some behavior. True repentance requires making changes. Making changes is never easy. But repentance can be an everyday thing – by making small changes, a daily purging of the things that cause us trouble - - a daily turning more and more toward God.

I will close with an invitation. Let me invite you to think of one thing that you need to change today. What do you need to do to make your life better? What do you need to do to bring your life into harmony with God’s plan for you? What repentance do you need to make? Then ask yourself, “Why am I having trouble letting go of this thing that is causing me trouble?” Then, make a decision, get rid of that thing, and change direction – make a course correction - - and prepare to receive God’s great blessing!

Lenten blessings to you, Bob+