The Third Sunday in Lent, 03/03/2013

Sermon on Luke 13:1-9, by Walter W. Harms

1 There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 2 And he answered them, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? 3 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. 4 Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? 5 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish." 6 And he told this parable: "A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. 7 And he said to the vinedresser, ‘Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground?' 8 And he answered him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure. 9 Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.'"

Calamity and You

When I was growing up, we had an apple tree in the garden in the asparagus patch. Well, at least it was thought to be an apple tree, but it never produced a bloom or a piece of fruit. This was before county agricultural agents and my Dad tried everything, so finally he consulted with a man who seemed to have some experienced with growing good apples. The result? No apples! I don't think we ever cut that tree down before we moved. Dad always hoped for some fruit. Does that sound similar to this parable that Jesus told?

All of us are constantly bombarded by promotional schemes that urge us to buy "now before it is too late"; "just a few days left and then the sale will be over"; "while supplies last"; "lowest prices of the year"; and so many more. Most of these go in one ear and out the other before we even consider any of them.

Now Jesus says to us, yes, to all of us gathered here today: "Unless you repent, you will all be like those slaughtered at the altar and those on whom the tower collapsed, will perish!" I'll bet many of you have heard that too many times. I wonder what action you have taken after hearing Jesus tell you this. I really don't know, but I hope that we would repent, whatever that means to you, and get with the fruit bearing that is expected.

Recently our ears have heard about many tragedies. School children being shot and killed. Teenagers murdered in Chicago. Blizzards and storms that kill and injure people and destroy properties and lives. If you receive the daily newspaper or watch the news on TV or other devices you carry, you know that every day lives are shattered, futures are destroyed, and guilt comes because in many cases, perhaps, just perhaps someone, you, I, whoever could have done something.

Worse, we may think that some of those people got it because they were evil. No doubt about that. Some preachers told you that the cause of Hurricane Katrina was because New Orleans was filled with evil of too many varieties to mention.

Jesus is clear about that. No, he says they weren't worse than others, but unless you repent you will also perish, die. I have been reading in the Old Testament, the Book of the prophet Isaiah. I almost fell out of bed (because I read after I go to bed) verse 7 in chapter 45. There it reads: "I (God) create calamity." Wow!

I cannot clearly tell you what God is up to when he creates calamities, but I do know this, they should cause us to pause and look at whether or not we are repenting people, whether we are bearing fruit that befits repentance.

Of course, not all disasters are God caused. The drunk driver who kills a family obviously has caused a calamity. But the person who is a closet alcoholic is no better and the person who condemns them is absolutely not better. We have all fallen off the wagon or as Scripture says: sinned and fallen short of what God wanted each of us to be.

We all need to repent or we shall perish. Not necessarily die in some kind of freakish natural or man-made disaster, but worse, when our end in this world comes, and it will come for each of us. The death spoken by Jesus here is eternal separation from him. Never again will that person be able to live with any joy, peace, hope, expectation of anything better, for God will be gone and we will be totally on our own.

But today is a day of good news for each of us. We again today have the time to repent and believe that all our misdeeds, errors, flagrant judgment of others, and all the other sins we have conceived up here; the words o judgment, anger, mocking and belittling others, and what we did, intentional and unintentional, doing what is self-serving and not serving God or others as we do ourselves. And perhaps most of all what we should have done and didn't to in helping, serving, or considering others-all of these and those which we never thought were evil and against God are not there for us as we trust in the awesome power of what happened there on the cross of our Savior, Jesus.

And perhaps even more astonishing are those life-styles which we never ever even considered as somehow self-serving are forgiven. Is there anyone here, anyone here who hasn't dreamed the dream that we will have enough laid up for ourselves so that we can do what we please? Ah, yes-forgiven, removed, cleansed from, not and always right with God

We are here today to be reminded that Jesus is talking to us and that when we see a glimpse of what we really are, we are not to make excuses for ourselves or others, but we are to see that the unbelievable is happening to us. We are being given time to repent.

When I wrote that word, repent, I looked it up in the thesaurus and this is what came up: repent--to feel regret about a sin or past actions and change your ways or habits.

Repent is not just to say, Sorry, God, I won't do that again, when we know most of the time we will do that same thing again. Repent is also to change your ways or habits. We have heard about "fasting" in this Lenten season. I suggest that we all go on a permanent fast of giving up whatever, because if we don't we won't just bloat up and die, we will have permanently given the finger to God which results is his taking off permanently from us-we spend the eternity of our lives away from him! That is truly the real sense of the word: perishing!

I don't know what kind of tree you are. Perhaps a lemon and should become sweeter, perhaps a hard shelled pecan which never gives up "anything," or are you just an ornamental cherry tree which smellls nicely a couple times a year, you know like at Christmas and Easter, and that's it for you? Perhaps you are like those wild grape vines in my back yard which do nothing but choke the life out of other trees. Or a choke cherry tree whose fruit is so small it is not worthwhile harvesting, and only causes birds to get drunk and kill themselves on its fermented fruit. Worse may be those trees which have some kind of fruit on them which does no good to anyone at all. What kind are you?

By God's undeserved, and I mean totally undeserved kindness, we do produce some fruit. He has dug around us, caused us to ponder and consider. He has fertilized us with his Good News (how many Sundays now?) and with the Blessed Sacraments so that we do produce fruit, sometimes small, sometimes mostly filled with seeds, but fruit. All to his praise and glory. Once in a while it appears that we even yield a harvest of exceptional fruit. Wow! All because we are closely connected to the branch of David's seed, the King of kings and the Lord of lords, the bright and glorious Morning Star, the Son of God and the Son of man, the crucified one who created all lives including yours, so that you might praise him.

So now, when your life seems to turn into a shamble, when everything goes crazy, when you can make sense of nothing, what are you going to think, to believe, how are you are going to act? Don't ever consider yourself condemned because that would be giving in to the heresy of doubt about Jesus' love for you. Don't consider yourself lucky (whatever that is supposed to mean) because others got it and you didn't (this time). But rather again and again as the Spirit who lives within you gives you the strength to rise from your sleeping place, thank and praise the God of your salvation, ask for his power to be what he wants you to be, and then get on with producing fruit-serving, caring, giving, helping, assisting and considering others more than yourself.

I love apples. I hope you are an apple tree with large, delicious, sweet fruit. And I hope you are in my neighborhood. Amen.

retired pastor Walter W. Harms
Austin, TX U. S. A.

E-Mail: waltpast@aol.com

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