Third Sunday in Lent (Year C)

Some who were present told Jesus about the Galileans whom Pilate had killed while they were offering sacrifices. 2He replied, “Do you think the suffering of these Galileans proves that they were more sinful than all the other Galileans? 3No, I tell you, but unless you change your hearts and lives, you’ll die just as they did. 4What about those eighteen people who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them? Do you think that they were more guilty of wrongdoing than everyone else who lives in Jerusalem? 5No, I tell you, but unless you change your hearts and lives, you’ll die just as they did.”

6Jesus told this parable: “A man owned a fig tree planted in his vineyard. He came looking for fruit on it and found none. 7He said to the gardener, ‘Look, I’ve come looking for fruit on this fig tree for the past three years, and I’ve never found any. Cut it down! Why should it continue depleting the soil’s nutrients?’ 8The gardener responded, ‘Lord, give it one more year, and I’ll dig around it and give it fertilizer. 9Maybe it will produce fruit next year; if not, then you can cut it down.’”


Collect:
All-Loving God, you know that we are weak to help ourselves: Keep us both outwardly in our bodies and inwardly in our souls, that we may be defended from all adversities which may happen to the body, and from all evil thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul; through Jesus the Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.


                                   


Today’s Lesson from Luke’s story about Jesus is an oddity — it doesn’t appear in the other Gospels.  The passage deals with a couple of issues — one is something I call “betterthanism,” (when we think we’re “better than …”) and the other is the then coming war with Rome. We’ll address these in reverse order.

I know I refer to the war with Rome a lot but it’s such a huge event that was coming soon upon Jesus’ and the disciple’s generation. It’s looming behind Jesus’ teaching and stories. And it’s a constant companion to the rest of the New Testament. I refer to it a great deal because some of us (most of us) have never even heard about it, I’m sad to say.

Jesus starts his story about a “fig tree.” Some scholars understand that this image can represent Israel at times.[2] And I think that’s the case here. God would be the “owner” of the fig tree (Psalms 24.1; etc.). The “gardener” would be Jesus. As we know, the image of Jesus as a gardener is dotted throughout the Gospels especially in John’s telling of Mary Magdalene’s encounter with the resurrected Jesus (John 20). Then there’s the “three years” the “gardener” tended the “fig tree” — this represents the time period of Jesus’ public ministry in Israel.

But, of course, the problem with all symbols is they break down at some point and the final “year” here is no exception.[3] But that doesn’t negate the meaning of Jesus’ story. He’s warning his audience about the coming judgment. To be spared, they must be “produce fruit” that are the results of following Jesus or they’ll be “cut … down” (verse 9; cf. Matthew 7.15-20). And it’s this symbol of a tree producing fruit that ties into the first part of our Lesson.

How fitting that the third Sunday in Lent has this passage from Luke’s telling of Jesus’ story. As we’re aware, two mosques were attacked in Christchurch, New Zealand, leaving 51 people dead and many more injured. I’ve seen people too quick to point out that since the victims were Muslim, they “got what they deserved.” I can’t help but hear Jesus’ response, “Do you think the suffering of those people in Christchurch proves that they were more sinful than everyone else? No, I tell you, but unless you change your hearts and lives, you’ll die just as they did.”

To attack people is a horrible thing. To attack them for their faith — especially when they’re in prayer — is even worse. To be filled with so much hatred that one would murder people based on nothing more than their religious tradition is the worst thing I can imagine.

No. Scratch that; it’s not. Having supposed “leaders” egg on hatred is worse.

“But…” Jesus warns us, “unless [we] change our hearts and lives” we’ll suffer the same fate. As Jesus says in another place, “All those who use the sword will die by the sword” (Matthew 26.52). In other words, violence only creates more violence. And followers of Jesus should abstain from violence.

After hearing Jesus blast his audience in the previous chapter (especially 42ff), some people in the crowd bring up the story about others being killed during prayer. “Obviously,” they’re thinking to themselves, “we’re better than they.” But Jesus sees right through their smug hearts and tells them that they’re not any better. In fact, the time will come that they, too, will be slaughtered if they don’t repent (“change [their] hearts and lives”). The war with Rome was coming upon their generation and if they don’t changes their hearts and lives they’ll be swept up in the violence and be slaughtered, too.[4]

How often do we do this? I know that when we were part of a Charismatic church, “betterthanism” was a real thing. It was understood and even said out loud on more than one occasion. If something bad happened to someone or if someone didn’t get healed when everyone was praying for her, then she “obviously” had sin in her life. Of course, that type of thinking wasn’t aloud when it came to the pastor or his family. “God has a plan” or other such nonsense was always the response. It was just us — the laity — that had sin in our lives, never the clergy.

But that’s not the way things work, do they? Jesus clearly thinks that this type of thinking is rubbish for the simple fact that it’s being thought! Jesus addressed this in another passage —

10“Two people went up to the temple to pray. One was a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11The Pharisee stood and prayed about himself with these words, ‘God, I thank you that I’m not like everyone else — crooks, evildoers, adulterers — or even like this tax collector. 12I fast twice a week. I give a tenth of everything I receive.’ 13But the tax collector stood at a distance. He wouldn’t even lift his eyes to look toward heaven. Rather, he struck his chest and said, ‘God, show mercy to me, a sinner.’ 14I tell you, this person went down to his home justified rather than the Pharisee. All who lift themselves up will be brought low, and those who make themselves low will be lifted up.”

So, while this passage has very specific consequences for his generation, Jesus’ main point carries on throughout time. The idea that others are supposedly worse people than we are just because something terrible happened to them is not the proper way to think. It’s to think too highly of ourselves. As Jesus said in another place, “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you” (Matthew 7.12; NIV; emphasis added).[5] And this sentiment is carried out through the rest of the New Testament. For example, Paul wrote —


Don’t do anything for selfish purposes, but with humility think of others as better than yourselves. Instead of each person watching out for their own good, watch out for what is better for others.

Thinking we’re better than others is the way society thinks, the way the “world” thinks. It pits “us” against “them.” But Paul wrote, “Don’t be conformed to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds … (Romans 12.2). To renew our minds is to “have the same mindset of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant …” (Philippians 2.5-7; NIV).

It is the mindset of a servant to everyone else that we should embrace. But it’s not easy. Too many of us are still addicted to our False selves and we struggle with having the heart of a servant, especially when we feel like the ones in pain are “getting what they deserve.” So, during this Lenten season, let’s “give up” our “old ways” of thinking with its “betterthanism” and embrace the mind and attitude of Christ to see all people as our sisters and brothers.



~~~
In the Love of the Three in One,

Br. Jack+, LC


~~~
[1] Scripture quotations marked (CEB) are taken from The Common English Bible. Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible.

[2] And some (wrongfully) see Jesus’ use of the fig tree in Matthew 24 as proof of Israel’s resurgence as a world power before the supposed “end of the [Christian] age” (24.3). The problem with this interpretation is multiple but I’ll only address a couple.

First, there was no “Christian” age! The disciples knew of no such thing; they were concerned about their age, the Old Covenant age.

Second, the problem with interpreting the fig tree (24.32ff) as Israel is the parallel passage in Luke 21.29ff. There Jesus refers to the fig tree and “all the trees.” This shows us Jesus’ reference wasn’t about Israel, but the change of the season which can be determined by looking at the leaves of the trees. “In the same way,” Jesus tells the disciples, “when you (the disciples) see these things happening (all the things he just warned them about), you (the disciples) know that God’s kingdom is near” (verse 31). Jesus then explicitly states, “I assure you (the disciples) that this generation (i.e., Jesus’ and the disciples’ generation) won’t pass away until everything has happened” (verse 32).

[3] I see this “year” as the remaining time of that generation. There’s a delay between Jesus’ ascension and the coming of judgment (see Matthew 25.1-30). But that delay was to be seen as God’s patience to lead others to repentance. As Peter wrote, “Consider the patience of our Lord to be salvation” (2 Peter 3.15a) because “The Lord … is patient toward you, not wanting anyone to perish but all to change their hearts and lives” (2 Peter 3.9; cf. Romans 2.14). This delay, however, shouldn’t be understood as indefinite; Jesus was clear that judgment would happen to that generation before all of the disciples had died (Matthew 16.28; 23.29-36; etc.). For more information about this view, see my series: New Testament Eschatology.

[4] Josephus tells us that many people sought out the safety of the Temple during the war with Rome but it didn’t help. All the people and the priests were slaughtered in the Temple. The Temple was burned to the ground on the same day that it was burned by the King of Babylon. Josephus, The Jewish War, Book VI.

[5] Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

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