St Mary's

Today Talk from Julie

23rd March 2025 - Luke 13:1-9

They say that the most common thing that stops people believing in God is suffering and evil.  If God is good, holy, almighty and can do anything he wants then why does he not put a stop to suffering?  Humanity has wrestled with that question for as long as humanity has existed.  There are many answers for and theories and theologies of suffering and evil but that’s not for today.  There is more than enough there for a sermon series, a book, a film and a couple of T shirts, never mind one sermon.  It’s a big question and people answer it in many ways. 

The Israelites of the Old Testament thought that if you were suffering it was because you were sinning. If you were righteous you would be healthy and wealthy and have a good, long life but if you sinned you would have nothing but trouble.  Bad things happen to bad people but good things happen to good people. Job’s friends were quick to point out to him that his troubles and tragedies were because he must be a sinner.

The Jews of Jesus day were no different; they too believed that if you suffered it was because you sinned.  Jesus asked them: “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered in this way.”  “Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them – do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem?”  He knew what they were thinking and his response was not what they expected.  “I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”  They did not expect Jesus to point out that those that died did not die because they were sinners and they certainly did not expect him to then tell them that if they did not repent they too would perish.  Bad things happen to bad people but good things happen to good people.  Those that brought these incidents to Jesus attention were probably feeling a bit smug; they were still alive – they were good people.  They were expecting affirmation from Jesus but he pulled the rug out from under their feet when he said “unless you repent, you too will all perish.”  Jesus was reminding them that all are sinners; he is calling them all to repentance because so much more than prosperity and even life is at stake. 

Jesus message is not just for the people of his day, it is for us too – we too can sometimes be guilty of the bad things happen to bad people attitude.  We can look at the trouble that people have in their lives and see it as God’s judgement on their sinful behaviour.   The thing is, sin does have its consequences and we can bring trouble on ourselves as a result of our actions but God does not cause the trouble, we cause it ourselves.  Equally trouble can often be a result of living in a fallen world and sadly, bad things happen to good people.   It can be too easy to see the suffering of someone else as punishment from God.  That is not our call to make, we are not to judge others, we have to take responsibility for our own hearts, our own sin and it can be hard to miss just how much we ourselves are in need of repentance.  Just because a tower hasn’t fallen on us does not mean that we are perfect.

So Jesus call to repentance is not just to his listeners then, it is to all of us now.  Repentance is important for all and it was a key part of Jesus teaching and preaching.  Many times during his ministry on earth we hear of him announcing “Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand”. 

Because repentance is central to Jesus teaching we need to be clear about what repentance is.  These days we tend to equate repentance with saying sorry for our sins which it is, of course, but that is only part of its meaning.  Repentance in its fullest sense is a call to turn to God, to make him the main focus of our lives and to live those lives in trust and obedience, through the grace of Jesus Christ.  Saying sorry for our sins is often where we start and that is a good thing, but it must not be where we stop.  Repentance is a complete change in the motivation and direction of our lives; it is surrendering ourselves fully to God.

Repentance in its fullest sense must be fundamental to our lives on a daily basis because it is the foundation of the Christian life; it is what undergirds everything we do.  Jesus’ statement “unless you repent, you too will all perish” is serious.  Our God is holy, he is perfect, he is good and he cannot bear sin, he cannot bear our disobedience. Not just because of how much it hurts him, but because he knows how much that disobedience will damage us and, ultimately, could cause us to perish.  So Jesus calls us to repentance.  It’s not about avoiding sin so that a tower won’t fall on us; it’s about becoming totally focused on, trusting in and being obedient to God.  It’s about trusting in Jesus, about accepting him as our Lord and Saviour, about becoming his disciples, about living kingdom lives.  Because Jesus knows that if we do not, something worse than a tower collapsing on us will happen.  We will be separated from God.  We will perish.

Our God is holy, perfect and good; he cannot bear sin. God is also merciful, kind and gracious.  Jesus goes on to tell the parable of the fig tree that bore no fruit and the owner wanted to cut it down.  But the gardener pleaded for the tree, for the owner to allow him a year to fertilise and tend to it and to see if it will then bear fruit.   The tree in this parable can represent Israel and it can represent the individual; you and me.

God planted the nation of Israel in the Promised Land and he gave them the Law to help them live the best life possible.  He promised to be their God and would look after them if they followed his laws; laws that he gave them for their benefit, laws he gave them to flourish and not perish.  In Deuteronomy 30, as they are about to enter the Promised Land, God says to the Israelites through Moses:

¹⁶ For I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess.

¹⁹ This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live ²⁰ and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life.”

But the Israelites could not do it; they could not live according to God’s laws.  But God did not cut them down, like the gardener with the fig tree he tended to them and he gave them Jesus.  In our own lives, God does not expect us to keep his law in our own strength, he gives us Jesus too. He gives us the opportunity to grow and flourish in God’s care through the grace of Jesus and the gift of the Holy Spirit.  Like the owner of the fig tree, God is looking for fruit in our lives: the fruit of the Spirit, the fruit of our love for him. When we sin, our ability to bear fruit withers and we become barren like the fig tree but in his mercy God does not cut us down but instead becomes one of us in the form of Jesus and is cut down in our place.  He gives us the opportunity to repent, to turn to Jesus for our salvation, to turn to him in trust and obedience, to live lives that bear much kingdom fruit.  God’s goodness, mercy and grace are beyond understanding.  He calls us to repent and then provides the means and endless opportunities to do so. 

Repentance is not a one off action.  It is not something we do when we accept Jesus as our Lord and Saviour and then we can forget about it.  Repentance is a daily, even hourly, action.  We must turn our hearts to God continuously, keeping our eyes on Jesus and walking in his light and life.  Jesus is our Lord and Saviour but he is not our puppet master.  He looks to us to work in partnership with him.  He bears the heavy load but we too must play our part and our part is repentance, continually turning and surrendering to God.   Repentance, turning to God is a key part in our transformation to become more Christlike.

During Lent we have the ideal opportunity to develop the habit of repentance, of turning to God daily.  We can be saved by our belief in Jesus and his work on the cross but still be in need of repentance.  Sin has consequences that can have a huge impact on our lives and the lives of those around us.  Sin is destructive, it devastates lives. Sin hurts us, those we love and worst of all it hurts God. Our lack of obedience hurts us and hurts God. Being far from God hurts us, it withers us and ultimately, without him we will perish.

Repentance brings healing and restoration. Repentance, being totally surrendered to God, gives us life in abundance, life with God.  Jesus said: “unless you repent, you too will all perish.”  He is serious, repentance is a serious thing.  He was so serious he died for us; he did his part in our repentance by taking the consequences of our sin.  Now it is our turn, we need to repent daily, to turn to God, to surrender to God, to follow Jesus and to live lives worthy of the sacrifice that Jesus made.  Amen.