A
question of the ages is why do bad things happen to good people? It is easy to accept the consequences of
something when you know you deserve it.
If you’re being careless with a power tool and you cut yourself it makes
sense. If you’re a smoker and you
develop lung cancer it makes sense. But
if you are innocent bystander walking along the sidewalk and a car careens out
of control and injures you, you want to know why.
All
too often the justice we see at work in the world around us doesn’t make sense.
And it’s one thing in a theoretical
sense. It’s another thing when it
happens to you personally.
Actually
I’m not too bothered by the question of why bad things happen to good
people. What really upsets me is why do
good things happen to bad people? There
have been any number of times when I see hurtful, corrupt, destructive people
who lie, cheat, and manipulate; yet good things keep coming to them, and they
duck out of responsibility.
According
to much of the Old Testament, and many people’s beliefs in general, there is a
justice to things. Good behavior leads
to good lives and bad behavior leads to bad lives. Consider some of these proverbs: 13:2 “From
the fruit of their words good persons eat good things, but the desire of the
treacherous is for wrongdoing.” And
13:6, “Righteousness guards one whose way is upright, but sin overthrows the
wicked.”
When
bad people get away with things people believe that God knows and will get them
eventually. Similarly, when apparently
good people have bad things happen to them people think they must have some
secret sin that is coming out.
The
idea of karma is from Hinduism and Buddhism, but it makes its way into
Christianity – that you get what’s coming to you, be it good or bad.
So
then we turn to our gospel reading for today.
People ask Jesus about two apparently unfair events that happened. First are a group of Galileans whose blood Pilate
mingled with their sacrifices. This
requires a bit of an explanation. These
Galileans would have been Jewish pilgrims from Galilee, who were killed while
offering sacrifices. Given that the
sacrifice of the Passover lamb is the only sacrifice in which nonpriests fully
participate these Galilean Jews must have been doing that when they were
killed. The question then is, if they
were killed while offering sacrifices for the most important religious holiday
of the year, was God displeased with them?
Were they so bad that God would not even accept their sacrifice?
Jesus
replies, “Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they
were worse sinners than all other Galileans?”
It’s a reply that sets up the real point Jesus wants to make.
Jesus brings up another
situation, “Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on
them – do you think they were worse offenders than all the others living in
Jerusalem?”
There’s no independent evidence
to verify what Jesus is talking about here.
In fact while there is known to been a pool of Siloam there is nowhere
else mentioned a tower of Siloam. Nevertheless,
we get the point. In contrast to the
Galileans being deliberately killed, this is an accident or natural
disaster. And again Jesus asks the
question if they think those who were killed were worse offenders than all the
others living in Jerusalem? Did they
somehow deserve it? Was an accident or a
natural disaster somehow God’s means of punishment?
As we talk about all this let’s
not lose sight of where we’ve come from in Luke’s reading. If you were here the last couple weeks you
may remember that Jesus has been talking about God’s ultimate judgement. These questions then follow with people
asking if these are examples.
Jesus’ ultimate reply is not one
that we want to hear, “No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all
perish just as they did.”
That’s not a nice answer as to
why do bad things happen to good people!
It feels like Jesus is saying that if you’re suffering you deserve it;
in fact you deserve more. Everyone
deserves more!
That is a harsh conclusion, and
not the one Jesus intends us to reach.
His real point is that your situation in life is no indication
whatsoever of your standing before God.
If your life is easy that does not mean you are an especial favorite of
God’s. And if your life is pain-filled
and miserable it does not mean you are disliked by God.
Unfair
things happen. Period. And Jesus says that if that upsets you too
much, then remember that you really are already relying on God’s grace; God’s
unmerited favor for you. You have no
right to demand that your version of justice be what God applies.
Theologian
Joel Green notes, “Jesus reply does not deny sin its consequences, nor that sin
lead to judgment; instead, he rejects the theory that those who encounter
calamity have necessarily been marked by God as more deserving of judgment than
those who do not.” (The New
International Commentary of the New Testament, Luke, Pg. 512)
The
second half of the gospel reading reminds us of what God’s real intent is – not
judgment, but mercy; second chances – or in this case perhaps we’re talking
fourth chances.
Like
many of the stories in Luke, this parable does not unfold in a straightforward
fashion. A man with a vineyard has a fig
tree planted in it. The presence of a
fig tree in a vineyard was not unknown.
There’s nothing unique about that.
Also, there’s no reason to suggest the owner is seeking figs out of
season, or before it was significantly grown to be productive.
I
remember a seminary professor saying that it was expected that a fig tree would
grow for ten years before figs would be produced from it. So by this time that tree has already been
there ten years. Year eleven came
along. There was a reasonable
expectation of some figs. There were
none. The owner decides to give it
another year. Year twelve comes alone. No figs.
The owner is merciful and gives it yet another year. Year thirteen comes along – the year our
parable speaks of. He comes looking for
fruit on it. Nothing. The owner has made up his mind. Three strikes and this tree is out. Why should it waste the space? More years of unproductivity just delay how
long it will be until something productive comes. If the owner decides to replace the tree
it’ll be another ten years. He wants
that clock to start ticking now, not another year from now.
But
the gardener, perhaps a bit too sentimental and kind to this unproductive tree
begs for it to have one more chance – a fourth chance. And it will not just be left alone but it
will receive extra care. You gotta love
Jesus’ fertilizer of choice, “…let it alone one more year, until I dig around
it and put manure on it.”
The
parable ends there. We are left to
assume the tree does get another chance.
If
we allegorize the parable we can easily see that the vineyard owner is the
Father and the gardener is Jesus. And so
Jesus is asking for mercy; and not just mercy, but the digging around it and
applying fertilizer shows and interest in making an even greater investment in
something with a track record of failure.
If
we return to the initial question of why do bad things happen to good people we
discover God’s response. God’s idea of
justice is not limited to or bound by our idea of justice. God’s perspective is different. And God’s perspective is to be merciful, even
against the odds of success. Ultimately
God’s bias is towards mercy rather than condemnation. However, lest we become complacent,
condemnation is well within God’s will.
We
too are called to be biased towards mercy and slow to reach condemnation in our
interactions with others. And if the
parable of the fig tree is any indication, before we reach condemnation we
should make an even greater effort to give the possibility of success. I’m reminded of Martin Luther’s understanding
of the Eighth Commandment, You shall not bear false witness against your
neighbor. To which Luther replies, “We
are to fear and love God, so that we do not tell lies about our neighbors,
betray or slander them, or destroy their reputations. Instead we are to come to their defense,
speak well of them, and interpret everything they do in the best possible
light.”
That
last bit, “interpret everything they do in the best possible light” is a tough
one. It is so easy to see everything
that people we don’t like do in the worst possible light. That doesn’t mean be blind to obvious
wrongdoing, but try to give the benefit of the doubt.
Now
if your mind is as twisted as mine is, I read the parable and realize how the
gardener intends to provide the tree with extra care and nourishment. Except I find myself thinking I’ll gladly
dump manure all over people I don’t like!
But
alas, don’t take Jesus’ parables too literally!
You
are connected to God’s inexhaustible supply of goodness. Don’t be threatened by the goodness others
appear to receive. Try not to be jealous
if you feel you are suffering wrongly.
Realize that it is God’s will to show you mercy and work with you to
strengthen you for productivity ahead.
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