Resurrection is Good News for the dead

Sermon on Luke 13:1-9

Unless you repent, you will perish. The Good News this week is packed in strong words of consequences. Death is real, Jesus reminds us in a manner, that’s not exactly comforting. There is actually little comfort in today’s Gospel. The question is not, why some people have to suffer so much. Whether they were worse sinners and earned this punishment. That’s a great misconception, Jesus argues. The question is also not, why we aren’t suffering like the Galileans or the Syrians or Ukrainians. The real question is: Why don’t we repent. We, individually and collectively. We, the people of God, the people made in God’s image. 

Unless we repent, we will perish. And, if we still try downplaying Jesus’ words, Jesus adds a parable for us to understand what perish means. Perish means death. To be cut down. Not only to be pruned, but to be cut down. Like a fig tree that continues to not bear fruit. Even with a second or third or fourth chance.

This Gospel is not Good News to you, unless you repent. And, unless you believe in resurrection. The tree isn’t just pruned, like getting one’s hair trimmed, just enough for it to grow back stronger and healthier. That’s not the image Jesus preaches here. Jesus preaches deadly consequences. And it’s hard to hear.

Jesus also preaches that getting murdered by people in power is not a consequence of the sin of the dead. That’s just sinful murder, a crime against humanity. Sacrificing others for the empirical dreams of a few is still just murder. No one has the right to sacrifice anyone other than oneself and be it for the most noble cause.

Unless you repent you will perish. 

Obviously, a fig tree can’t repent. But the gardener can. He can give his everything for the tree. He can give the best nutrients, the most time, a second, third, fourth chance. Now, the man who owns the tree isn’t the one taking care of the tree. He is the one looking for results. If anyone is responsible for a tree’s fruits, it’s the gardener. So, he’s the one getting called out. His work proved to be worthless, no fruits, let’s not waste more time and water and soil, more resources. Let’s cut the tree down to make space for other plants. 

Now, the gardener fights. For the tree and for his reputation as a gardener. A bad crop in den end falls back on him. Now, he wants to prove his abilities. And maybe it is up to him. Maybe, he just didn’t care for the tree in the right manner. Maybe. 

Or, maybe, the tree was planted in the wrong spot in the first place. Or, other plants around it are taking away from its sun and nutrition. Maybe, eating figs was a dream in the first place. Beautiful, yet unrealistic. There are many reasons for plants to perish in our gardens, even if we care about them. Definitely rats and squirrels where I live. 

The gardener’s willingness to fight for his tree’s survival is noble and selfish. It feels right. Because it feels wrong to cut down a tree for not being good enough. So, that gardener feels like grace personified. Except, that he actually might not be all that righteous. He might just be bad at losing, bad at repenting, bad at acknowledging when something simply doesn’t work. 

There are only so many resources, there is only so much energy and time and money we have. The day only has 24 hours. What, if we end up like the gardener, spending most of our time and energy and life-nurturing trees that don’t give fruit? Or, that gave fruit for a while and then stopped? Seemingly for no reason?

What is it that you spend a lot of time on but never really seem to see the fruits of that effort? Which friendships? Which committees, maybe even at church? Which activities in your life feel like a waste of time? Which meetings do you dread more than anything? 

That’s kind of a dangerous question to ask as a pastor of a small church. Because you might end up realizing that some of your work for our church falls into that category. And, maybe, you will stop doing it. Which might really hurt some of our operations. It might even kill dreams or committees or activities. 

And, it might still be the right thing to do. Note, how the owner of the tree is the one calling the failure to the gardener’s attention. And, also the one calling for consequences. While it’s one thing to notice problems, to notice how ministries might not have the expected effect, it’s another to admit that there might be no simple fix for it. We often live under the illusion that we just haven’t tried hard enough or haven’t met the right people yet or aren’t advertising in the right places. When, maybe, what we planted is just sitting in the wrong soil. Or maybe there are too many other great things out there already and people don’t have the capacity for one more activity. Maybe, what you are doing for our community isn’t even what you love doing. Maybe it’s just what others think you are especially good at. Maybe it’s what no one else wanted to do and so you ended up taking it over. And now, you are stuck with a task you don’t love but you are too dutiful to give up.

Unless you repent, you will perish. Unless you admit what’s not life-giving to you and others, you will waste your energy, you will drain your energy, you will feel tired and restless. Because something isn’t right. Something is missing. 

Maybe the solution is to cut out what’s not life-giving. Maybe the solution is to lose a committee or an activity. To make space for something new. Something that can bring fruits, that can bring life and inspiration. 

I hear a Gospel that shares some hard truths and great hope. But only for those among us who don’t only believe in death but also in resurrection. I hear Jesus say: Analyze honestly what works and what doesn’t. Look at your membership, your numbers, your resources. Look at your impact. And sit with it. Honestly. Grieve what’s lost for a year. And dream. Dream big. Dream what could be if you could start again. If you could be resurrected. Which is the language we are comfortable with. Yet, only what died can be resurrected. The tree must be cut down. The gardener will need time for new plants. The soil needs to be right for future plants. Maybe, even a new gardener is needed. Who knows.

This story is about the question: How do we deal with loss? Do we need to fight it with all our energy and try to get back to normal? To normal 20 years ago or 40 years ago. Or even 2 years ago? Or, can we accept what’s lost, grieve it, let go of it. And believe in the power of resurrection. Without living in the illusion that resurrection means “back to normal”, right? 

Unless we repent, we will perish. And once we perish, resurrection and new life await. That’s good news. The hard truth is that resurrection isn’t a mere rebuilding of the past. It’s up to us to see that as good news. Amen.