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There were present at that season some who told Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And Jesus answered and said to them, "Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish."
He also spoke this parable: "A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. Then he said to the keeper of the vineyard, 'Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down; why does it use up the ground? But he answered and said to him, 'Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it. And if it bears fruit, well. But if not, after that you can cut it down.'"
- Luke 13:1-9
On Saturday, we read that Jesus was casting out a demon, and it was mute. So it was when the demon had gone out, that the mute spoke; and the multitudes marveled. But some of them said, "He casts out demons by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons." Others, testing Him, sought from Him a sign from heaven. But He, knowing their thoughts, said to them: "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and a house divided against a house falls. If Satan is also divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? Because you say I cast out demons by Beelzebub. And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. But if I cast out demons with the finger of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you. When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are in peace. But when a stronger than he comes upon him and overcomes him, he takes from him all his armor in which he trusted, and divides his spoils. He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters."
There were present at that season some who told Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And Jesus answered and said to them, "Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish." My study bible has a long note: "These two historical incidents are reported in no other source except Luke. The slain Galileans were probably Zealots, Jewish nationalists who triggered some disturbance against the Romans in the temple area. The collapse of the tower in Siloam may have been simply an accident, rather than an act of sabotage, which people thought of as divine justice on sinners. Jesus passes judgment on neither group. He only registers these tragic events to warn that, unless His listeners response to His message and repent, they would all likewise perish. Perish may have the double meaning of both physical and spiritual death." The word here for "perish" is one that indicates a kind of absolute death or destruction. It emphasizes more the judgment of God, the loss of life in fullness of that meaning. It tells us of complete destruction.
He also spoke this parable: "A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. Then he said to the keeper of the vineyard, 'Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down; why does it use up the ground? But he answered and said to him, 'Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it. And if it bears fruit, well. But if not, after that you can cut it down.'" My study bible tells us that "here Luke gives his account of the fruitless fig tree. It is spared from the curse, at least for a time. In the Old Testament the fig tree symbolizes Israel, which receives God's loving care in the expectation of a fruitful harvest. Three years probably represents the three-year ministry of Christ. Because of the pleading of an unknown vineyard keeper, the Master allows additional time for true repentance and fruitfulness before judgment occurs." Here Jesus emphasizes spiritual judgment again, and its connection with our own (and Israel's) spiritual fruitfulness.
There are strong messages regarding judgment in Jesus' teachings in today's reading. First of all, what we see with our eyes is not the be all and end all of judgment. When we see tragedies befall people around us, we can't simply use that to understand judgment at all, because, Jesus implies here, there may be all kinds of people who are perfectly comfortable but for whom the lack of repentance or "change of mind" really indicates a similar judgment they simply can't see nor taste. The lectionary has skipped over chapter 12, but there Luke gives us Jesus preaching to the disciples against hypocrisy. He tells them, beginning in verse 4, "I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him!" The great emphasis here is on the spiritual death that comes from a failure to bear spiritual fruits. The warnings against hypocrisy teach us too: you can't go by appearances. The appearances of this world, the horrible things we see happening to others, the tragedies we may view, don't really tell us the full story and they don't tell us about the full judgment. So we can't judge those upon whom tragedies fall, as if somehow they are "worse sinners" -- but our job is to look to ourselves. Jesus' messages here about judgment, and the parable of the fig tree, all point to one thing: that if we want to truly think about death, then we must look to ourselves and to our own spiritual fruits. Whatever scandalizes us, whatever makes us afraid, ultimately there is one place we should look toward, if we want real security, and that is in ourselves. His teachings in chapter 12 against hypocrisy (which He calls "the leaven of the Pharisees") make this very clear. Again and again, our gaze must turn back to ourselves, our focus must be on our own repentance, the things we need to do to bear spiritual fruit. St. Paul says that "the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law" (Galatians 5:22-23). Let us remember that these are the things which must concern us, when we turn from tragedies which scandalize us, when we seek what we think must be the judgment on others. We can't see fully into the future, into God's life, but our concern is our own fruitfulness -- and an awareness of what the spiritual life teaches us about real death, and real life in abundance. When we do that, when we shift our focus accordingly, we come to know our job is to clean up our own act, to mind our own business, and tend the tree of spiritual fruit. Where do you start today? This is a positive and optimistic picture: there is always something we can do, something positive we can be about. Let us remember that good focus!
