Pastor Michael Harman,
St. Peter LCMS - Newell, IA
vacancies at ...
Immanuel, Pomeroy
First Evangelical, Fonda
March 14, 2004 L3c Luke 13:1-9, I Cor 10:1-13
Imagine buying a quarter-section of land, renting it out with an agreement
to get one-third of the crop, and the tenant gets some brand new hybrid corn
from the seed-dealer. (Not the brand you usually use!) The tenant seems to do
everything perfectly. The seed goes in, the rains come at the right time, and
you walk out in the hot August sun only to find NONE of the stalks have ears.
How do you feel?
You go back to the dealer, he promises new seed for free to the tenant.
The tenant plants again next year with the best precision-farming techniques
possible, the rains come about right, then when you inspect the lush, green
fields in late July you find the field is both weed-free - without one single
ear.
Now, being a VERY patient person, you go to the same dealer and have the
tenant plant a third time with the same seed. You've given this seed good
land, the right amount of fertilizer, it's had plenty of rain and sunshine.
From the road, it looks lush, green, and like everything is going well. But
even with all this, there's not even ONE ear of corn, much less a bumper crop
for all the efforts. Ask yourself a very simple, and very crucial, question:
what are you going to do next???
We do not know what question Jesus was answering. What we guess is
Pontius Pilate sent soldiers to the Temple to kill some people, then he ordered
that their blood be mixed in with the blood-sacrifices. God-fearing countrymen
had been senselessly murdered during worship - was that because they were
secretly terrible sinners? Or does our God act like the false god of the
Muslims and is fickle?
Implied in such a question is the idea that goes something like: "if
there IS a God, why did He let this happen?" Or maybe it is that age-old
question: "Why do BAD things happen to GOOD people?" It's almost as if we
feel it is GOD who needs to change! But this is a false question. The
AUTHENTIC question is "why do GOOD things happen to BAD people?"
From God's point of view, YOU are bad. You sin, and that means you are a
sinner. You can do nothing to earn God's favor, no matter how hard you try.
It's like trying to clean your clothes in a wet, well-used feedlot: the more
you scrub, the worse it becomes. God says your righteousness is like filthy
rags. You and I deserve nothing good. No one does.
IF Almighty God were TRULY fair, nothing good would ever happen anywhere
in the world.
The train bombings in Spain wouldn't make the news, because that would be
a daily occurrence. An average of 85 Americans die every day in automobile
accidents, and that wouldn't make the news either. The only items that would
be startling and different would be when something GOOD would happen! (*) One
of the greatest lies of Satan is that you deserve good things in your life. (*)
We don't like to hear that. We want to hear that good little boys and
girls get dessert; and bad children get sent to bed without supper. That's
what we want God to be like, and so many people commit idolatry and make God
into that image of glory. The Bible NEVER says if we have faith, God will
bless us with good things.
When catastrophe strikes, we like to blame it on behavior, rather like the
friends of Job in the Old Testament. Which seems to work well, until WE are
the ones receiving the bad news; or feeling the pains; or viewing the coffin.
Many who walked with Jesus then or know of Him today fail to believe: to
confess their sins, rely on His mercy, live a holy life.
God is patient, but that patience is limited. It's easy to connect
circumstance with blessings from God - OR misery. The problem is that good or
bad circumstances often do not accomplish what God desires: repentance. God
wants us to know that in ALL circumstances He is working to bring us to greater
faith in Him.
God gives us opportunities to change. Christ's words warn us the Father's
patience will end. We remember God's patience did end for Israel. That's how
many people view the fig tree in the story: it represents Israel. This fig
tree was fully-grown. There should have been fruit, and there were no figs.
The tree gave a false impression of health: plenty of green leaves, no
disease. Yet it was wasting the Owner's time, space, energy.
But the tree does NOT merely apply ONLY to the nation of Israel. You (and
I) are the tree. There was an old Wendy's burger commercial where an elderly
lady (Clara Peller) used to ask: "where's the beef?" The Father looks at your
life (and mine) and asks: "where's the fruit of faith?"
Paul warned the Corinthians about their lack of faithful living. FIVE
TIMES - Paul writes ALL Israelites were under the cloud, all crossed the Red
Sea, all ate manna, all saw miracles, all drank from the Rock of Ages. The
Children of Israel were careless about their faith. Their lives did NOT
reflect a love for God, or others. They suffered the price. Their lust,
idolatry, and grumbling against the Lord God earned them death in the desert.
With a handful of exceptions, NONE saw the Promised Land. Paul said:
this history was a warning to us. Within 10 years of the writing of 2
Corinthians, God destroyed Jerusalem in 70 AD. Then, in 135 AD., He swept
Palestine clean of Jews.
Christ warned the Apostles then, and He warns all of His hearers today.
There is urgency in repentance: believe in God!
This is a serious Lenten question: how is your relationship with God?
Sin causes misery. Headlines scream about tragedies. Why do some suffer more
than others? Only God knows. Your question NEEDS to be, "What should I do in
the face of all this wrong-ness?" The answer is, repent!
The Lord Himself makes this change possible. Every problem (terrible or
tiny) reminds us of the sin in this world. Because of sin we have heart
attacks, cancer, divorce, drugs, and daily stress. Yes, God hates sin. Yes,
God punishes not just sin, but also the one who commits it (the sinner). We
are not yet "sinners in the hands of an angry God." But for many, this will
happen soon.
As we move into spring, we remember that Newell's siren warns us of any
approaching tornados. God sometimes warns people of His wrath with sirens of
disasters both on personal and world-wide scales. Judgment Day WILL come
because of sin.
THIS IS A KEY! Do you remember what the Worker said to the Owner in the
parable? Give the crop one more chance! Let me try one more time! Think of
the owner-farmer in my story. He has every right to be very angry with the
seed-salesman, and sue him for the wasted time and money. That's fair! BUT!
God the Father is NOT fair! He gives another opportunity to you. Why?
Because He really wants you to succeed in producing a good crop. God wants ALL
people to be saved. You, too!
All of the rightful anger the Father had for all of your failures to
produce the fruit of the Spirit was taken out on Jesus. God is just and sin
must be punished. Jesus took your punishment.
In the parable, the worker has to root-prune and fertilize. To force a
plant to fruit, you sometimes cut away useless growth. God does this to some
people. He may prune with His Word of Law: in church, at home, or from your
real friends who speak to warn you when you are doing wrong. God may prune
with the sharpness of a disaster, to cut off something or someone in your life
that is keeping you from stronger faith and a closer relationship with Him.
Then He fertilizes your faith with the Gospel so it will grow; because
that's what God wants: faith! He gives you nourishment in the Cross,
forgiveness, life, peace in Word and Sacrament. He feeds and tends as Good
Shepherd, or Vinedresser. The result of this is faith which produces love for
God and man, joy, help, etc. Not just feelings or words, but actions.
This is all the activity of the Holy Spirit. He works in us to both
desire and then do what God wants (Philippians 2).
Especially during Lent, people get confused as to what repentance means.
To repent is not merely to feel sorry or guilty. Repent means first to
recognize we have not loved God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and
strength. Then, by the power of the Holy Spirit to turn in faith to Him and
receive the forgiveness we so desperately need. As forgiven children of God,
by faith we then put God's love into practice in what we say and do.
That is no less than to help your neighbor when she has a problem. God's
love means we try not to gossip: we speak the truth in LOVE. Repentance means
we pray for pastors, teachers, soldiers, enemies, and others daily. Fruit
means supporting mission work in Sudan, Russia, and Newell.
Augustine wrote in his book (City of God) about when the barbarians
destroyed Rome. He said that faith did not make Christians immune from
tragedy. "Christians differ from Unbelievers, not in the troubles that occur
to them, but in what they DO during the troubles which occur to them."
Augustine believed that faith shines brightest when the world seems darkest.
(Edit-o-Earl)
Yes, from our perspective sometimes very bad things happen to people we
love. But as Christians, we can have confidence that nothing in all creation
can separate us from His love in Christ; and He is working all things out to
our eternal good.
The LORD is working in YOUR life to bring about the fruit of faith:
confessing our sins, relying on His mercy, sharing the Good News of Jesus with
those around us in Word and actions. May our Loving Father richly strengthen
you with the power of His mercy and peace in every time of need that we may be
fruitful servants. Amen.
