Lent Wednesday 3, 2007

Luke 13:1-9

Pastor Gayle M. Pope

The Road of Judgment

So far on this Lenten journey we have considered three “roads less taken” – the road of truth, the road of humility and the road of danger.

Each of those roads has its more inviting and easier going counterpart – the roads of denial, pride and security. But even if they ARE more difficult, the roads of truth, humility and danger have at least SOME appeal to the nobler side of our character.

But the road of judgment … which we look at tonight … not only does it sound uninviting, it doesn’t even sound noble. Who wants to go there? Wouldn’t we like to avoid it all together?

We don’t like judgmental people because we don’t much like to be judged. Maybe we’re afraid the verdict will not be in our favor. And maybe we’re right.

But if we don’t like the road of judgment, then what’s the alternative? I don’t know as there is one. Aren’t we all on the road of judgment whether we like it or not – whether we admit it or not? Might it be that our only choice is whether we walk forwards or backwards along the way?

Isn’t that what Jesus is really saying in the reading from Luke’s gospel that we just heard?

In Jesus’ day, the common understanding was that bad things happen to bad people, and the greater the guilt, the greater the torment.

So, when some people mentioned an incident where Pilate had killed some Jews from Galilee even as they were offering a blood sacrifice to God, Jesus asked, “Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans?”

Not so, according to Jesus.

And then Jesus himself brought up another incident of undeserved suffering where 18 people were killed when a tower fell on them. What about them? “Do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others living in Jerusalem,” Jesus asked and, again, he answered his own question: No.

That is not the way it works. You cannot point to someone else’s misfortune and take comfort in your own righteousness, because we are ALL on the same road of judgment. So, as Jesus reiterated, “Unless you repent, you will all perish as they did.”

Jesus didn’t mean that, unless we repent we will be killed by a tyrant or be crushed by a falling wall. He meant that those speaking to him, and those of us listening today, are ALL as guilty as the next one. Whether or not the person next to us gets what he or she deserves is not our concern.

“Unless YOU repent,” Jesus said to his listeners and to us, “Unless YOU repent, you will ALL perish.” Now since we will all perish physically, whether we repent or not, we can surmise that Jesus is talking about a spiritual death.

But Jesus is not issuing a threat. He is issuing a warning, and at the same time, throwing a life preserver and an invitation to turn around and LIVE. That’s the message of the parable he tells.

The fig tree is not bearing fruit and thus not fulfilling its purpose in life, but the gardener is patient and willing to give it another chance and even provide more tender, loving care to help it along. But, there is a limit. Judgment day is coming.

As I said at the beginning of this sermon, no one likes the idea of being judged. The road of judgment does not sound inviting. But the truth is, we are ALREADY on it.

People don’t like that because we know, instinctively, that we’re sinners and the judgment we deserve is not pretty. We want to look away. We want to walk backwards.

But Jesus is telling us, “Don’t walk backwards. Turn around.” That’s what it means to repent. The word in Greek literally means, “turn around.”

We need not fear this path. For at the end of the road of judgment, God has provided a way out. It is the cross. And through that cross, the way of judgment leads to life – abundant life that begins here and now and lasts for all eternity.

When Jesus died, HE paid the penalty for our sins so that, in spite of our guilt, God declares us “not guilty” by reason of faith in Jesus.

That isn’t pretty, either. We hate the thought that our sins of omission and commission added to the pain Jesus endured. We cannot bear that our unkind thoughts, our resentments, our selfishness and our lack of caring are mingled with the blood that Jesus shed.

But we have to realize that our sin DOES carry a price. And when we recognize and accept that Jesus PAID that price FOR us, our hearts are broken open to receive God’s gracious love and forgiveness.

Then, by the power of the Holy Spirit at work within us, we are strengthened for our journey. We are given help and power to walk down those less traveled roads where God walks beside us and in front of us and behind us and even carries us when we need it.

As long as we remain in the flesh, the sin in us will always fear the road of judgment. But faith teaches us to love that road and run all the more quickly down it for the grace that is found in the cross of Christ – not only at the end of the journey, but at every turn along the way. Amen.