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Monday, March 12, 2007
Not Just Yet, Lord!
Psalm 63:1-8; Luke 13:1-9
Jesus' situation in this week's Gospel story is kind of a cross between a Billy Graham rally and a press conference. He's interrupted in mid-sentence by an off-the-wall reference to the latest headline news. Without missing a beat, he answers the question with grace and poise. Then he uses it nicely to advance his prepared message.
But I had the hardest time tracking all that he said and composing a decent sermon about it. In fact, on Sunday morning I had to tell the congregation I still wasn't ready yet. Then I asked them to come along with my improvisation to see where we would end up.
They kindly agreed, and off we started. Where did we get to? And what did we learn along the way?
Listen to the GODcast!
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My friend Raphael, whose critical post-surgery condition I mentioned last week, has come through the worst of it and will be in rehabilitation for the next few weeks. If you prayed for him, thank you!
His dire straits on life support for several days after a routine heart surgery was the kind of bad experience that can leave the best of us asking, "Why me? Why now? What did I do to deserve this?"
Such questions come not from the head but from the gut. Most people nowadays would say life's joys and concerns come to us randomly, like storm clouds or sunny skies. You can trace patterns of cause and effect, sure; but whether your city gets hit by a hurricane, or your body reacts critically to anasthesia, has nothing to do with punishment.
But in a crisis, we easily default to acting as if retributive justice is the nature of things after all.
It's the old syllogism...
Righteousness is rewarded; wickedness is punished; therefore, if you suffer it must be because you've done something wrong.
Or, Somebody Up There is misbehaving, punishing you without a just cause.
Suppose, though, that it's more like Jesus says in Luke 13:8...
He's telling a story about a fig tree that hasn't borne fruit for three years, prompting the owner of the vineyard it's planted in to call for it to be cut down once and for all. It's just stealing nutrients from the vines around it, producing nothing in return.
Jesus says the hired hand asks for one more year to cultivate the tree. "I'll water it, pull weeds, and fertilize it with manure. If that still doesn't make it fruitful, next year you can cut it down."
Imagine, the hired hand gives the landlord permission! This is all the more startling when you consider that Jesus' parables are about God, the ultimate Landlord and Owner of the whole wide world.
But if the hired hand is Jesus, God's Servant who works to fulfill God's will, then this story means he's doing everything he can to help us become everything God wants us to be. And how does he do that?
Among other things, with fertilizer. Manure.
Now, be honest. Do you ever feel that things are crappy? Like, "Why me? Why now? What did I do to deserve this?!"
"I don't need this crap," you say.
But maybe God whispers, right there in the midst of your extremity, "Yes! Right now you really do need this. To make your heart and mind and life more fertile for my purposes. To produce in you the fruit of righteousness. To bless you and make you a blessing."
It's not about punishment. But it's all about God bringing something good out of even the worst circumstances.
I'm so glad Jesus prays for us in all circumstances, "Not just yet! Let's try this one more time." Even with fertilizer.
posted by Jack Buckley at
4:37 PM
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