“When Bad Things Happen To Good People”
Text: Luke 13:1-9
3-20-2022
May the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen. Back in 1981, Harold Kushner wrote a book entitled, “When Bad Things Happen To Good People.” In it he addressed a tough question: If God is in control, then why do bad things happen in our world? And why do they happen somewhat randomly to those who seem to be “good” or “innocent”? It doesn’t make sense. Shouldn’t good people have a relatively good life? I mean, if God really wants people to do good in this world, then wouldn’t it be logical to reward those who actually live such a life? That kind of thinking will eventually lead to the related questions in our Gospel lesson. However, it’s the flip side to the coin. When bad things do happen, is that a sign that God was angry with that person? Or put another way, what terrible thing did they do to deserve such awful circumstances?
That is an age-old question that still plagues the minds of people today, even within the Christian Church. And if we’re not careful, we’ll end up coming to a wrong conclusion which isn’t based on God’s revealed truth. For example, after an earthquake in Haiti a well-known TV evangelist alleged that the devastation was God’s retribution for their Voodoo religion which goes all the way back to the 1700's. Similarly, there’s a church down in Westboro, Kansas that pickets the funerals of soldiers. They claim that those deaths are God’s justified punishment on the U.S. for tolerating homosexuality.
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I certainly hope and pray that none of you have fallen for that kind of twisted theology. I’ll warn you; where it will lead is not good. If you adopt this kind of logic then the 9/11 attacks were God’s retribution against those 3,000 people for their personal sins. Closer to home, the drought conditions here in northwest Iowa must have been God’s direct punishment for our sins. Or what about all the blizzards and extreme cold temperatures during the winter? Or the tornados and hail that pass through our area destroying property and snuffing out lives? Or what about babies that die in a miscarriage or during infancy? Is that a direct punishment for their sins? Or, to get even more personal, what about car accidents, chronic pain, life threatening diseases like cancer, or physical and mental disabilities? On Friday I attended a funeral of woman who lived to be a month shy of 100. Are we supposed to believe that she was less of a sinner than a teenager who dies unexpectedly? Or what about the person who dies a slow, painful death as opposed to someone who died peacefully in their sleep? Should we assume that the first person had some secret sin that they were being punished for?
That’s really the line of questioning that arises in out text. Jesus was outside the area of Jerusalem, most likely ministering on the east side of the Jordan river. And someone told Him the latest news of the Galileans who were slaughtered in the Temple courts by Roman soldiers. There’s lots of speculation among scholars about why this incident happened. Perhaps these Jews were zealots who engaged in guerilla warfare against the Romans in an effort force them out of Israel. If so, the soldiers may have tracked them to the Temple where they conveniently had them trapped. No gentile was allowed in this area of the Temple courts so just the presence of these Roman soldiers was an abomination to the Jews, adding insult to injury. The double whammy was that the blood of these Galileans was mingled with the blood of their sacrifices. An unforgivable disgrace! The fact of the matter is that Pontius Pilate ruled with an iron fist so this was not out of the ordinary for him. When our soldiers were fighting in the Middle East, they were not allowed to return fire if the enemy sought refuge in a mosque. Pilate’s soldiers had no such rules of engagement.
And so, the question to Jesus was, “Why did this happen? Should we assume that these Jews were terrible sinners?” In His answer, Jesus reminds them of the 18 who died a horrible death when the tower of Siloam fell on them. What about them? Were they worse sinners than everyone else? To both of these examples, and any others you could come up with, Christ responds, “No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” He wasn’t avoiding the question. Rather, He was correcting their wrong thinking and wrong conclusions which was prevalent in the Jewish mind. For instance, in the Book of Job we read how this man suffered the terrible loss of all his children and property, then his health. His so-called friends operated under the premise that it was God’s penalty for some hidden sin. Likewise in John 9 with the man born blind. The disciples asked whose sin caused it, the parents’ or the man’s?
Jesus says this way of thinking misses the point. Instead, He turns the tables and directs US to repent. You see, it’s a big mistake for sinners to compare themselves to one another. But we do it all the time, don’t we? We see the public sin of someone else exposed and we sanctimoniously say, “Whew! I’m glad I’m not as bad as that person!” And when disaster strikes, we’re tempted to think just like the Jews that it’s God’s retribution for some unrevealed sin. Surely, they must be getting what they deserve! Truth be told, if God operated under the rule of tit-for-tat when it comes to our sins, then we’d all be in BIG trouble. Every single one of us would be destined for terrible tragedies because every sin is detestable and offensive to God. In reality, there are no “good” people who have bad things that happen to them. We’re all “bad” in God’s eyes due to our sinfulness. That’s why Jesus tells us to focus on our own repentance and let God be God. The main problem with focusing on the sins of others is that we tend to overlook our own sin while we’re busy judging theirs!
That reminds me of an interesting scene in the book by C.S. Lewis, The Horse And His Boy. The two main characters are a boy and girl named Shasta and Aravis. At one point, a lion comes after them while they’re riding along on horseback. Shasta escapes unharmed but Aravis is wounded by the lion. Later, Shasta ends up speaking to a lion named Aslan, who is the Christ figure in the book. In the conversation Shasta discovers that Aslan was the lion who had chased them. So he asks Aslan why he injured Aravis. Aslan responds, “Child, I am telling you your story, not hers. I tell no-one any story but his own.” Similarly, Jesus tells us to focus on our own sins and our repentance rather than try to figure out why this or that calamity happened to someone else. We dare not fool ourselves into thinking that we’re morally superior to the person who is currently suffering. God has His reasons for allowing these things to occur even if it’s not clear to us.
We need to correct a misconception, though. God is not the author of disasters and tragedies in our world. Sin and sinful people are the cause. However, God allows them and then uses them as a call to repentance. I should also add that sometimes there definitely is a direct correlation between certain sins and the evil that follows. A drunk who has sclerosis of the liver or crashes his car, or AIDS being spread by homosexual activity and prostitution are examples. But that fact doesn’t give us license to automatically assume that all bad things can be directly attributed to a particular sin. Instead, Jesus calls us to repent because the truth of the matter is that losing life, limb, or property is nothing compared to losing your eternal life. That’s really what Jesus is warning against.
Which leads us to the parable of the fig tree. The owner is inspecting his vineyard and sees a fig tree that hasn’t produced for 3 years. He instructs the caretaker to cut it down rather than let it waste valuable soil. But the caretaker negotiates for one more crack at getting it to produce figs. If it’s still barren in a year, then he’ll cut it down. That’s easy enough to understand but what does it mean? Well, God the Father is the vineyard owner and Jesus is the vinedresser. We humans are the unproductive fig trees. The fruit God is looking for is repentance. Since there is no repentance, God declares that we are to be chopped down and destroyed in hell. But the Son of God pleads for a grace period. A period of time when He will cultivate and add manure with the hope that the tree will soon produce the desired fruit.
Now what’s that manure business about? Well, as you may know, it was, and is, used as fertilizer. But what does it represent in this parable? It’s nothing other than God’s means of grace; His Word and Sacrament. It nourishes our souls so that we can flourish spiritually. And here’s how that spiritual fertilizer is applied as we gather for worship: Nearly every service begins with the Confession and Absolution. As the Holy Spirit convicts you of your sins and you confess them it’s like the vinedresser digging around your roots and applying a load of good manure for your soul. When the desired fruit of repentance is produced, God is pleased.
You may find some humor in thinking of the sermon as a load of manure, but in this context, it really is! Through the preaching and application of His Word, God is cultivating the soil of your soul and “fertilizing” your faith with Law and Gospel. And through that spoken Word, He is once again calling you to repentance which is the fruit that God is looking for and the very thing that Jesus says to focus on. That being the case, you can honestly say to me, “Bring on the manure!” Wouldn’t that be a fun sermon title to put out on the church sign? Now, I would prefer that when you leave today that you don’t say, “Thanks Pastor! That sermon was a load of manure.” It would be true in this context, but someone who hasn’t heard this explanation may not understand.
Likewise in Holy Communion, God accomplishes His gracious task of cultivating and fertilizing our souls. How, you ask? Well, what’s the proper way to prepare for the Lord’s Supper? You are to examine yourself in light of God’s commandments. When you do, you’ll see that you’ve failed miserably and are in need of God’s forgiveness which is offered to you in Christ’s very body and blood in this Sacrament. Once again, Jesus is cultivating the fruit of repentance within you so that you can be saved.
Which takes us back to the question of evil and suffering in our world. Terrorist attacks, tornados, floods, earthquakes, random violence, disease, untimely deaths, and all other evils that may strike us down will continue happening until earth’s last day. They are evidence that we live in a fallen and sinful world. Recognizing that ought to open our eyes to our many sins. God’s deep desire is that we wouldn’t interpret these calamities and tragedies as Him lashing out in righteous anger. Rather, He would have us see them as another call to repentance. He calls us to repent so that we won’t be cut down and destroyed in hell. He calls us to repent so that we can be made clean and holy by His grace. And in that purified condition we are then prepared to enjoy an eternity with Him in heaven. May God continue to cultivate and fertilize our faith through His Word and Sacrament so that we regularly produce the fruit of repentance for God’s glory and our eternal good. Amen!
Soli Deo Gloria!