Exodus 3: 1–15; Psalm 63: 1–8; I
Corinthians 10: 1–13; Luke 13: 1-9
This
is a homily by Fr. Gene Tucker, given at
St. John’s Church in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania on Sunday, February 28, 2016.
“IN THE MIDST OF DESPAIR, LOSS & HOPELESSNESS”
(Homily
text: Luke 13: 1-9)
A group of
second graders are playing during recess at school. A dispute erupts between
two groups of the children, which prompts a teacher’s notice. The teacher comes
over, and asks, “What’s going on?” One of the children says, “Well, they
started it.” Turning to the other group, the teacher repeats the same question.
The other group of children responds by saying, “No, they started it.”
The teacher,
being experienced in the ways of elementary school children, looks at one child
and says, “I don’t want to know what they
did, I want to know what you
did.”
This very common
occurrence – probably one that each one of us has either taken part in (in our
formative years, of course) or has witnessed – points out a facet of human
nature: When challenged, we will try to avoid responsibility for our own
actions by pointing the finger away from ourselves onto someone (or something)
else. We will be tempted to try to put the blame in another direction. We will
try to assert that we’re pretty good.
Jesus knows very
well how human nature works. The tendency to try to avoid responsibility for
our own actions was probably as much a part of human nature 2,000 years ago as
it is today. So in today’s Gospel passage, He asks if those who were killed by
Pontius Pilate were worse sinners than others. Of course they weren’t, so Jesus
says “Unless you repent, you will perish in the same way.” (I can just imagine that He might have
emphasized the word “you”.)
In truth, we
know nothing about Pilate’s victims. Nor do we know anything about the collapse
of the tower in Siloam. What we do know is that Pilate was a ruthless and
violent governor of Judea, so the idea that he could have ordered the massacre
that Jesus refers to is entirely within his reputation. As to the collapse of
the tower, it’s possible that it was a construction accident.
Jesus’ focus on
these two events highlights a common belief among people in His day. It was the
idea that, if a person was ill, poor, or had died violently, then those events
must have happened because they were notorious sinners. Conversely, if a person
was wealthy and/or healthy, then those things were due to the person’s holiness
and adherence to the Law of Moses.
Such an attitude
easily leads to the idea that, “Well, I’m pretty good, it’s those other people
(sinners) who are terrible.” At the root of such an attitude is the idea that a
person can improve their status with God by their own efforts. Lifting oneself
up by one’s own spiritual bootstraps, if you will.
It’s no wonder
that Jesus cuts through all these schemes which are aimed at rationalizing the
problem of sin. He aims to get each and every one of us to take a good, long,
honest look at our true spiritual condition. Part of this assessment has to do
with the fact that – absent God’s help – we are entirely unable to help
ourselves. There are no bootstraps for us to grab onto. God is the one who will
have to lift us up out of our wayward ways. Our job is to allow God to take
hold of us, in order that upward movement may begin.
Lent is a season
which calls us to a sober, searching look at ourselves. Our task is to see
ourselves as God sees us. God’s regard for us is a combination of holiness and
love, of righteousness and of care. Because God loves each one of us deeply and
intensely, and because God earnestly wants to be in a close and abiding love
relationship with us, we are able to allow the holy God to reach down to touch
us and to lift us up out of our helpless condition.
Thanks be to
God!
AMEN.
