Luke 13:1-9 (NIV) 13 Now there were some
present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had
mixed with their sacrifices.
2 Jesus answered, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the
other Galileans because they suffered this way? 3 I tell you,
no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. 4 Or
those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they
were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? 5 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will
all perish.”
“Why me?” is one of those questions that seems to be buried deep and
no matter what our theology we raise the question. Sometimes there are truthful
and reasonable answers to that question based on consequences to behavior, but
that is not the kind of answer we’re seeking. One day as Jesus was teaching a
crowd of people, he noticed some in the crowd who had been discussing the “why
them?” question. Why did God allow some Galileans to be slaughtered while they
were in the Temple preparing to offer sacrifices to God? Popular thinking went
like this: God was all-powerful, God was just, and therefore these calamities
must happen because of some human sin, and they got what they deserve.
Were the Galileans worse sinners than anyone else? No, but unless you
repent … Were the eighteen people
killed at Siloam worse sinners than anyone else? No, but unless you repent …
Isn’t that a strange thing for Jesus to say when life has just dealt us a hard
blow? When the pain of grief, the pain of a divorce, the pain of a lost job,
when these big bolts of pain his us, they tend to turn us inward upon
ourselves. We begin to utter “me, me” prayers. And soon we are cut off from any
awareness of God’s love. But, God does hold us accountable for the way we use
the gift of life God has given us. On that we can be absolutely sure. Unless you repent, you too will all perish …
in your resentments, your regrets, your self-pity and your pain.
There is an old tale about a person who is lost in the woods on a
dark, dark night. Danger is all around him. Suddenly a storm hits. A bolt of
lightning flashes across the sky. The wisdom is that the fool looks at the
lightening; the wise person looks at the path illumined before him. You have
cancer – do you look at the lightning or at the path? Your marriage is over –
do you look at the lightning or at the path? You will have to look for another
job – do you look at the lightning or at the path.
Repentance is choosing to look at the path. This is a decision of the
soul and not just the mind. The decision can happen because of the way God has
worked with us. Lightning strikes. Do you look at the path that leads you to a
deeper trust in God? The lightning strikes. Do you look at the path that leads you in a direction you
have wanted to go for years? The lighting strikes. Do you look at the path that
leads you to a security in life you have never known before? When lightning
strikes it can be distracting, but when lightning strikes there is always
light.
From a sermon preached by Henry Dobbs Pope March
18, 2001
© Rhonda Hinkle Mitchell
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