Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices.  Jesus answered, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way?  I tell you, no!  But unless you repent, you too will all perish.  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?  I tell you, no!  But unless you repent, you too will all perish."  Then he told this parable: "A man had a fig-tree, planted in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it, but did not find any.  So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, 'For three years now I've been coming to look for fruit on this fig-tree and haven't found any.  Cut it down!  Why should it use up the soil?'
'Sir,' the man replied, 'leave it alone for one more year, and I'll dig round it and fertilise it.  If it bears fruit next year, fine!  If not, then cut it down.'"
(Luke 13:1-9) (NIV)

  Phillip Yancey tells of how once, during a British conference on comparative religions, experts from around the world debated what belief, if any, was unique to the Christian faith.  They began eliminating possibilities.  Incarnation?  Other religions had different versions of gods appearing in human form.  Resurrection?  Again, other religions had accounts of return from death.  The debate went on for some time until C.S. Lewis, a man of great faith, wandered into the room.  "What's all the commotion about?", he asked.  And he heard in reply that his colleagues were discussing Christianity's unique contribution among world religions.  Lewis responded, "Oh that's easy.  It's grace." ¹

   And don't we know it to be true.  The Word of God says, "Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ." (John 1:17) (NIV)  Into our world of bitterness and blame, hatred and hostility, revenge and retaliation, came God's son so that we might be forgiven "in accordance with the riches of God's grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding." (Ephesians 1:7-8) (NIV).  God's unmerited favour to us - that is grace  - is the hallmark of Christianity, the central theme of our proclamation and the truth that gives life to our service and worship.  So we sing with deep emotion, "Amazing Grace how sweet the sound."

   Unfortunately, grace is not the note that the world often hears from God's people.  You are no doubt aware of the comments that Jerry Falwell made following the terror of Tuesday, September 11.  He is quoted in the Globe and Mail as saying, "I really believe that the pagans and the abortionists and the feminists and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People for the American Way, all of them who have tried to secularize America.  I point the finger in their face and say: 'You helped this happen.'" ²

   And so the world hears a note of judgement and condemnation - of getting what we deserve.  We heard the same note when the AIDS epidemic hit North America.  There were those inside the church who boldly proclaimed that this plague was God's condemnation on the homosexual community.  They were getting what they deserve.  Once again the people with the message of grace were seen primarily as messengers of condemnation.

   This is strange, for we are a people who have experienced the wonderful grace of God in the person of Jesus Christ, we are forgiven, redeemed and made new.  Yet, we are known in the world as a people who are quick to condemn and reluctant to forgive, quick to judge and slow to show mercy.  Now why are some people like Jerry Falwell so quick to condemn?  No, let's make it more personal, why are we so quick to condemn and so slow to offer grace?  I remember when one of my close relatives was having marriage difficulty, and ultimately going through divorce, that I was very quick to condemn and slow to offer grace.  Why is that?  Why are we so quick to point the finger of judgement instead of offering the hand of grace?  It could be that, maybe, we have lost sight of the grace of God, we've forgotten its sustaining power in our lives.  But today I want to suggest that the reason we are quick to condemn and slow to proclaim the grace of God - the unmerited favour of God - is because we hold on to two erroneous ideas.

   The first of these is "suffering is the result of sin in my life".

  This is the feeling behind those who come to Jesus and tell him about the tragedy of those murdered by Pilate.  We do not know the history behind this but we do know that the Jews from Galilee were known for being at the forefront of political protests; they were extremely patriotic and therefore constantly clashing with the ruling Romans.  We do know from the text that a bloody confrontation occurred and many lost their lives.

   And Jesus perceives that there is this attitude amongst those who report the disaster that those who died did something to deserve this.  They must have been great sinners and were receiving their just desserts.

   Jesus adds a story of his own, telling about those who died because a tower fell on them and crushed them.  "Do you think those 18 who died," he asks, "were so bad that they deserved this?"

   And Jesus puts his finger on a false perception.  That suffering is the result of sin.  For there is a false idea in society, that is fostered by people like Jerry Falwell, that states for every sin I commit God will send some tragedy or some calamity into my life.   There's this idea in the world that sin in my life will result in some form of retribution from God.

   I had a woman in our last congregation who would jokingly talk about the thunder-bolt from heaven and when her husband began to tell a story, that was obviously exaggerated to the point of untruth, she would warn everyone to step back because God's thunder-bolt was about to strike her husband down.

   So there is this idea in society that sin will result in God sending us calamity, and if we take the idea to its logical conclusion, we then say that all suffering is a result of some sin in our life.

   The problem with this thinking, of course, is that there is an element of truth in it.  We know that if one practises the sin of infidelity there is a high likelihood that he or she will suffer the pain of divorce and perhaps suffer from a sexually transmitted disease.  Our suffering is sometimes the result of our sin - but this is not always the case.

   Some of you are familiar with the writings of an old preacher by the name of Leslie Weatherhead.  Leslie Weatherhead was a dynamic preacher and great Christian thinker, but he was known for his liberal theology.  He ministered in downtown London during the Second World War and during the bombings of London his church was bombed to the ground.  It was completely flattened.  A number of days after the bombing, Leslie Weatherhead received a letter from another pastor who said to him that the reason his church had been destroyed was that he failed to proclaim Christ clearly and without hesitation.  If he had only preached the gospel his church would have been spared.  Leslie Weatherhead showed the letter to his secretary who was incensed.  She wanted to peel off a letter of rebuttal right then and there, but Leslie stopped her and said, "Let it go, let's see what happens."  And wouldn't you know it - two weeks later, the pastor who wrote the letter, his church was bombed to the ground.

   Life is not fair; it does not follow that suffering is a result of sin.  And we need to be very careful in pointing the finger of accusation.  Instead we need to follow the example of our Lord who offers the hand of grace.

   He says, life is not fair, as much as you would like it to be.  And, in fact, God's answer to life's unfairness is grace.  It is what theologians call common grace.  That does not mean that this kind of grace is mundane, but that it is common to everyone regardless of race, creed or profession of faith.  It is grace that is common to everyone whether they are a believer or not.

   Jesus asks, do you think that those who died when the tower fell were worse offenders than all the others living in Jerusalem?  No.  Scripture teaches that we all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.  The amazing thing of it all is that the tower didn't fall on US.  That WE weren't struck down by Pilate's soldiers.  Indeed we need to ask, why did God allow such a wicked person as me, with all my sins, and all my imperfections, to awake this morning, get out of bed, go to work and add to the mushrooming misery of the world?

   The answer is grace.  God is a gracious God, gracious even to us sinners.  The wonder of it all is that God allows good things to happen to bad people.  It's called common grace and it's all around us, in the fact that we have food to eat, homes to live in, air to breath, beautiful places of worship and freedom to enjoy.  We did nothing to deserve them, yet they are ours in abundance through God's grace.

   Suffering is not always the result of some sin in our lives, sometimes it just comes on us.  Jesus taught that our Father in Heaven "causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous."(Mathew 5:45) (NIV)  But his gift to us - grace- is always present and ever offered to us.  So Jesus says in verse 3 and again in verse 5, repent, that is turn to God and recognize his grace all around you, that you may have life and not perish.

   The second erroneous idea, closely tied with the first, is that God is unjust to allow suffering in our lives.  And I believe that the parable that Jesus tells here in verses 6-9 is an answer to that erroneous thinking.  Jesus tells a parable of a fig-tree that does not bear any figs.  In fact, it had not bore figs for three years.  So the owner of the tree decides to cut it down, after all it is simply taking up space, using up soil.

   But notice, verse 8, one intercedes for the fig tree and says, leave it alone for one more year and let me dig around it and fertilize it and see if it does not bear fruit.  It is an act of grace.

   It is true that God does not give us what we deserve.  Instead, through Jesus Christ, he lavishes grace on us.  The truth is, we all deserve to be cut down.  Who among us can say that we deserve to receive God's favour?  Who among us can say we are good enough, holy enough, for God?  None of us can say that with any honesty.  If we talk about what we deserve from God - it is that we all deserve God's judgement.  But one has interceded for us - the person of Jesus Christ.  Scripture says, for while we were yet sinners Christ died for us (Romans 5:8).  And we receive grace.

   But when suffering comes our way, some people shake their fist at God and say, "You're unfair, I demand justice."

   But not me, "Please God, don't give me justice, don't give me what I deserve.  For what I deserve is to be cut down."  What I get is grace.

   Others who, when they suffer bear a grudge against God, say, "God is unfair, he should be the one who suffers, not me."  And many use a curse word to express their feelings - God Damn, God be damned instead of me - for this situation in my life.

   The truth is, on the cross of Calvary, God was damned.  His sinless body was broken and his blood was spilt and he was murdered for your sin and mine.   And one commentator states, "At once, the Cross reveals what kind of world we have and what kind of God we have:  A world of gross unfairness, a God of sacrificial love." ³

   God is not unfair, he is, rather, gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love and mercy (Psalm 86:15).  We deserve his judgement but receive instead, through Christ, his grace.

   My friends, the world is starving for grace.  We live in a world that is unfair, where with three strikes you're out; where thousands of people are killed simply because they are faithful in showing up for work on Tuesday morning.

   We want life to be fair, we blame God for being unjust.  God knows our feelings and our attitudes and in response he says, here is my grace.  Do you see it?  It's all around you - in the smile you receive from your five year old daughter; it's in the freedom we enjoy everyday of our lives; it's in the beauty of a flower and the refreshment of a good nights sleep.

   And, if that is not enough, God says, here is my son, given freely for you that you may bear the fruit of love and peace and kindness and grace itself.

   May the world, who is ever seeking for grace, know not our finger of judgement, but the hand of God's grace through us.

Copyright MBC and Tom Cullen - September 2001

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