A Risen Christ

John 20: 1 – 18 (April 4, 2010)

1) The Text

20Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. 2So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” 3Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went toward the tomb. 4The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. 6Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, 7and the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. 8Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; 9for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. 10Then the disciples returned to their homes.

11But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; 12and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. 13They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” 14When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. 15Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” 16Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni!” (which means Teacher). 17Jesus said to her, “Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” 18Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”; and she told them that he had said these things to her.

2) The Context

John’s version of the Easter story in 20:1-18 reflects traditions that are also attested in the Synoptic Gospels. Note the following parallels:

v. 1a Early on the first day of the week, Matt 28:1; Mark 16:2; Luke 24:1
v. 1b Mary Magdalene at the tomb, Matt 28:1; Mark 16:1; Luke 24:10
v. 1c Stone removed from the tomb, Matt 28:2; Mark 16:4; Luke 24:2
v. 2 Empty tomb, Matt 28:6; Mark 16:6; Luke 24:3;
v. 6a Peter at the tomb, Luke 24:12
v. 6b Peter sees linen wrappings, Luke 24:12
v. 12 Vision of angels, Matt 28:2; Mark 16:5; Luke 24:4
v. 14 Jesus appears to Mary, Matt 28:9
v. 17a Mary holding on to Jesus, Matt 28:9
v. 17b Mary sent to the disciples to announce news, Matt 28:7; Mark 16:7
v. 18 Mary announces the news, Matt 28:8; Luke 24:9

These parallels do not necessarily mean that the Gospel of John was dependent on the Synoptic Gospels as sources. There is no scholarly consensus as to whether these gospels were available to the author of the Fourth Gospel. In fact, there is a fairly strong scholarly agreement that the Fourth Gospel was written independently.

Nevertheless, it is also clear that the author of the Fourth Gospel was familiar with traditions standing behind the gospels. The Easter story in John then reflects some of the same traditions that informed the other gospels.

3) Interpretation

John begins the Easter story with the words, "Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark. . ." This is always how our discovery of the risen Christ begins -- darkness. While it was still dark, No one is ever ready to encounter Easter until he or she has spent time in a dark place where hope cannot be seen. Easter is the last thing we are expecting. And that is why it terrifies us. This day is not about bunnies or springtime. It’s about more hope than we can handle.

As Mary made her way down the dark road to the tomb, memories of better days in Galilee tried to pierce through the darkness. Ah, Galilee. Jesus was popular then. Hope had taken root in her heart. No one ever knew exactly what to expect of Jesus, but clearly they all had higher hopes for him than that he would be crucified as a traitor to Rome and a blasphemer to the Jews. When Mary arrived at the tomb, she was startled to discover that it was empty. At first she was horrified. Then John tells us that for a while there was a lot of running back and forth to the tomb. This is still what we disciples of Jesus do when he is missing. We run around a lot.

Eventually it all gets to be too much for Mary and she breaks down in tears by the door of the empty tomb. Then a man she assumed to be the gardener asks her why she is weeping. All that Mary wants is for him to give her back the dead body of Jesus. Finally, the gardener, who is the risen Savior, calls her by name. "Mary." Stunned, she can only say, "Rabbouni!" It was probably Mary’s favorite name for her old teacher. Out of indescribable joy she lunges to embrace him. But to our dismay, and certainly Mary’s, the risen Christ says, "Do not hold onto me."

Following Jesus is a never-ending process of losing him the moment we have him captured, only to discover him anew in an even more unmanageable form. Every expectation of Jesus is only another futile effort to get him back in the tomb. But Jesus just won’t stay there. What we long for is dead. Easter doesn’t change that. The way out of the darkness is only by moving ahead. And the only person who can lead the way is the Savior. But not the old Rabbouni we once knew. Until we discover a new vision of the Savior, a savior who has risen out of our disappointments, we’ll never understand Easter. The question that Easter asks of us is not "Do we believe in the doctrine of the resurrection?", but ‘Have you encountered a risen Christ?"

We get the feeling that Mary was never the same after Easter. Neither is anyone who has learned that what matters is not that we be confident in our hold of Jesus, but confident in his hold of us. Seeing that, we are ready for anything. After the resurrection, things do not return to normal. That’s the good news. It is basic to everything else the New Testament proclaims. After seeing a risen Jesus, we see that there is no normal. Now we can’t even count on the darkness. All we know for sure is that a risen Savior is on the loose. And he knows our names.

4) Thought Exercise

Have you encountered a risen Christ?

How has that encounter impacted your life?

Passover

Luke 22: 14 – 23 (March 28, 2010)

1) The Text

14When the hour came, he took his place at the table, and the apostles with him. 15He said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; 16for I tell you, I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” 17Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he said, “Take this and divide it among yourselves; 18for I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” 19Then he took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 20And he did the same with the cup after supper, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.

21But see, the one who betrays me is with me, and his hand is on the table. 22For the Son of Man is going as it has been determined, but woe to that one by whom he is betrayed!” 23Then they began to ask one another, which one of them it could be who would do this.

2) The Context

In the Aramaic language which was most likely the daily language of Jesus, there were no “be” verbs. That is, the sentence in Aramaic would read, “This my body.” The Greek language uses the “be” verbs e.g. “This IS my body.”

There are three historic interpretations of this verse and the little verb, “IS.” Those historic interpretations have caused immense conflict, and the result is the existence of major denominations which have fought over the interpretation of the little “be” verb, “IS.”

1. The Reformed Church says that the words mean, “This represents my body and blood.” The wafer and the wine are symbols of Christ’s body and blood.

2. The Roman Catholic Church says that these words mean, “This actually is my body and blood.” The wafer and the wine are actualities of Christ’s body and blood. This position has been characterized by the Roman Catholic word, “transubstantiation.” Substantively, the wafer and wine are actually the body and blood of Christ.

3. The Lutheran/Episcopalian Church says that these words mean, “that Christ is really present in the wafer and the wine, but we don’t know how Christ is really present. Holy Communion is Sacrament, and the word, “sacrament” means “mystery.” Christ is “really present” in, with and under the wine and wafer.

This sacred meal of the church in which we receive the body and blood of Christ and the forgiveness of sin for all eternity has become a source of conflict, division and polarization among Christian churches and denominations today.

3) Interpretation

At least three points are evident from the narrative of the Last Supper. First is Jesus' most intense desire to be with his disciples in the celebration. The NRSV says "I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you.." (v. 15). Behind these words is a construction in Greek where the same verb is used twice in succession--first as the participle and then as a verb in the indicative mood. What that means is that we could literally translate these words as "desiring I have desired." It is used to express the most sincere, focused and urgent meaning of the verb.

Two other examples of this construction in Luke-Acts will help make the point. In Acts 5:28 the Jewish authorities are questioning Peter and John about their preaching. Their words are, literally, "By commanding we commanded.." i.e., 'we gave you the strictest orders we could..' Again, in Acts 23:14, where conspirators have agreed to take a solemn oath to kill Paul, they say, "By cursing we have cursed ourselves..." No stronger language of desire could be used in Luke 22 to express Jesus' passionate engagement with the moment.

Second, we should notice the role of the disciples here. They had been relegated to a secondary role in the preceding chapters. Indeed, there is little mention of them between Luke 18 and Luke 22. When they appear, they are obtuse (18:15-17). But here they are back, and they are called "apostles" (v. 14), so as to emphasize their authoritative position for Luke. Indeed, one of the characteristics of a new apostle when Judas will be replaced in Acts 1 is that they have "been with him" during his earthly ministry (Acts 1:21). Jesus will most graciously say to them a few verses later (v. 28): "You are those who have stood by me in my trials..." Who is he kidding? The disciples are as changeable as the Kansas winds. Yet Jesus either saw in them the seeds of faithfulness or he believed in affirming people even when they blow it. In any case, the disciples are "brought back" into Jesus' life during the Passion Week. They don't perform well, but they will be the rock on which the Church is built.

Finally, the critical importance of table fellowship as both reality and symbol of social cohesion and shared values cannot be overestimated in this passage. Moreover, since the Passover, more than any other meal, was a family meal, eating it with his disciples is recognition of the group as a surrogate family in the deepest sense of the term. In a rare transposition of the order of events (as given by Mark 14:17), Luke shifts the prediction of Judas' betrayal to the end of the Passover meal. ... Doing so intensifies the tragedy of the moment: betrayal comes from the very one who has participated in the Passover meal of the surrogate family. It is the sense of deep tragedy that one feels in Psalm 41:9:

Even my bosom friend in whom I trusted,
who ate my bread,
has lifted the heel against me.

4) Thought Exercise

What does Jesus see in the disciples despite how they are portrayed?

What is in each of us that may not be always be seen?

The Living Christ

John 12: 1 – 8 (March 21, 2010)

1) The Text

12Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. 2There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at the table with him. 3Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus’ feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), said, 5“Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?” 6(He said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; he kept the common purse and used to steal what was put into it.) 7Jesus said, “Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial. 8You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.”

2) The Context

The Gospel of John has two major sections. The first twelve chapters present the ministry of Jesus among people in general. The second half of the Gospel, chapters 13-21, focuses on the last week of Jesus’ life. Mary’s anointing of Jesus is placed toward the end of the first section in the Gospel. In fact, John places the story here before Jesus enters Jerusalem, which is in contrast to Matthew and Mark, who place the story of the anointing after Jesus has entered Jerusalem.

Bethany is a small community within walking distance of Jerusalem. It is the home town of Lazarus, whom Jesus has raised from the dead, John 11:17-44. This was the final straw for the Judean authorities. As a household that has connections with the elites in Jerusalem, Mary would be very aware of the plans underway to have Jesus arrested and executed. And she would know that the form of execution would be crucifixion by the Romans, since that is the method used when the intention is to not just kill a person but to kill what they stand for; to kill belief in them; to kill any possible continuing movement by followers. And that form of death does not allow for a proper burial with proper anointing of the body.

It was a normal custom of hospitality in elite homes for the host to have his slaves wash the feet of guests. But Mary's actions take this common action to whole new level. First, she performs the action herself. Second, normally a woman would never touch a man except her husband and children - and then only in private. Third, a woman would never allow anyone other than her immediate family to see her hair. Fourth, the cleaning of the feet was not done with perfume – especially with “Perfume made of pure nard” (v. 3, spikenard oil), which was derived from the roots of a plant grown in the Himalayas, and, with the amount mentioned here which would cost a year's wages for a peasant laborer. Fifth, this is not the anointing of the head as was done for the installation of a new priest, prophet or king; nor of the whole body as was done for the dead. Anointing the feet indicates that Jesus is about to do something of singular significance. As a rather wealthy mistress of the house, Mary of Bethany takes it upon herself to acknowledge and affirm Jesus' forthcoming significant action.

In this passage, John has Mary portray the shocking intimacy of loyalty, trust, and bonding with Jesus that over-rides cultural norms; and contrasts that with the disloyalty and dishonesty of Judas.

3) Interpretation

At this point in John’s gospel, it is clear that Jesus is in significant peril. He is just about to enter Jerusalem, where he will die. In this context, the account of the anointing at Bethany can be seen as a strange foreshadowing of Jesus’ death. The striking thing about this text is that Mary has chosen to anoint Jesus now. Rather than wait until after his death, she does so while he’s still living.

Therein lies a curious intersection of death and life. They meet in the house of Lazarus, who famously died and yet was restored to life by Jesus. Jesus is going to his death in Jerusalem, and Mary seems to anoint him as one would anoint a dead body for burial, yet he is alive. By anointing him now, as opposed to after he’s been put to death, Mary is essentially giving the very best that she has (quite literally, the most expensive thing she owns) to the living Jesus. The real waste would have been to devote her effort and expensive gift to the dead Jesus. Rather than give what she has in memoriam, she gives it in witness to the living, breathing, presence of Christ.

Her stunning act of devotion has stark implications for Christians today. There’s a danger that churches will become museums for Jesus; that our existence will reflect more about his death than his life. In The Preaching Life, Barbara Brown Taylor tells of happening upon the ruins of a massive cathedral while hiking in the Kachar Mountains in Turkey. After reflecting on the reality that what was once an impressive church built to the honor and glory of God in the very land that Paul walked was now nothing but ruins and garbage, she writes:

“God has given us good news in human form and has even given us the grace to proclaim it, but part of our terrible freedom is the freedom to lose our voices, to forget where we are going and why. While that knowledge does not yet strike me as prophetic, it does keep me from taking both my own ministry and the ministry of the whole church for granted. If we do not attend to God’s presence in our midst and bring all our gifts to serving that presence in the world, we may find ourselves selling tickets to a museum.” (p. 6, emphasis mine)

Think about that for a minute. We must devote all our gifts, from the smallest to the grandest and most expensive, to serving Christ’s presence in the world, or else we may find that our churches have become museums. In other words, rather than devote our time, our attention, and our energy to merely preserving the memory of Jesus, as one would a deceased relative, we are called to give the very best we’ve got to the living Christ. This text reminds us that authentic devotion to Jesus will involve giving him the best we’ve got right now in a continuation of his living ministry. Let your life be centered on the living Christ in your midst.

One final point must be made regarding the presence of the poor in our day and age. Jesus’ response to Judas is oftentimes used to minimize the importance of the Christian obligation to care for the poor and needy. It is very important to note that Jesus’ response is a quotation from Deuteronomy 15:11, the entirety of which reads, “Since there will never cease to be some in need on the earth, I therefore command you, ‘Open your hand to the poor and needy neighbor in your land.’” Rather than minimize one’s obligation to care for the poor, Jesus here quotes a verse which explicitly commands it.

4) Thought Exercise

How can we best contribute to continuing Jesus’ ministry here and now?

What gifts do you bring to continuing the work of Jesus?

Who Am I Becoming?

Luke 15: 1 – 3, 11b - 32 (March 14, 2010)

1) The Text

15Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. 2And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.” 3So he told them this parable:

11b “There was a man who had two sons. 12The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.’ So he divided his property between them. 13A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and traveled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living. 14When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need. 15So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs. 16He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything. 17But when he came to himself he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger! 18I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; 19I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands.”’ 20So he set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him. 21Then the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly, bring out a robe—the best one—and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; 24for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!’ And they began to celebrate. 25“Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. 26He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on. 27He replied, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has got him back safe and sound.’ 28Then he became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and began to plead with him. 29But he answered his father, ‘Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command; yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends. 30But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!’ 31Then the father said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. 32But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.’”

2) The Context

Part of understanding parables involves noting where, when, and how Jesus tells them. This one comes in response to Pharisees and scribes who criticize Jesus' penchant for associating too intimately with "sinners." Actually, Jesus tells three parables. Each involves recovery or reclamation followed by celebration. In the context of first-century Palestine, several things look out of the ordinary: (1) for a son to ask his father for his share of the inheritance would be like a death wish; (2) no older self-respecting Jew would run (v. 20) to his son; and (3) a father would demand a full display of repentance, not the truncated one of v. 21.

Clearly Jesus tells a somewhat unrealistic story to make three points. (1) the younger son could return home – so all sinners may repent and turn to God; (2) the father sought the son (he saw him while “still far off”, v. 20) and offered him reinstatement – so God seeks people out to restore them; and (3) the good brother begrudges his father’s joy over his brother’s return – so those who are godly should welcome God’s extension of love to the undeserving.

3) Interpretation

The Sufis tell a story that may go to the very core of the gospel for the Fourth Sunday of Lent (Luke 15:1-3, 11-32). It exposes the Lenten question we may well be missing as we go through the season. It asks the question, "Who am I becoming?"

Once upon a time, a Sufi stopped by a flooding riverbed to rest. The rising waters licked the low-hanging branches of trees that lined the creek. On one of them, a scorpion straggled to avoid the rising stream. Aware that the scorpion would drown soon if not brought to dry land, the Sufi reached out his hand time after time to touch the stranded scorpion that stung him over and over again. But still the scorpion kept its grip on the branch. "Sufi," said a passerby, "Don't you realize that if you touch that scorpion it will sting you?" And the Sufi replied as he reached out for the scorpion one more time, "Ah, so it is, my friend. But just because it is the scorpion's nature to sting does not mean that I should abandon my nature to save."

Like the Sufi, who defines himself at what seems to be a most unlikely moment, the story of the Prodigal Son raises questions in us about ourselves and it provides some mirror images out of which we are able to identify the real self.

We are all works in progress. We are never really finished. We become ourselves only one moment at a time. As a result, in every experience of every day we become more or less of what we want to become. From one perspective, the gospel for the Fourth Sunday of Lent is not really about three separate people at all -- a parent, one dissolute child and one faithful one. Who has really met any of them in toto -- the parent who is always loving, the child who is always worthy, the son or daughter who is always wanton? This story is not about three discrete individuals as much as it is about the tug of each of these archetypes in the center of ourselves. It is a blueprint that leaves us asking ourselves which one of them we ourselves are really most like and which one of them is strongest in us right now.

A Lenten journey that has led us to question how we practice the spiritual life, what we think holiness is all about, what we believe we are required to be is now asking us who we are becoming as we go. It is the hardest question because it requires that we face ourselves and our expectations of others as well as the standards by which we judge both ourselves and them.

Down deep we know that we are a spiritual jumble of all three breeds -- the loving parent, the spiritually sophomoric adolescent, the demanding critic. We know that every day there is a choice to be made among them. The real temptation, in fact, is to assume that we are only one or the other of these inclinations, as if whatever we do once defines us forever. But that's far too facile an answer for something so complex as life. The fact is that it is our daily, momentary, continual choice among them that, in the end, will determine the very nature of our souls.

4) Thought Exercise

Are you becoming who you want to be?

Is our church becoming what we want it to be?

False Self-Assurance

Luke 13: 1 - 9 (March 7, 2010)

1) The Text

13At that very time there were some present who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 2He asked them, “Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans? 3No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as they did. 4Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them—do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others living in Jerusalem? 5No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did.”

6Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and found none. 7So he said to the gardener, ‘See here! For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and still I find none. Cut it down! Why should it be wasting the soil?’ 8He replied, ‘Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig around it and put manure on it. 9If it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’”

2) The Context

The passage refers to two events that were probably familiar to ancient audiences. The details have been lost to time, for Luke is our only source of information about these tragedies.

The grisly mention of Pilate's mingling the blood of Galileans with their sacrifices appears to refer to a massacre of a group of Galilean pilgrims in Jerusalem. The narrative does not reveal why Pilate slaughtered these people, but the deed nevertheless corresponds with what other historical writings tell about Pilate's penchant for brutality. The verse offers an ominous characterization of the Roman governor in advance of his appearance in Jesus' trial (see the Gospel text for Passion/Palm Sunday, Luke 22:14-23:56).

Jesus refers to a tower in the wall around Jerusalem when he speaks of "the tower of Siloam." Apparently a structure collapsed without warning and crushed eighteen hapless Jerusalemites. In both cases, Jesus says, there is no link between early death and sin; however, these deaths do show the fate of those who fail to “repent” (vv. 3, 5), to turn to God.

In the parable (vv. 6-9), Jesus elaborates on his call for repentance. The fig tree symbolizes some Jews, possibly the religious leaders. Jesus expects those who hear him to bear fruit (v. 9), to do his will. If they do not do so immediately, God in his mercy gives them some extra time (“one more year”, v. 8) to do so. If they still fail to do so, they will be destroyed.

3) Interpretation

Jesus seizes on two calamities that may have been subjects of recent conversation around the local watering hole—one an instance of state-sanctioned terror, one a random accident. Both saw people snuffed out with little warning and for no clearly apparent reason. Both kinds of events lead the rest of us to realize how precarious our existence is. Jesus implies that the victims did nothing wrong, nothing that caused their demise. He indicates that we must not equate tragedy with divine punishment. Sin does not make atrocities come. They just come.

Life's fragility gives it urgency. Jesus turns attention away from disasters, victims, and "why?" questions to address those of us who thus far have survived the hazards of the universe and human society. We should not mistake our good fortune as evidence of God's special blessing.

Jesus wants to talk about repentance. The need for repentance is a universal condition, shared by random victims and finger-crossing survivors. When Jesus says, twice, "unless you repent you will all perish" like the others did, he does not promise that the godless will be struck by an asteroid. He refers to death in an eschatological sense, a destruction of one's soul. Just as Pilate's and the tower's victims did not enjoy the luxury of choosing the time of their demise, likewise the unrepentant will suddenly find they have delayed too long and lost themselves.

Although it looks like Jesus capitalizes on the memory of recent horrors to stress the unpredictability of life, He does not promise freedom from calamity. Rather, He urges against false self-assurances. If life's fragility demands urgency, that urgency shows that life has carved out opportunity for us to seize God's graciousness, as the parable of the fig tree suggests.

Jesus' parable about a fig tree speaks of imminent judgment. A cultivated yet unproductive tree may continue to live even without bearing fruit, only because it has been granted additional time to do what it is supposed to do. Unless it begins to bear fruit, the result will be its just and swift destruction. The parable warns against false reassurance. Just because you have not been cut down, do not presume that you are bearing fruit.

The tone of the parable emphasizes that patience and mercy temporarily keep judgment at bay. The role of the gardener offers a crucial characterization of this patience and mercy. The tree has not been left to its own devices. Everything possible is being done to get it to act as it should. Similarly, God does not leave people to their own resources but encourages their repentance.

Repentance becomes less interesting when people mistake it to mean moral uprightness, expressions of regret, or a "180-degree turnaround." Rather it refers to a changed mind, to a new way of seeing things, to being persuaded to adopt a different perspective. In this passage the need for repentance is assumed and so it takes a backseat in emphasis to the urgency of Jesus' call. Tragedy and hardship have their ways of nudging people toward God, but these verses suggest that tragedy and hardship come so suddenly that they often mark the end, not the beginning, of our opportunities to live lives inclined toward God.

Jesus' words about judgment and repentance are scary, yet they depict human life as a gift, albeit a fragile one. Vulnerable creatures that we are, we can presume little and do little to preserve ourselves. But the Christian outlook on repentance arcs toward joy. And it finds grace experienced within the awful precariousness and strange beauty of our fleeting existence.

4) Thought Exercise

What opportunities do we have to live lives inclined toward God?

How can we best take advantage of these opportunities?