Isaiah 58:9b-14; Luke 13:1-9
Presented August 22, 2010, by Joel Kline
The Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost
Ever planned on doing something, but as it approached, began to wonder what in the world you had been thinking when you made the decision? I’ve had a bit of that sense this past week, nearing the beginning date of my sabbatical, aware of a seemingly increasing number of tasks I had hoped to have completed—yet beginning to feel as if the more I did, the more there yet was to complete! Along with that list of tasks to accomplish, early on in the week I looked at this morning’s Scripture lesson from Luke—a text I had chosen some months ago—and quickly found myself asking, What was I thinking? What is there to be said about this rather troubling text that speaks of people being slaughtered and crushed? And what possible connection does it have with this transitional point in my own life, as I begin a sabbatical time?
The text comes near the conclusion of a second collection of Jesus’ teachings about discipleship in Luke’s Gospel, following that time when Jesus announces that he has set his face to go to Jerusalem. In a variety of ways Jesus is offering both warning and encouragement in the face of an uncertain future—a vivid reminder to his followers that faith offers no guarantee of trouble-free living, no promise of a life of smooth sailing. In this morning’s reading, Jesus refutes the commonly-held assumption of his day—and all too often, of ours—that those who experience sorrow and difficulty, tragedy and grief in their lives are somehow responsible for their pain—that the tragedy is a consequence of their sin. Yet today, there are those who are convinced that God is capricious and arbitrary, that God engineers our most difficult times, that God is ever waiting for you and me to trip up in life, so that God might wreak havoc upon us in punishment. And while, I would acknowledge, there are isolated sections of Scripture that might be pulled out to support such a view, the overall sense of Scripture’s story provides a very different storyline—the story of a God who loves us with a love that will not let us go, a God who walks with us through the tough times of life. It is the story of a God who comes among us as a sustaining presence, providing the assurance—as the ancient psalmist puts it—of a “refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1).