Luke 13:1-9.                        Repent or die!                                                                 28/2/16

 (1)  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." {6} 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. {7} 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?' {8} "'Sir,' the man replied, 'leave it alone for one more year, and I'll dig around it and fertilize it. {9} If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.'"

This morning we hear Jesus dealing with an issue that is a real challenge to us: particularly those of us who think we are reasonably good Christians. Here we are called on to reassess our thinking with regard to our faith and what makes us acceptable to God.

It would seem that most ‘Christians’ today think that they are okay; they have their faith; their knowledge that there is a god out there somewhere; or that they live a reasonably good ‘Christian’ life. So a person’s faith and acceptability is determined by what the individual is thinking, believing and doing. So we are putting ourselves at the centre of the picture, and by and large are trusting ourselves.

Together with this then goes the thinking that if some tragedy happens then that person must have done something wrong or is deficient in some way. When something really bad happens there is a tendency to wonder what sin has been committed, or why such a thing should happen to such a good person.

So the temptation is for us to start drawing assumptions from this. Those people must in some ways be worse people than the rest of us. Are they getting their ‘just desserts’ for some terrible crimes or thinking? Yes, all too often, we start drawing assumptions about those people ‘out there’ who have suffered terribly through some tragedy.

Now of course our heart goes out to those people who are suffering as the result of some terrible tragedy whether it be overseas or in our own country for that matter. We feel for them. But in order to make sense of it, we are, all too often, very quick to make some moral judgement in that direction. Surely there has to be some reason for it? And yes the Scriptures even talk about certain tragedies being a direct result of some terrible sin that they have committed.

But here Jesus doesn’t get drawn into making a judgment on those particular people. He has a much more important point to make. No, don’t look out there: don’t make your judgements on those out there, so that somehow it justifies yourself and your present stand. He says; unless you repent, you too will all perish. Unless we look at ourselves and seek to do something about our own situation then we are in trouble. Without help we all are in trouble and will perish.

We are no better than those people who have perished in these tragedies. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Not one of us can rightfully stand up and say that we don’t deserve to have what has happened to these people; happen to us. Now that is a bitter pill for our pride to accept, but that is the reality of the situation. So unless something is done to rectify this each one of us too will be in big trouble.

But here again, we today are much like the Pharisees of Jesus day. Not that this reading mentions it, but they prided themselves in the fact that they were keeping God’s law pretty well. They were ‘children of Abraham’ and as such where assured that they were acceptable, while they kept up their good works. They looked to themselves and what they did and considered themselves to be OK. They were making judgments on one’s acceptability according to their own reasoning rather that what God says.

So also we are tempted to think because we are baptized and confirmed in the church, and because we attend worship now and again, and sort of do the right thing, that we are not so bad. Because we know about and say that we believe in Jesus, somehow that makes us better people. Even if just a bit. But again the focus is on us and what we do, and our pride likes to think that our goodness must count for something.

But here Jesus says to each and every one of us: I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. The call then is for us all to repent: to turn our focus away from ourselves, to the Lord. Because we are not perfect and are turned in on ourselves and our own reasoning, we are in trouble. All of us are far from being acceptable to God and have no way of getting there under our own abilities, so we need help from outside of ourselves. Remember this is God’s call, not mine.

So recognising that we are not the people that God would have us be; we turn to the one who has made us acceptable. There in Jesus and his death on the cross we find the goodness and acceptance that takes away the impending doom. In him alone we find and receive forgiveness of sins, life and salvation. Only in him do we find what we need in order to be able to stand in God’s presence. So also in him do we receive the help that we need in order to be able to live as we should.

So we need to continually turn toward Christ and seek all that he freely has for us and wants us to have. Surely not one of us wants to perish in hell, so will readily be turned to him and all that he has for us.

In some way this is where the parable of the fig tree that Jesus went on to tell builds the picture and the importance and urgency, for us. Now I am a fan of the fig tree; they are quite a picture mid-summer. Green and shady; very pleasant to look at. But best of all is its fruit. Very tasty indeed. Especially when made into jam. That is the very reason for having the fig tree. Without the fruit it is just another tree to use up the space and the water. It is good for nothing if it does not produce its figs.

Now in many ways we are like the tree, but without the fruit. We outwardly might look not too bad; even perhaps quite good. In the eyes of us humans and the world around us, what a good person we may be. Looks good; but for what. Where is the fruit?

The fruit here is not just what we normally think of; such as love, joy, peace and all of that. The context makes it clear that repentance is the fruit that is spoken of here. In many ways it is Christ himself that is to be picked from the tree of our life. Not our good deeds, but Christ himself. Our repentance is really our giving up on ourselves and turning to Christ so that he and his fruit can be picked from our lives by God Almighty himself and by those we come into contact with.

For when Christ lives in us then the fruit that is tasty and good comes to the fore. Then true forgiveness, love and all the rest is seen as God’s good deed flowing from our lives. We are no longer talking about ourselves and what we are doing, but about Christ and what he has and is doing in and through us. He is not just the focus, but the very source of all that we are.

Christ then is not only the gardener who digs around us and fertilizes us with his Word, but he also gives us himself and everything that he is and stands for. At the baptismal font he gives us the water of life: that which gives us a new and right life that is incorporated into himself. There we are grafted into him. At the communion rail we receive his very body and blood which he shed on the cross, so that he does live in us and that his fruit may spring forth from our lives. His word is the sap that daily gives us the goodness that is necessary for our sustenance as his people.

So with all of this, surely then when God Almighty comes looking for fruit from us his trees; surely he now will find Christ showing forth from our lives for all to see. Surely Christ will be allowed to be and do all that wants in and through us. Surely the axe will not be needed. Surely we no longer want to live by and for ourselves and in the end to perish.

I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. Do we want to give up on ourselves and allow our Lord to take over our life and be the very centre and core of all that we are? Do we want him and all that he has to offer. Or do we still want to seek to give him our own self and goodness, which in the end is unacceptable?

Remember the axe is ready! God will come again to look for his fruit in our lives.

May our gracious God lead us again this Lenten season to true repentance so that all glory and honour may go to him whom it belongs: our great God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. AMEN.

Pastor Roger Atze

Glandore/Underdale Lutheran Parish

Luke 4:1-13                                                         Tempted by the devil!!!                                                14/02/16

1 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 

2 where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry. 

3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.” 

4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’” 

5 The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 

6 And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendour; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. 

7 If you worship me, it will all be yours.” 

8 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’” 

9 The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here. 

10 For it is written: “ ‘He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; 

11they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’ ” 

12 Jesus answered, “It is said: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

13 When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time.

Too much today we think we don’t need to worry too much about the devil; if he is there at all. After all, we haven’t seen that little red guy with horns running around with his pitchfork. In this regard it is surprising the number of Christians today who think that the devil is simply a metaphorical figure that we do not need to be all that concerned about.  For many others he is simply someone we can blame when we have done wrong ourselves. On the other hand there are a few who give him undue attention and credence, which is also a problem.

But here today in this reading we are reminded by Jesus that he is real and that he is out to do what he can to lead Jesus and us away from God and his plan for our lives. Here we are also reminded that he is very wily and deceptive. Elsewhere we are told that he is a wolf in sheep’s clothing, and elsewhere still, like a roaring lion.

At the same time we don’t have to look very hard to see how the devil’s temptations have led many throughout history away from God and his promises. Not that we can blame the devil alone for this – sure he tempts us just as he tempted Jesus, but we are responsible for listening to him and the world around us, rather than heeding what God has to say in his Word.

Here we also need to be very wary of our own thinking and feelings. Because of our sinful human nature we can very easily be sucked in by the devil. So much of it can sound so good to us. Here we only need to think of these temptations that Jesus was subjected to. 

In the first Jesus has not eaten for forty days, so would have been quite hungry. The devil tells him; “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.” 

Now we would have thought that this was a very reasonable thing to do; and justified it by saying that we would not be able to effectively carry out God’s work if we are malnourished, or some other such thing. We do almost anything to satisfy our physical needs.

Likewise with the second temptation:   The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world.  And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendour; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to.  If you worship me, it will all be yours.” 

We too often think that the end, justifies the means. In this case, Jesus could have control over all people, all he has to do is to worship the devil once, then he could make all people Christians. No big deal. Eve thought she could eat the ‘apple’ and then she would be like God. Likewise we give way to things and then think that in the end it will all be good. And we are caught out!

Then with regard to the third temptation the devil even used God’s Word to give the impression that something is quite okay; in fact good. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here.  For it is written: “ ‘He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’ ” 

So for us we are often tempted to used one part of the Bible to justify our disregarding another, and that it is all good: as in the case of the women’s ordination debate. Or we can use the Gospel to say that we can disregard many other things that the Bible says, as long as it gets the people in, or makes us look good.

In so many ways the devil tempts us to disregard God and what he would have for us. All too often we don’t even realized it, until we are caught out big-time. Our selfish, self-centred nature all too often takes on board these temptations because they sound good to us, but in the end they are disastrous. So there is the ever need to be wary and careful in life. Here we only need to think of those many people who have been brought up as Christians and who now have very little to do with the church, to see the dangers.

Not one of us can stand against the devil in our own strength and knowledge. All of us, all too often, don’t think there is much of a problem here, and are caught out by thinking these things are no big deal. We have not and cannot combat the devil on our own.

However that is where this reading is so important for us today. Here we are encouraged to see that Jesus has faced the temptations that we face and did not succumb. So we can look to him and find everything that we need in order to go forward confidently as Christians. In him alone we can find what we need so that we can stand against the devil’s temptations and what is needed when we have failed.

The first thing that we find in this regard is that this event happened right at the beginning of his ministry. Here the devil was out to destroy God’s plan of salvation. God’s Son has come into the world as a human being in order to be the perfect human being who could then be the sacrifice that takes away the sin of the world. We are told that he, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.  And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. [Philippians 2:5-11]

Jesus takes our human nature on himself and is sent into the wilderness to see if he could do what we are unable to. He is tempted as we are but was without sin.

We read in the book of Hebrews: For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. [Hebrews 4:15-16]

Because Jesus did not succumb to any of those temptations we now can look to Christ with confidence and know that he has stood up to the devil and won. He then went to the cross and defeated the devil by taking his power to condemn us away from him. He took our punishment on himself so that we can no longer be accused; for forgiveness has been extended to us.

Jesus’ resurrection three days later guarantees that he has won the victory over the devil, and that he, [the devil], has no power over him or anyone who is connected to him. In our baptisms we were connected to him and his death and resurrection and all that he has won for us.

Jesus death on the cross and resurrection he has won the victory over sin death and the devil, and all we are called to do is to believe it. That is to look to him and trust what he has done for us. Then go forward to live in this close connection with him: looking to him for help to stand against the devil and his temptation: looking to his Word to guide us in what is right and wrong: trusting him to keep us safe.

So at the beginning of this Lenten journey we are here reminded that as we turn to, look to and trust in Jesus, we have one who truly can help us through this life.

He has stood up to the devil and not given in to his sneaky lies and temptations. He has proved that he is able to be our help and salvation.

With that in mind, let us recognise our weakness and lack of wisdom in being up to see his temptations and lies for what they are, and the dangers of giving way to them.  In so doing then may we readily turn to this one who can lead us through this minefield, and trust him and what he says to keep us safe. In that may this coming Easter be as special time for us as we remember and celebrate the greatness of who he is and what he has done for us.

To him then be all glory and honour, now and always. AMEN

Pastor Roger Atze

Glandore/Underdale Lutheran Parish