The following homily, based upon Luke 13:1-9, was
delivered by Fr. RJ on March 7, 2010. (if you wish instead
to listen to the homily,
click here):
During the past decade or so, we have been brought face to face
with human suffering over and over again. Sometimes it has been the
direct result of human hatred and cruelty, such as the genocide in
the Sudan, or the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Sometimes
it has been the seemingly more random forces of nature, such as
tsunamis, hurricanes, or earthquakes. In both cases, people begin to
ask questions about why these things happened, and why certain
people are victims, while others are untouched. There is never any
lack of people who are ready to explain why these things have
happened. Invariably, someone says that God is punishing a group of
people. They say things like, "It happened to a predominately
Islamic region, so God is taking it out on them. The United States
has turned away from its foundation, so God is using hurricanes and
terrorists to get our attention. A government made a treaty with the
devil, and the people are being punished." The message is that they
deserved what they got.
The other side of this of this line of thought, of course, is
that if we are doing well, if our lives are going along smoothly,
then we must be good people. If we are prospering, it must be a sign
that God is pleased with us. If our relationships are going well,
our children are doing the right things, and our jobs and
retirements look secure, it is because we deserve what we are
getting. We need not think much about what is happening to the rest
of the world because we have earned God’s favor through our
goodness, or through our faith, or through our righteousness. Good
things are happening because we deserve them.
When things are going well, this all sounds very good, because it
means that I am in control of my destiny. I can avert any potential
cataclysm in my life by continuing to be a basically good person and
earning God’s favor. While it may sound good, the doctrine of Karma
is not part of the Christian Gospel. Karma and grace present us with
two very different views of God. If we believe that punishment falls
on those who have done evil, and prosperity comes to those who have
done good, we fail to recognize God’s grace.
All of this was the pattern of thinking that Jesus faced when
certain people came to Him with the story of certain Galileans whose
blood Pilate mingled with the blood of their sacrifices. We do not
know exactly why Pilate had these men killed in this way. Some
people say they were part of an insurrection. Ephrem the Syrian,
writing in the Fourth Century, assumed that these Galileans were
part of the group that was at Herod’s party when John the Baptist
was beheaded. The details may be lost, but those who told Jesus
about it suggested that the Galileans were getting what they
deserved. Jesus said, "Do you think you are better than they were?
You’re not." Then He reminded them of a tragedy that everyone had
heard about. Again, we are not sure of the exact circumstances of
the event, but a tower fell and killed eighteen people. Jesus asked,
"Do you think they did anything worse than you have done? They
didn’t." On one hand, we have something like the terrorist attacks
of September 11, 2001, and on the other hand, we have something like
an earthquake, and Jesus said that neither of these was a case of
people simply getting what they deserved. These events were not a
sign of divine retribution.
Then Jesus goes on tell the people how they need to respond to
these events. Jesus says, "Repent, or you will perish as they did."
It’s easy to imagine the murmuring of the crowd when Jesus said
this. "What do you mean, repent? There is nothing wrong with us." It
is important to understand what Jesus meant when He spoke of
repentance. Repentance was not just turning away from particular
acts of disobedience to the law. It is not a bitter pill to be
swallowed only when we have done something wrong. It is the sweet
fruit of the recognition that all that we are is dependent on the
continuing grace of God who loves us. Repentance is a reorientation
of the human heart. It is turning away from the notion that we can
save ourselves, that we can bring God’s Kingdom through our own
efforts. It is turning to Jesus as our savior. Repentance will not
save us from the effects of every disaster, but it will put is in
touch with the source of life to sustain us in the midst of
atrocities and disasters. Repentance will lead us to hope in Jesus
Christ who will keep us from despair.
When everything is going well for us, we are in much more danger
than when it feels like towers are collapsing on top of us. When
things are going well, when our stock and bond portfolios are
outperforming the rest of the market, and our children are doing
well in school or have good jobs and strong families, and we are in
good health, that’s when we are likely to feel like we can handle
our lives. These are the times when we feel like we have everything
under control, and that we don’t need much help from God. When do
people usually start praying? It’s usually when a tsunami is
towering over them. It’s when the bank notices come because the
mortgage payments are a few months behind. It’s when the doctor
leaves a message on the answering machine that he would like to
discuss our last blood test. Why were there so many more people in
churches across the United States on September 16, 2001 than were in
attendance at worship on September 9? When things are going
smoothly, we think that we are in control, and that we have no need
of God. We don’t want to bother Him. We want to give Him time to
help people with real problems. We trust our stuff, or we trust our
family, or we trust ourselves to sustain us. In other words, we cast
idols in our own image and put them in the place of God. That is the
heart of sin and we are all guilty.
The message of the Gospel of Christ is that we cannot save
ourselves, nor do we have to save ourselves. We are not in control
of our lives, and the effects of a fallen creation do not
discriminate between the Christians, or the Jews, or the Buddhists,
or the Muslims, or the Hindus, or the Atheists. The effects of sin
and evil will destroy all of us if we depend on our own strength.
The only difference between us is that we face disasters and
atrocities with the hope of the redemptive work or Jesus Christ. The
only salvation we can find comes through him. He alone lived a life
perfectly pleasing to God, and took upon himself the full weight of
the collapsing tower of sin. If we do not turn to Him for salvation,
when the tower falls on us, we will perish. If we will turn to him,
then even when the tower does fall, we will not be lost because He
will hold us secure in His love.
If you are in a point in life where you feel like you have
everything under control, where you feel like you really don’t need
God’s help to get through the next few hours, repent. You are in as
much need of God’s grace as the man taking his last breath. If you
could not create yourself, how can you believe that you can sustain
yourself? Pray that God will open your eyes to see your dependence
on him. Pray that God will reveal His love in the work and person of
Jesus Christ. If things are going well, pray as you would if the
towers are falling around you. Turn to God through Christ and say,
"I am in desperate need of your grace in my life today." If you feel
like the towers are falling on top of you, take heart. It is not
Karma. God has not singled you out. If you will allow Him to, Jesus
will go through this with you, and bring you out safely to the other
side. In either case, repent. Turn to Jesus to sustain you, and to
give you all that you need. May we all remember that we depend on
God’s love and grace. May we all turn to Jesus to lead us through
the next moment of our lives, and then the moment after that, and
the moment after that.
