This sermon was preached at St. John Lutheran Church, Karoonda (9 am) and Trinity Lutheran Church, Tailem Bend (11 am).
There's two fun
games you can play with the news: 10 commandments in the news
[look at a news story and name which commandments deal with the areas
of life found in that story] and where can I run for refuge
[the answer is always to the mercy of God through Christ]. None of
those games are called “look how much God hates those people,
but he really loves me”. This is found in the tongue in cheek
anecdote “God hates Cleveland” (see Cleveland Browns, Lebron
James :The Decision). But all these things, these aren't how we tell
how God feels about us. But Jesus clearly shows:
God
is pleased when we repent.
Transition: The thing about talking repentance is that you've got to
be careful with it, because this is people's consciences we're
dealing with here, and we don't want bad consciences to fool
themselves into feeling good, and we don't want terrified consciences
to go away without being put at peace with God. So we look carefully
at Jesus' words here. And so we make a distinction between what God
can do and what God does do.
There's what God can do, and that's judgment. And he does this.
But look at the parable that Jesus told. There's something we miss,
and it's how easily the owner could have had the unfruitful fig tree
pulled down. He doesn't have to go through the council, he doesn't
need his neighbor's permission, he's the owner, if he wants it done,
it gets done. He has the authority, and it's sill to say he doesn't.
That's the thing about God being God. Like the owner of the tree,
he is able to plant and to uproot. If one, then the other.
More than that, God is able to make sure evil people are punished.
Now when the people tell Jesus “about the Gallileans whose blood
Pilate mingled with their sacrifices”, we don't have any historical
reports about this at all, so we don't know what it is. But somebody
in that incident did something evil, but Jesus does something
unexpected. He responds, “You want to see evil sinners, you're all
evil sinners. And God can punish, but just because you haven't had a
tower fall on you doesn't mean you shouldn't repent too. Your life
can be taken at any time and you should repent if you have tragedy or
success!” Serious words.
And
we can't say, “God can't do that”, just like we can't say “a
farmer can't cut down an unfruitful tree.” “If it's not good for
fruit, it'll be good for firewood.” That's what we do say. He
can, he's the farmer. God can, he's God. This is like the section
in chapter 29 of Isaiah, where we hear massive Law: “Shall
the potter be regarded as the clay, that the thing made should say of
its maker, "He did not make me"; or the thing formed say of
him who formed it, "He has no understanding"? ”
But while what God can do tells you about sin, it doesn't tell you
how he wants to forgive it. That needs a special word: the word of
the cross of Jesus Christ. There's only one response to bad news:
“That could have happened to me. I can only go to my God for
refuge.” It's not “Look how much better I am than everyone
else.” Never that.
And so when we have bad news and personal tragedy, we can't say, “I
must have done something and now God is punishing me.” And when we
have good news and personal success, we can't say, “I must have
done something good and God is rewarding me.” Neither of those
things are how you know how God feels about you. Only the cross of
Christ shows how God feels about you: He loves you enough to give his
Son over to death. Jesus loves you enough rescue you from the
punishment you deserve.
There's what God can do, and there's what God loves to do, and
that's bring about repentance and fruit. God doesn't love it when we
don't repent. If you're a farmer, and you plant a field, and the
plants come up, and they produce nothing, not one grain of wheat, ask
them if they're happy about that. A whole field producing nothing.
They'll say no. That's not what the plants are there for. If they
won't produce you might as well just turn the whole field into a rock
garden so it'll at least look nice. That's sin. That's breaking the
10 commandments. When we sin we defile God's own creation, we're not
doing what we're there for, in fact we're doing the opposite. And
Jesus says, “unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”
Kids always say, “But”, “Yeah but”. No buts.
You should take a look, however, at the parable, and see that God
wants to work salvation; that's the work he's happy about. And he
loves to work with his tools for the sake of repentance, for the sake
of turning from sin and believing the good news.
But the tools are unusual tools. Just like the gardener's tools
seem destructive, at least to the tree. Manure, and digging around
the base - these seem terrible. But look at their good results. So
look at our suffering for its good results – fleeing to Christ for
our salvation, and not to our own works, feelings, or excuses. And
look at the tool of God's patience. The vinedresser says, “Let it
alone one more year while I work on it.” God's patience is his
desire to use his tools on those who don't believe: his Word. First,
the word of Law. The Law is good by its results because it shows us
our sin so we can only flee from our sin and to Christ our refuge.
The result is faith. That's the fruit. This is created by Christ
putting his righteousness in our account. This is the Gospel. This
is amazing.
In the Large Catechism, Luther talks about repentance in the section
on Baptism. Repentance is a daily return to the complete washing
away of sin that is there in Holy Baptism. This is amazing. We
return to our baptism in repentance and faith because this is life
and death stuff. Our sins deserve death, and in baptism we received
eternal life by faith. The Gospel of Christ crucified brought us
from death to life in our baptism, and it remains valid every day.
This is well and good for you (and others).
Living trees produce fruit for others. The owner of the tree says,
“if it produces, well and good.” but that's only because it's
doing what it's supposed to. When our fields produce, we say, “well
and good”, because that's what they're supposed to do. It's like
our young family members. They say, “At least I'm staying out of
jail”. And you say, “What do you want, a cookie? You're supposed
to stay out of jail!” The well and good is the use the fruit is
used for. In doing good works, we function the way we were created
to. But this only happens through faith in Christ. And faith has
fruits, and they don't serve you, they serve your neighbor. In fact,
they serve your neighbors in great ways. In fact, through your holy
callings in life God serves your neighbors by means of your good
works. And these holy callings and their fruits all look a little
different: the fruitful spouse looks different than the fruitful
laborer, than the fruitful health care worker, than the fruitful
grandparent, than the fruitful volunteer, but all are called to pray
for their own little patch of God's kingdom. All are called to pray
for those outside the Church too, all are called to have patience
with others and give up our rights and the things we like, for the
sake of the neighbor. These are great results.
Conclusion: God punishes sin. Christ took the punishment for sin,
and works his tools to bring repentance from sin, that by faith we
may both receive the forgiveness we need, and serve our neighbors
with the good things they need. God doesn't hate Cleveland, but
Cleveland does need fruitful Christians there praying for it, as does
every community on earth. May God grant us the life and death joy of
the daily return to our Baptism during this season of Lent. Amen.
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