Sally A. Brown, Professor Emerita, Princeton Theological Seminary
The Gospel text for Lent 3, Luke 13:1-9, continues the apocalyptic tone of Jesus’ teachings in ch 12. Four themes shape these verses: 1) the fragility of human life; 2) the imminent inbreaking of God’s reign; 3) the narrowing window of opportunity to take appropriate action (repentance); and 4) reorientation of one’s life so as to bear fruit befitting God’s reign—a theme familiar from the preaching of John the Baptist (Lk 3:8). Twice, Jesus brings up (and then dismisses) the notion that tragic death is divine payback for sin (vv 2-3a, 4-5a); however, it is the imperative to repent, and not theodicy, that is Jesus’ chief concern (vv 3b, 5b). A sermon on theodicy can be reserved for another occasion, so that, on this third Sunday of Lent, the theme of repentance is not relegated to the background. Jesus’ parable of the fruitless fig tree and the merciful gardener (vv 6-9) strikes a balancing tone of hope.
We (and our listeners) may be disappointed that Jesus does not forthrightly condemn the stark cruelty of Pilate’s grotesque murder of a group of Galileans who came to the temple to offer sacrifices (v 2). That Luke did not report it does not mean Jesus did not say it; and Luke can take for granted that his readers know well Pilate’s reputation for violence and cruelty. Luke wants to emphasize that, even as Jesus himself advances toward his own ghastly death at the hands of this very regime, Jesus’ main concern is that his listeners should forsake complacency and radically reorient their lives to align with God’s will and ways, while there is time. This, in essence, is what “repentance” means in Luke, and what it means for us today.
A timely sermon based on vv 1-5 might develop this fulsome, counter-cultural understanding of repentance. On what brittle social or economic structures have we been relying for our (false) sense of security? How might a radical reorientation of our values toward God’s will and ways play out in action, on both individual and congregational/corporate levels? How might our transformed lives testify in word and deed against abusive systems of power?
Preachers are best advised to forego allegorizing the parable of the fruitless fig tree and the merciful gardener. The allegorical approach turns God into a disgusted vineyard owner impatient for profit, thwarted by a merciful Jesus. Rather, the parable reveals three things: first, the time to radically reorient our lives is now. Second, we cannot transform ourselves; it is God who cultivates newness in us, so that our lives bear the fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). Third, our hope—present and future—is not balanced, precariously, on our strategic agility, as if we might win Empire’s benefits while evading (and ignoring) its ruthless greed and cruelty. Our hope, present and future, rests in God, whose mercy nourishes us and who, through Jesus’ passion and resurrection, is making all things new.
Insights into Biblical Greek Grammar and Syntax 