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 FAITH IN THE LIGHT OF CURRENT EVENTS - The opening of this
passage in modern dress might be a local reporter survey public opinion about a tragedy.
We have no historical information about either of the current events; perhaps the massacre
of the Galileans happened as non-Jerusalemites came to offer their sacrifices in the
Temple. [1] One event-the massacre-is human violence and the other-the collapse of a
tower-is accidental catastrophe.
Jesus’ inquirer probably wanted him to comment on the political significance or
perhaps even the theological meaning of such injustice. One would expect that Jesus might
have suggested the reporter read the book of Job to gain theological insight into
catastrophes. At the very least Jesus might have made a passing comment on the
significance of the lives that were lost-offering sort of a eulogy. Yet this does not
happen. Quite unexpectedly, Jesus launches from these stories right into a theology of
repentance: judgment hangs over all of us and death may come suddenly.
NIB on this passage:
Luke dismisses the popular . . . theology of retribution
without offering any simplistic answers to atrocities and calamities. If human beings die
by the sword, by accident, or by natural disaster, it is not because God has arbitrarily
chosen to punish them for their sins while sparing others. God would give even an
unfruitful fig tree another chance . . . On the other hand, the sudden calamity that
claims human lives can serve as a warning of sudden judgment . . . Jesus’ warning
strikes at our most vulnerable point. Try as we might, none of us can protect ourselves or
those we love from every danger: disease, traffic accidents, crime, emotional disorders,
or random violence. The bright side of the warnings in Luke 13:1-5 is that Jesus affirms
that these calamities are not God’s doing. On the other hand, they should stand as
graphic reminders that life is fragile, and any of us may stand before our Maker without a
moment’s notice. [2]
 What was one of the worst tragedies in your community last year?
What is the danger of associating someone’s misfortune with sin?
If you had one year-like the fig tree-to turn your life around, what would you do?
 Please refer to the homily posted for this lesson on DPS.
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[1] We do know from Josephus’s accounts that Pilate’s troops once
murdered a group of Samaritans climbing Mt. Gerizim. Cf. Josephus Antiquities of the
Jews 18.86-86.
[2] New Interpreter’s Bible, vol. IX (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1995), page
271.
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