Homily for 3rd Sunday of Lent 2010

"A fire started on a farm. The fire station from the nearby town was called to put the fire out. The firemen arrived in a dilapidated old fire truck and drove straight toward the fire, stopping right in the middle of the flames. The firemen jumped off the truck and frantically started spraying water in all directions. Soon they had snuffed out the centre of the fire, breaking the blaze into two easily controllable parts. The farmer was so impressed that he presented the fire station with a cheque for $1,000. A local news reporter interviewed the fire captain and asked him what they planned to do with the money. 'That should be obvious,' he responded. 'The first thing we're doing is getting the brakes fixed on that stupid fire engine.'"

As he travels towards Jerusalem Jesus is told of a recent tragic event in the lives of the people. It was the slaughter of some pilgrims going to the Temple. It fits well with the reputation of people like Pilate and Herod who were a brutal ruler. This incident was made all the worse because it happened in the Temple precinct. So the blood of the victims mingled with the blood of the sacrificed animals. Jesus responded to this news comparing it with the accidental death of several people when a tower collapsed in Siloam. His concern was that the disciples understand such events in the light of God's mercy. One was a deliberate act, the other an accident. It raises important issues in our relationship with God, our spirituality.

It had been a long struggle in Jewish spirituality to come to terms with the misfortune of the innocent. Do we blame God for tragic events? Are they a result of our sin? There are many places in the OT where it is said that disaster is the direct consequence of sin. So what of the innocent? The book of Job is a long discussion of this problem. Job, an innocent and good man, is beset by endless trouble. If misfortune is the result of sin then Job must be a big sinner indeed, which he clearly is not. Or instead, God is just playing with Job's goodness and is the source of all the trouble. In which case, God is not good! In the end Job realises that the suffering of the innocent is beyond his understanding and leaves it to God. And that is as far as the people of ancient Israel got until they began to believe in a resurrection at which point justice would be given to the innocent.

Jesus denies any link between the two tragic events and the personal sin of the people involved. Yet, we can and should take these sudden and unexpected events as a warning. None of us know what tomorrow will bring. Flood or fire or accident; we could all suffer a similar kind of fate at any time. We read of them every day happening to someone else. Why am I spared? We have time to repent. This is the time of grace.

This brings us to the first reading. That famous episode where Moses encounters God in the burning bush. It is important that God reveals himself as the God of the Israelite ancestors, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. This is no national god. This is a god who transcends borders of geography. This is a God who is with his people wherever they roam, be it Egypt or Canaan. Yet, Moses needs to be able to verify this. He needs this God's name to take back to the people whom he had left in Egypt. The name he is given is a puzzling one. It's possible meaning has been discussed for centuries. It is no help that the Hebrew writing does not give vowels. So the word it given in English as "Yahweh" or "Jehovah" depending on what vowels you give it. It is a word that the Jews do not pronounce. To know a persons name is to know them intimately, to have some kind of hold over them. And we cannot know God in that way. So it is a sacred name. In the bible it is often substituted by LORD.

In any case it is variously translated as "I am who I am" or "I am for you". And other variations. There is the sense then that God is more than anything we can name or grasp hold of. At its heart is also the sense that this God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is a God who hears the cry of the poor. That is one of the essential qualities of this God of the burning bush. I will by your God.

This is the God of Jesus, too. This God hears people in their need and who does not want even the sinner to die let alone the innocent (cf Luke 15:7). This is the God who has infinite patience with us. But our lives are short and we need to act now. This is Lent a time of grace.

This brings me back to the fire at the farm. Like all good stories it has an unexpected twist. Jesus has responded to the tragic events of his day. It has been suggested that the parable of the fig tree that follows does not only have that message of God's patience with us. Jesus parables have many levels of meaning and are often subversive of the status quo. This story may also have been directed to the religious leaders, who as Jesus points out on many occasions, were not producing good fruit for the people (cf Matthew 12:33). They were imposing heavy burdens without lifting a finger themselves (cf Luke 11:46). The parable speaks of God's patience with them. But still they did nothing. There is a time for judgement. All that can be done is to spread donkey dung on them! That kind of expression about leaders is also used in our day in a more vulgar way to emphasise they are good for nothing. Whoever we are, great or small, we have been given a time to grow in love by the God who hears our prayer.

God is far more interested in giving help and healing to us when we suffer than inflict suffering on us for our sin. For that God offers forgiveness. Lent is this time of grace for healing, forgiveness and reconciliation.

Fr Graham