If the only impression we got of Jesus came from this week’s Gospel passage, I suspect he wouldn’t have many followers. When asked about some of the great tragedies of his day, he seems to sweep aside the suffering involved and make of each example a warning to repent:
At that very time there were some present who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. He asked them, ‘Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as they did. Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them—do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others living in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did.’
If we go back to chapter 12, we can see Jesus is already pretty wound up. “I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!,” he says. He’s told parables about being ready to give account when the end comes. So maybe he’s not in the mood for philosophizing. When told about what appears to have been a particularly sacrilegious atrocity committed by the Roman governor, he says those Galileans were not singled out for punishment by God – God doesn’t work that way. But he is quick to point out that everyone listening is vulnerable to eternal death unless they repent and choose eternal life in Christ. Similarly with some people who were killed in an accident; they were no worse sinners than anyone else, nor being punished – “but unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did.” By “perish” Jesus is not talking about physical death, but a spiritual one.
This passage reminds us that God does not visit suffering upon people, and certainly does not punish through tragedy. God is in the business of life, not death. So we can cite Jesus to those who suggest, when a child dies, that “God wanted another angel,” or “Everything happens for a reason.” It may or it may not. We are invited to go deeper than the mystery of tragedy and loss. Jesus is saying, “More important than why someone suffers or dies is this: What eternal choice are you going to make? Are you going to repent – i.e., turn from living on your own terms to living on God’s terms, and live? Or are you going to continue to live as though this world is all there is, and ultimately perish?
Atrocities and horrible accidents will likely shadow us this side of glory; they are often the results of humans exercising free will. Each time we encounter suffering, we have an opportunity to proclaim God’s goodness in the face of it, and invite people to choose life over death. God does not promise protection from harm. God promises a Life that goes beyond life into infinity, a Life in God’s presence, a Life that begins in the here and now and continues long after we have ceased to draw breath. As we live more deeply into that Life, we have more to offer in the face of tragedy.
As the caption on a Salvation Army ad depicting relief workers in the aftermath of a hurricane reads:
“We meet natural disasters with acts of God.” That's how we can bring life into suffering.
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