A well know evangelical preacher, Pat Robertson, recently pointed a finger at the people of Haiti, declaring that their own sinfulness had brought down upon them the wrath of God in the form of an earthquake. It is such a simple explanation: If something bad happens, then the victims must have done something to deserve it. That is what Jesus figures people are thinking when they report to him about those whom Pilate murdered and the people who were killed when a tower fell on them.
There may be sinful causes behind these events in the gospel but not on the part of the victims. Pilate, who carries out violent executions of innocent people, is symbolic of a sinful system of government. Deaths caused by shoddy workmanship or construction shortcuts, when profit is more important than human safety, are the result of sinful practices but not the fault of the people crushed by the falling tower.
Something interesting happens at this point in the gospel. Jesus switches the conversation around. The people are asking Jesus about the fate of others - those killed by Pilate and those crushed by the falling tower - they are looking outside of themselves and wondering about the tragic deaths of others and they are trying to find the will of God in these disastrous happenings -like the tower collapsing. We like to do this - we ponder the events of life and we evaluate them as either a blessing or a curse, either as a reward for living right or a punishment for sins. The problem is not with these questions about God’s will but how these questions crowd out the more important question of how we embody God’s will - how we live as God’s people in the midst of blessings and tragedies. God’s will is not found in outer events , but in the soul where the person is connected to God. Jesus makes them face their own fates - he asks them to look deeply at their own lives. This habit of looking outside of ourselves to uncover the workings of God needs to be turned around. People must look inside to be in touch with the will of God and then make that will of God happen in the events of their lives. For example, illness happens, so when we do get sick do we try to figure out why God placed this illness in my life OR do we say, ‘with God at my side, with God within me, how do I live with this cross?’ God’s will is done in and through us.
In the Gospel, Jesus does not answer the very complex question of why bad things happen to good people. He does clearly separate untimely death from sin and guilt. And what Jesus emphasizes powerfully in his response is the need always to be prepared - the end could come quite unexpectedly. Are we faithfully living as God’s people? Are you ready if the end should come unexpectedly?
Recently a parishioner was diagnosed with a life-threatening brain tumor. In an instant her life took a dramatic turn, as the possibility of a shortened life faced her. Her response surprised some of her friends. She said, “I can honestly say I have no regrets.” The Gospel today invites all of us more deeply into such a relationship with God, where we too can say we are ready at any moment, with no regrets.
The examples in the Gospel of people dying in unexpected ways are not meant to scare us into repentance. But they are a sobering reminder that our time to respond to God’s invitation is limited. The Gospel speaks of God’s patience in waiting for us to repent and “bear fruit.” May our Lenten practices of prayer and sacrifice sharpen our ability to change our ways in order to respond with love, not matter what tower falls on us - not matter what happens in our lives - may our lives be set ablaze with divine love much like the bush that caused Moses to stop in his tracks - may we burn brightly with the love of God.