In the chapters that precede this one in Luke’s gospel, we find out that Jesus is the keynote speaker at a quite a large religious gathering. It turns out that John the Baptist was only the warm-up act, and people had already come from long distances to hear him. This crowd was even bigger than the Jordan River gatherings – but then again Jesus had a better praise band, and apparently wider media coverage. Lucky for Jesus, he had brought along his disciples too to manage the handouts and make sure that the power point presentation was working. So after they all got back from the lunch break, one of his road crew checked the lapel mike because it looked like Jesus was about to start taking questions from the audience.

Let me back up for just a minute to describe this crowd of people. This is not necessarily a friendly audience who all bought tickets to hear someone they would agree with and cheer on. This crowd includes Pharisees, lawyers, and all manner of naysayers who had come to question this traveling life-coach. They heard how he had insulted the religious and legal establishments time and again in his presentations, so they came armed with questions perfectly designed to trip him up and make him look foolish or stupid. Of course, in the crowd there were also those who came because of their pressing physical or emotional needs, those people who were hoping for the chance to get up on stage with Jesus and be miraculously healed by his very presence. There were some fence-sitters too, people who had come with friends or family simply because it was the thing to do. And then there were those who were already dedicated followers of Jesus who were holding their breath and hoping that he would consistently give good answers so they would all look good even after the last attendees had gone home.

Anyhow, it was kind of like church on any given Sunday. Some wanted to be there, others didn’t. Some were looking to prove some sort of religious certainty, others were praying for hope in the dark. Some were willing to challenge Jesus; others were looking for comfort from Jesus. As a much less popular preacher myself, it is never easy to speak to such a mix of people without making someone mad, and someone else bored, while another person says that the illustration stolen late, late Saturday night from DesperatePreacher.com was exactly what they needed to hear. Coming up with something to say is one thing – taking random questions and comments from this type of audience requires a boldness that only a very few public speakers have the courage and calmness to take on.

But Jesus somehow owns this audience even as he’s telling them what awful kinds of people that they are. During this weekend workshop, as the crowd begins to increase in chapter 11, he speaks to them as “an evil generation.” Then, a Pharisee invites him to dinner and gets called a fool before the appetizers are even on the table. So a lawyer at the same dinner party comments about how his insults of the religious leaders are hurtful to him too, so Jesus says, “Woe also to you lawyers! For you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not lift a finger to ease them.” The very next morning, as the crowd begins to break all the fire codes, he whips up on their hypocrisy again, condemning them for keeping harmful secrets, using power for their own gain, and hoarding up treasure in bigger and bigger barns. Then, as an aside, he speaks to his disciples the eloquent “Do not worry” text right before he gets back to fire, judgment, and some sort of last days reckoning speech. Luke does not shy away from recounting explicitly the kind of conflict that would eventually lead to the authorities, both religious and political, wanting Jesus dead.

Which brings us to the afternoon workshop on day two - right after lunch and before the afternoon hymn set has begun… Someone comes up front waving a newspaper in his face. So Jesus, what about the Galileans whose blood Pilate mingled with sacrifices? What about the 18 who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them? What about them Jesus? Does God even care, do you even care?

Jesus turns the day’s news back on them. You see, they were inclined to believe that because these tragedies happened, those Galileans who experienced cruelty at the hands of Pilate and those who were killed by the falling tower were somehow major sinners who were dealt their fate by God. He’d already been talking about God’s judgment, about turning from sin, about letting go of the meticulous purity laws that weren’t important to take care of people who were much more important. He was preaching wrath, and fire, and damnation. They figured this was part of the package. They wanted Jesus to implicate God and, as one of God’s messengers, also himself as both judge and punisher. “Do you think they were worse sinners than any of the others living in Jerusalem? Were they any worse than you?” Jesus asks, and then he tells them that the answer is “No, they weren’t.”

Cruel tragedies happen. We could just as easily wave today’s news in Jesus’ face. What about Haiti? What about Chile? What about bone-crushing poverty or depression that keeps someone in a downward spiral of gloom for weeks on end? Are those who experience awful circumstances somehow in less favor with God than those of us who are healthy, stable, and live in a secure home? Jesus says – No – God does not show love or lack of love in that way. We are no different from the Galileans, or from those crushed by the tower. We are no different from those who are still covered in the emotional rubble of recent earthquakes. Like them, we are subject to the laws of nature and the impulses of powerful regimes. We all face similar fates as human beings. We may experience shame or humiliation. Our lives may be turned upside down at any moment by a car accident, a flood, or a diagnosis of cancer. One day each and every one of us will come face to face with our own mortality and die to life as we now know it. That part is true.

What Jesus says is also true – repentance is a very real part of the equation. “Repent or perish,” is what Jesus tells both his CNN and Fox News junkies who revel in hearing everyone’s dirty laundry. Then he tells them the parable of the fig tree. What I notice in the parable is that God cares about our growth and wants us to be fruitful. It’s not enough to follow the code or say that we believe. We are expected to bear fruit – even when times are difficult. The fig tree was often a stand in for Israel or Judah – so together the religious community is intended to be a sign of growth, hope, and wisdom to the rest of the world. God shows disappointment when, generation after generation, we remain fruitless. For three years, the tree showed no signs of doing much of anything. The owner of the fig tree was about to chop it down when the gardener intervened – pleading for one more chance. The gardener is pretty obviously Jesus. Jesus is our last chance. God is generous, but there is a limit. We can’t keep putting God off to another time, saying that we’ll get our lives together – later, saying that we’ll care about others – later. Jesus’ tough words for his audience show that he means business. He cares enough to love us as we are, but he cares about us too much to let us stay that way – bound up in our petty problems, and not the sign of light and life that God wants us to be in this world.

The crowd wants to know if God zaps people when they’ve been bad. The initial answer is no. There are no “worse sinners” who can be known by their horrible fates. But at the same time, God expects us to produce when it comes to our spiritual lives. Jesus knows God’s sense of parental discipline. God does not reprimand his beloved children with cruel or harsh punishments, but at the same time God expects much of us, especially when we claim our relationship with God.

Imagining Jesus’ teaching in Luke as a contemporary Christian conference gives us a read on how Jesus might have even been interpreted in his own time. The religious and cultural leaders wanted to hear that they were right, good, and in fact better than everyone else. They wanted someone to smooth their own egos – and Jesus wasn’t that. In fact, his words for those folks were harsh, reminding them that they had some repenting to do in order to experience a freer life of faith. I wonder if Jesus would get bookings of such large crowds too often in today’s audience. Then again, sometimes we like the fight. We want the conflict so that we can prove our own point. And Jesus also drew in those with little voice in the bigger picture. In this same narrative, Jesus teaches his anxious disciples not to worry so much. He heals a crippled woman and weeps for the city that will seek his death. People come to Jesus or stumble upon Jesus for many, many reasons. And some days we need that “in your face” Jesus to tell us it’s time to repent, grow up, and make a difference in the world, or else get chopped back to the ground from which we came. When we hear these words as a “last chance” then I do think it’s time for us to quit wasting the soil around us and get busy producing some fruit.

If the proverbial fig tree is now us – then we are charged with being God’s chosen in the world. Jesus gets to his understanding of Kingdom language within this chapter of Luke’s gospel. Being the Kingdom is like being the mustard seed, the yeast in the loaf. Faithfulness in the small things so often demonstrates faithfulness in the big things. Though these speeches may sound like the fire and brimstone preaching you’ve heard so much about, in this text is good news for us. God’s judgment is full of compassion, redemption, and another chance to make a difference. Take that chance. Instead of using Jesus’ words and telling you again, “Repent or perish,” I’ll rephrase a bit, “Repent and flourish” as God intended.

Amen.