Be Prepared!

by Steve Leininger

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/102321.cfm
Romans 8:1-11
Luke 13:1-9

Be Prepared. That’s the Scout motto.

“Be prepared for what?” someone once asked Robert Baden-Powell, the founder of worldwide Scouting.

“Why, for any old thing,” he replied.

The skills learned in Scouting will help the Scout live up to the Scout motto. Because Scouts know first aid and lifesaving, they are prepared to help in an emergency. Need a fire lit? Training in effective and safe fire building has you covered. Is the weather changing during your hike? Because you planned ahead, you have the extra clothing needed to weather the storm. Knots? Not a problem!

There are many instances when we are reminded to “be prepared” in the Bible.

Some are a warning to be ready for the coming of the Son of Man:

Therefore, stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come. Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour of night when the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and not let his house be broken into. So too, you also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come. [Matthew 24:42-44]

Or consider the Parable of the Ten Virgins, in Matthew 25:

The kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. The five foolish ones, when taking their lamps, brought no oil with them, but the five wise virgins brought flasks of oil with their lamps. The bridegroom was long delayed, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep. At midnight, there was a cry, ‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’ Then all those virgins got up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise ones replied, ‘No, for there may not be enough for us and you.’ Therefore, stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour. [paraphrased for brevity]

When James, John, and Andrew ask Jesus about when the end will happen, Jesus in part replies:

“But of that day or hour, no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know when the time will come. It is like a man traveling abroad. He leaves home and places his servants in charge, each with his work, and orders the gatekeeper to be on the watch. Watch, therefore; you do not know when the lord of the house is coming, whether in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in the morning. May he not come suddenly and find you sleeping.” [Mark 13:32-36]

In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus responds to “current events” and tells his disciples how to be prepared for the unexpected.

These events, which are unique to the Gospel of Luke, caused people’s lives to be ended abruptly through no fault of their own. The first event was Pontius Pilate’s slaughter of Galileans attending worship services at the temple. The second event was the collapse of a tower in Siloam, a town south of Jerusalem, which killed 18 people.

In both incidents, Jesus asks rhetorically if these people were “more guilty” or “greater sinners” than their neighbors. In both cases, he answers his own question with “By no means! But I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did!” [Luke 13:3 and Luke 13:5]

People died without warning both times, but Jesus assures us that they did not die because of their own guilt or sin. One minute they were alive, and the next they were dead. Sometimes things just happen. Then we get to the real point Jesus was making. “If you do not repent, you will perish as they did!” That is today’s “be prepared” message. If the end comes, and you have not repented, you perish. 

Jesus did not have to explain what “repent” meant . . . it was a common theme in the Old Testament. The word “repent” actually means to turn, as in “turn your life around” and “turn towards God.” The primary dimension of repentance then is a moral one that results in individuals and the nation of Israel turning back to the law of God in order to share in his holy character. Repentance typically requires an admission of guilt for committing a wrong or for omitting to do the right thing; a promise or resolve not to repeat the offense; an attempt to make restitution for the wrong, or in some way to reverse the harmful effects of the wrong or the omission where possible.

So, what happens if you don’t repent and get right with God? Jesus said you will perish as the worshipers at the hands of Pilate’s men or the folks under the rubble of the fallen tower perished. He can’t be saying that we will die in a sudden and unexpected violent tragedy, is he? Repentance will not keep you from eventual physical death. He must be talking about the promise of being saved, the good news of everlasting life. There is almost no mention in the Hebrew Bible of Heaven as a possible afterlife destination for human beings. The only two possible exceptions to this are Enoch, who is described in Genesis 5:24 as having been "taken" by God, and the prophet Elijah, who is described in 2 Kings 2:11 as having ascended to Heaven in a chariot of fire. The good news that heaven is available to all was a unique and underlying message from Jesus.

Let’s look at the parable from today’s reading and see if there are any other clues providing clarification.

“There once was a person who had a fig tree planted in his orchard,  and when he came in search of fruit on it but found none, he said to the gardener, ‘For three years now I have come in search of fruit on this fig tree but have found none. So cut it down. Why should it exhaust the soil?’ He said to him in reply, ‘Sir, leave it for this year also, and I shall cultivate the ground around it and fertilize it; it may bear fruit in the future. If not you can cut it down.’” [Luke 13:6-9]

The person who owns the garden is God. You can see that he is disappointed with the fig tree. Perhaps similar to God being disappointed in a person’s lack of following his commandments, directives, and other wishes. He is ready to give up on the tree. The gardener could be Jesus, a disciple, or other person that takes on working with the person for that second chance to “bear fruit in the future”, to be pleasing in the eyes of God. The gardener says, “Give me some time for this change to happen, to turn things around. If the tree does not bear fruit, you can cut it down.” 

This is exactly what Jesus is saying when he proclaimed, “If you do not repent, you will all perish.” A longer, less eloquent exclamation would be “If you do not repent and turn your life towards God while you still have time, you will cease to exist when you die and you will not have eternal life. The time to act is now! Be prepared!”