Luke 13:1-9
1 At that very time there were some present who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.2 [Jesus] asked them, “Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans?3 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as they did. 4 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? 5 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did.”
6 Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and found none. 7 So he said to the gardener, ‘See here! For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and still I find none. Cut it down! Why should it be wasting the soil?’ 8 He replied, ‘Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig around it and put manure on it. 9 If it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’ ”
“… 5 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did.” …”
Jesus seems to make it clear that extraordinary sinfulness is not the cause of tragic or traumatic death. Rather, sin is everywhere. Neither the Galileans nor the workers in Siloam were particularly bad. It was not God’s punishment that caused them to perish. Rather, it was the sinfulness we all share. Sin leads to death.
Perhaps that’s why Jesus calls us to repent. Our repentance is not from any particularly evil or dastardly sin. We are simply repenting of our everyday, garden variety sin. Our disobedience to God’s commands to love God and love our neighbor, our unfaithfulness and apathy toward God, our hatred, bigotry, intolerance, and neglect of others, our unwillingness to see our neighbors as children of God deserving grace, mercy, forgiveness, and caring, our lack of compassion for the hungry, homeless, impoverished, outcast and marginalized, our lack of hospitality for the alien and stranger in our midst, etc.
These are not extraordinary sins. These are the sins we participate in every day. It is from these that the Jesus calls us to confess and repent.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, You call us to confession and repentance for our sinfulness. Open my eyes to Your call, open my heart to Your Word, and lead me this day to repent of my everyday sins. Amen.