Scripture/Sermon of the Day

At that very time there were some present who told Jesus[a] about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 2 He 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 other people 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 man working the vineyard, ‘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.’ ”

I. Thornton Wilder was just 30 years old when he published his second novel, The Bridge of San Luis Rey in 1927 — and that book won a Pulitzer Prize. (Eventually Wilder moved and lived in Hamden — and lived here till he died at his house when he was 78. He’s buried at Mt. Carmel Cemetery.). He served in the Army in both World Wars — WWI as a corporal and WWII as a lieutenant colonel. He studied archeology and Italian in Rome. He was an undergraduate at Yale.

II. In his second novel, the Bridge of San Luis Rey, he tells the story of five people in Peru who die when an Inca rope bridge collapses. The bridge was woven a century earlier and it collapsed suddenly at noon on Friday, July 20, 1714, sending the five people crossing it from a great height to their deaths in the river below.

The collapse was seen by Brother Juniper, a Franciscan friar who was on the way to cross the bridge himself. With his faith in God, he felt he needed to prove to the world that there must be a reason God allowed this to happen, so he started to gather empirical evidence into the lives of these five people.

III. It took him six years and all the history of each person from their birth to their death was made into a huge book. He interviewed everybody who knew each person and even made various mathematical formulas trying to measure spiritual traits. But after all this work, all these interviews, his theological study — he could not find a reason why these people died. The church said what Brother Juniper did was heretical so both he and his book of evidence were publicly burned.

IV. Poor Brother Juniper could have saved himself so much trouble— and his life — if he’d just read our reading for today. The same kind of thing happened when Jesus was alive — two groups of people died from random, unrelated events. One from something that happened when people were worshipping — governor Pilate had a group of worshippers killed. And another group of people died when a building fell on them. People asked Jesus “WHY? WHAT DID THESE PEOPLE DO TO DESERVE THIS?” Jesus did not answer their question — but said the people who died were like anyone else — it could have been anyone. Why were Kennedy and Lincoln’t assassins successful and Trump’s not? No one can answer that.

V. Then Jesus gave his main message — which he repeated throughout his ministry. He said — don’t be distracted by these matters — including the news of the day — that you have no control over. BUT LOOK IN THE MIRROR — LOOK AT YOUR OWN LIFE—your relationships with people — your relationship to your community and world — and God. Repent, seek God’s will, ask for help to follow that — while you still have time.