Our People

Homily for Mass at “David’s Place”

By Most Rev. Anthony Fisher OP
Auxiliary Bishop of Sydney
27/10/2007

I have a lime tree at home that struggles. In my first two years at my presbytery there was no fruit and I told the woman who helps me in the parish that I planned to cut it down. Just like the man in today’s Gospel, she persuaded me to let her dig around it, fertilize it, and water it occasionally – apparently trees like that! Sure enough, it was full of fruit the following year.

This year there was no fruit again, due to lack of water and the invasion of some nasty organism, so I have no cause to be smug!

Clearly, Jesus intended today’s Gospel (Lk 13:1-9) for people like me, who too quickly lose faith in things and, of course, in people. To those who blame the victims of bad luck, Jesus makes the point that those who suffer accidents or the like are not to blame: “Those eighteen who died in collapse of the Siloam tower: do you suppose they were more wicked than the others in Jerusalem? They were not I tell you!” To those who blame the unproductive, Jesus makes the point that those who are less fruitful may yet come good: “Leave the tree a while and care for it and it may yet give you figs”. Perhaps most poignantly of all, he says to those who blame those despised by the powerful of this world, “Do you suppose that those Galileans whose blood Pilate sacrificed to pagan gods were greater sinners than others? Of course not!” We hearers know, as his first hearers did not, that Jesus himself would be a victim of fate, of those who thought him unfruitful, of the justice system, indeed of that very same Roman Governor, Pilate, who sacrificed other Galileans’ blood and would in due course shed Jesus the Galilean’s blood too, by scourging him and nailing him to the cross.

The point surely is that, despite outward appearances, how things go for people in this world does not necessarily represent God’s judgement on them as many ancient people thought. And before we laugh at the ancients for such a superstitious attitude, we should realise how commonly we think this way ourselves. When things go wrong for us, don’t we often say, “What have I done to deserve this?” When innocent people suffer from a genetic condition or a disease or war or starvation or marginalisation, don’t we tend to ask why God does it or approves of it or lets it happen? Despite all of Jesus’ teachings about a merciful God who does not cast thunderbolts down upon people at random or because he does not like them, we readily fall back on such a primitive conception of God and the cosmos.

There are secular versions of this victim-blaming too, like the idea that the poor or unemployed or beggars or other outcasts brought their situation on themselves. I remember once hearing an American televangelist who was asked about his huge cadillac collection and whether this was appropriate for a Christian leader. He replied “God didn’t mean me to be poor; that’s what God made poor people for!” Whether it is pre-Christian superstition, or post-Christian smugness, or pseudo-Christian self-righteousness, victim-blaming and finger-wagging are perennial human temptations. Our age, for all its supposed enlightenment and social welfarism, is not exempt.

Which is not, of course, to romanticize victims either. The real risk for more compassionate people or compassionate societies is to act as if no-one is responsible for what happens to them or what they do to others and in the process we can encourage irresponsibility and reward harmful behaviour or neglect. Of course, if towers fall down, or rulers sacrifice their people, or trees are chopped down someone may very well be responsible and needs to accept responsibility.

Jesus does NOT say today “Hey, I’m OK, you’re OK; do as you please, its all same to me; as long as you are true to yourself and feel good about what you’re doing, go for it.” No, he says quite the opposite: “Unless you repent you will all perish; unless you convert you will go same way”. Paul, too, has his message for us, about adopting a more spiritual attitude to ourselves, each other, the world and God (Rom 8:1-11). “It is death,” he says, “to limit yourself to the unspiritual. Life and peace can only come with concern for the higher things.” But if you let him, the Holy Spirit can raise you up as he raised up Jesus!

Now here are hopeful words, here is really Good News: no blame game, no evasion game either, but an offer of new life for this world through Christ and of eternal life with him in world to come. That’s news worth sharing with others!