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The Reading
1 Corinthians 10.1-13
I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ. Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them, and they were struck down in the wilderness.
Now these things occurred as examples for us, so that we might not desire evil as they did. Do not become idolaters as some of them did; as it is written, ‘The people sat down to eat and drink, and they rose up to play.’ We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did, and were destroyed by serpents. And do not complain as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer. These things happened to them to serve as an example, and they were written down to instruct us, on whom the ends of the ages have come. So if you think you are standing, watch out that you do not fall. No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.
Luke 13.1-9
At that very time there were some present who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. He asked them, ‘Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as they did. 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? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did.’
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. 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?” He replied, “Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig round it and put manure on it. If it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.” ’
Scripture quotations are from: New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright © 1989, 1995 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org
The Sermon
Prepared by Joe, Reader at St Mary's.
May I speak in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
There’s a short novel by Thornton Wilder called ‘The Bridge at San Luis Rey’. It’s something you can read in a day, but it will stick with you. A bridge collapses and five people die. A monk, Brother Juniper, investigates the people who died. Why those people? Why were they on the bridge when it collapsed? Were they bad? Unlucky? Is there any deeper meaning?
In our Gospel, we hear that group of Galileans have been slaughtered by Pilate while offering sacrifices, and that their blood was mingled with the sacrifices. This wasn’t just an act of violence—it was sacrilege. And naturally, the people wanted answers. Not just about Pilate—but about God. What did it mean? Why did it happen? Had these people brought it on themselves?
Brother Juniper would have been in his element.
Jesus’ response is both sobering and surprising. He asks them: “Do you think these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered in this way?” And then He answers it bluntly: “No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as they did.”
And just in case the message wasn’t clear, He brings up another incident—a tower collapsing in Siloam, killing eighteen people. Like the bridge at San Luis Rey - just sheer tragedy. But again, Jesus asks: “Do you think they were worse offenders than all the others living in Jerusalem?” And again, “No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did.”
Now, this might seem like a harsh message of doom. But it isn’t. It’s not about condemnation—it’s about calling people not to speculate on the sins of others, but to examine their own hearts.
Jesus is not offering the consoling thought (for some) that bad things happen to bad people. In fact, He’s rejecting that. Instead, He’s saying: Don’t look for someone else to blame.
Jesus is saying that we should use these moments—these reminders of life’s fragility—as a call to turn back to God. Because life is short, and the time available to us to accept God’s grace is equally limited.
In the parable, a fig tree hasn’t borne any fruit for three years. The owner is fed up and tells his gardener to chop it down. But the gardener—merciful, patient, and probably very good at his job—intercedes. “Let it alone for one more year, until I dig around it and put manure on it. If it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.”
On one hand, there’s the urgency: this fig tree has had enough time. It’s been planted, cared for, and expected to grow. On the other hand, there’s compassion: “Let’s give it one more year.”
This is the nature of grace. It is patient, but it is not passive. It calls for response, but the time available for us to respond is limited by us being alive.
The gardener doesn’t just hope for the best. He gets his hands dirty and gives the tree every opportunity to live into its purpose.
We are the fig tree. We’ve been given life. As the tree needed soil, rain, sunlight and manure, we’re given spiritual nourishment - the Word of God and our Church and community. And now, in this Lenten season, we are again being asked—what fruit are we bearing?
Fruit, in Scripture, is not just about good deeds. It’s about transformation. The fruit of repentance, the fruit of the Spirit—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. These are signs not of what we’ve achieved, but of how deeply we are allowing God’s grace to change us.
Paul, in his letter to the Corinthians, touches on something similar. He reminds them of their ancestors—those who came out of Egypt with Moses. They had everything: spiritual food, spiritual drink, miraculous deliverance. But they still fell. Why? Because they presumed upon God’s grace, and didn’t allow that grace to shape their hearts. They desired evil. They grumbled. They turned to idols. And Paul says, “These things happened as examples for us.”
It’s easy to fall into the same trap—thinking that being near holy things means we are holy. That being in church, being moral, being “better than most,” is enough. But God is after something more: not just performance, but transformation, giving inward renewal.
There’s a line in the 1 Corinthians passage that strikes to the core: “If you think you are standing, watch out that you do not fall.” It’s a call to humility. A reminder that none of us are beyond the need for repentance. And yet—it ends with hope: “God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength… he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.”
Both our Gospel and our first reading are reminders that God’s grace is active, not abstract. God’s grace nourishes us, and whilst there is pressure, that pressure of God’s love is to wake us up to the urgency of acting and transforming NOW.
So what can we take away today?
First: life is fragile, and, as the saying goes…Stuff happens. We can see that in the headlines and our own life experiences. But Jesus tells us not to use that fragility as a reason to speculate or point fingers—but as an invitation to reflect. Where in our lives do we need to repent? Where do we need to turn back to God?
Secondly, God is patient. Like the gardener, God does not give up on us. He intercedes, He works the soil, He feeds us with grace. But that patience is not an excuse for complacency. It’s a window of mercy. And we don’t know how long that window will remain open.
Finally, we are called to bear fruit. Not out of fear—but because it is what we were made for. A fig tree without figs is not living into its purpose. And a Christian without love, mercy, or joy is not either. We were not just saved from something—we were saved for something.
So let’s not waste the soil we’re planted in. Let’s respond to the God’s mercy with hearts open to transformation. Let this year’s Lent season be the time in which we get our act together and smell the roses, to say, and respond to the opportunities given to us by the Lord’s grace to bear the fruit we’re supposed to.
Amen.
The Prayers
Prepared by Kath.
Common Worship: Times and Seasons, material from which is used here is copyright (c) 2010 The Archbishops' Council