Beyond "Why Them?" - A Reflection on Luke 13:1-9

When tragedy strikes, our first instinct is often to ask "Why?" We search for reasons, look for someone to blame, or wonder if the suffering was somehow deserved. It's a deeply human response to try to make sense of pain and loss.

In today's Gospel reading from Luke 13:1-9, Jesus addresses this very tendency. People come to Him with news of terrible events—Galileans killed by Pilate and eighteen people crushed when a tower fell in Siloam. Perhaps they expected Jesus to explain these tragedies or confirm that the victims must have been terrible sinners.

Instead, Jesus redirects the question entirely. "Do you think they were worse sinners than everyone else?" He asks. "No, I tell you. But unless you repent, you too will perish."

The Real Question

Jesus shifts the focus from "Why them?" to "What about me?" He's not interested in satisfying our curiosity about why bad things happen to others. Rather, He calls us to examine our own lives and our own need for transformation.

This isn't meant to be harsh or frightening. It's an invitation to wake up to what truly matters. Life is fragile. Time is precious. The question isn't whether others deserved their fate—the question is whether we're living lives that bear good fruit.

The Patient Gardener

Jesus follows this teaching with the parable of the barren fig tree. A landowner wants to cut down a tree that hasn't produced fruit in three years. But the gardener asks for one more year—let me dig around it, fertilize it, and give it another chance.

This is one of the most hopeful images in all of Scripture. God is not the impatient landowner ready to cut us down. God is the patient gardener, willing to work with us, nurture us, and give us time to grow.

The parable doesn't tell us what happened to the tree. We don't know if it bore fruit or was eventually cut down. And that's the point—the ending is still being written. Our story isn't finished yet. Today, right now, we have another opportunity to respond to God's grace.

What Does It Mean to Bear Fruit?

Bearing fruit in our spiritual lives isn't about grand gestures or perfect performance. It's about allowing God's love to flow through us into the world. It's choosing kindness when we could choose indifference. It's offering forgiveness instead of holding grudges. It's being present for others instead of being absorbed in ourselves.

We bear fruit when we: - Show patience with difficult people - Speak words that build up rather than tear down - Give generously of our time and resources - Choose what is right over what is easy - Practice gratitude instead of complaint - Love even when it costs us something

These fruits don't appear overnight. They grow gradually as we remain connected to God through prayer, Scripture, and community. Like any tree, we need good soil, water, and sunlight. We need to be rooted in something deeper than our own strength.

A Call to Wake Up

Today's Gospel isn't meant to make us anxious or fearful. It's meant to wake us up. Life is too short and too precious to waste on things that don't matter. We don't know how much time we have, but we know we have today.

The call to repentance is really a call to turn toward life—toward love, toward truth, toward God. It's an invitation to stop sleepwalking through our days and start living with intention and purpose.

God is the patient gardener, digging around our roots, providing what we need to grow. But He also respects our freedom. He won't force us to bear fruit. He simply offers us everything we need and waits to see what we'll do with it.

Today's Opportunity

So the question for each of us today is simple: What kind of fruit am I bearing? What would others say grows in the garden of my life—love or selfishness? Peace or anxiety? Generosity or greed? Joy or bitterness?

If the honest answer is disappointing, take heart. The gardener is still at work. It's not too late. Today is another chance to turn toward the light, to sink your roots deeper into God's love, and to let something beautiful grow in your life.

Don't wait for tragedy to make you think about what matters. Don't waste time judging why things happen to others. Instead, use this day—this one precious day—to live in a way that bears good fruit.

The gardener believes in you. He's giving you another season. What will you do with it?