Cosmic Consequences

Luke 13:4-5 “…Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”

Do you ever wonder if bad things happen to people because they do bad things? You may remember some of the words in 2006 that Hurricane Katrina was God’s judgment on the sin of New Orleans or that AIDS is God’s punishment of homosexuals. It is easy to look for a cosmic “reason” for catastrophic events. Did you get that flat tire because you yelled at your spouse yesterday? The two recent tragedies of the mudslide in Oso, Washington, near where I used to pastor, and the disappearance of the Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 bring those questions of “why?” afresh to many.

The people in Jesus’ day asked the same question. Pontius Pilate authorized the execution of some Galileans in the Temple. Meanwhile, a tower in another part of Jerusalem fell and killed eighteen. People wondered, “What did they do to deserve this? Were they worse than everyone else?”

Jesus gave a clear answer: “No.” These tragedies were not the repayment of some specific sins or of extra evil people. However, Jesus was also clear that this did not mean they were not getting what they deserved. “Unless you repent, you will perish.” The uncomfortable truth is we all deserve punishment. The spectacular destruction wrought by a mudslide or plane crash is not any more indicative of God’s specific punishment of individuals than it is a reminder of the pervasive sin of which we are guilty and in desperate need of forgiveness. Repentant turning from bad attitudes and behavior combined with turning to Jesus Christ in faith are the only to ultimately escape justly deserved eternal punishment.