A God of Second Chances
by the Rt. Rev. Chris Giesler
Assigned Texts:
- Isaiah 55:1-9
- I Corinthians 10:1-13
- Luke 13:1-9
I remember as a child going to the old Post Office building in downtown Winston-Salem, NC, and seeing and hearing a man out on the front steps with a sign “Repent or Die” screaming at the top of his lungs, “Are you Saved? Turn to God or pay the price!” This God was very different from the one my family and our church introduced to me.
People with this “turn or burn” point of view often read world events and will blame an earthquake, hurricane, or even an illness of one sort or another on the sin of a nation, city, family, or individual. Over the years, television-evangelist Pat Robertson has blamed any number of hurricanes that have hit Florida on the fact that Disney World in Orlando hosts a number of events popular with and supportive of the LGBTQ community.
While there are passages in the Old Testament, when taken out of context, that can make this argument, according to Jesus, this could not be further from the truth. In the passage from Luke 13. Here people are asking about the tragic killing of Galileans at the hands of Pontius Pilate and whose blood was mixed with the blood of their sacrifices. Jesus asks, “Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans?” He quickly responds, “No .” Jesus also brings up a construction accident in Jerusalem where a tower fell over and killed eighteen people. Jesus again asks, “do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others living in Jerusalem?” And again, the answer is a definitive “No.”
Jesus, in both cases, goes on to say, “but if you don’t repent you too will perish in the same way. This stumped me because it seems as if Jesus is contradicting himself. But after reading several commentaries, scholars feel as if “the same way,” refers to the suddenness and expected nature of death, which touches all of humanity. Here at the Board of World Mission, we were recently informed of the death of Rev. Willey Mwasile, the President of our Southwest Province in Tanzania. He and another child perished in a car accident. Two other passengers in the car are still in the hospital. Each of our lives are touched with losses such as this, either expected or unexpected.
Here, Jesus is telling his listeners (then and now) that we can only control our own orientation in life towards God’s way of grace. This notion is illustrated for us with the parable of the Fig Tree, which Jesus tells. Here a fig tree is condemned to be cut down by the owner because it has not produced fruit for three years. The gardener, however, asks that he be given a chance to nurture the tree for another year and see if it produces fruit then. When you take the balance of Jesus’ teachings on grace (e.g., how many times should you forgive?), I would bet that even after that year, grace would have been extended to another. For such is the way of God as shone in Jesus’ life and teachings. Our God is a God of second chances.
What then is our motivation for mission? Is it to go into the world and preach a word of warning to the heathen, to save them from certain condemnation for not having heard of Jesus? Or is it to provide compassionate care for the marginalized and show them the love of God, as Jesus did, through acts of compassion? In 1732 the community of Herrnhut sent its first missionaries to St. Thomas after hearing from Anthony, an enslaved person Zinzendorf had met in Denmark. Anthony told our Moravian forefathers and mothers about the mistreatment of enslaved people on that Caribbean Island who were part of his family. They responded with their willingness to give their very lives to bring the love of God to them. It is a testament that community schools and medical clinics were often among the first things built in many Moravian mission stations.
How does this call us to a ministry of compassion today? Does anyone need a second chance from you?
