Brief synopsis of the readings: Our first reading is often called the “Call of Moses” and comes from the book of Exodus. While Moses was tending to his father-in-law’s flock Moses saw a bush that was on fire but was not being consumed. As he approached the bush he heard God’s voice telling him to stop and remove his shoes. God then told Moses that he had heard the cries of the enslaved Israelites and planned to lead them out of slavery. God then instructed Moses to go to the slaves. Moses asked what name he should give to God. God replied: “I am who am.” Then God added: “This is what you shall tell the Israelites: I AM sent me to you.” In Luke’s Gospel Jesus was told about how the Romans had desecrated the bodies of some Galileans. Jesus replied that those Galileans were not the greatest sinners and that if those gathered did not repent they will all perish. He also spoke about others who died in an accident. He then told them a parable about a man who planted a fig tree. The tree did not bear fruit for three years. Frustrated, the man ordered the tree cut down. But his gardener pleaded for mercy for the tree. “Sir, leave it for this year also, and I shall cultivate the ground around it and fertilize it; it may bear fruit in the future. If not you can cut it down.”

We call the Gospels the “good news” but some weeks it’s hard to see that. Today’s Gospel appears to be one of those weeks. To give some context we don’t know anything about the Galileans whose blood was mixed with the blood of sacrificed animals or those killed when the tower fell. In those times blood was considered sacred and to mix human blood with the blood of sacrificed animals desecrated the bodies of the Galileans. But instead of angering Jesus toward the Romans, Jesus turned the tables and announced that death will result from anyone who does not repent. Even the olive tree gets only one more chance.

Did the Galileans or those killed in the accident deserve what happened to them? It’s hard to hear this but the concept of people getting what they deserve or being treated fairly is a human concept. That’s not bad but we need to recognize that they have limitations. Over the past year I’ve had countless meetings with (seemingly) countless lawyers as I worked to settle my father-in-law’s estate and if I’ve learned anything I’ve learned this: Demanding fair treatment results only in taking more time and making lawyers more wealthy.

As I said, caring about fairness and what we deserve isn’t a bad thing; as a matter of fact our justice system is built on that principle. But the best we can do isn’t the best God can do. And when we read about the Egyptians enslaving the Israelites we don’t think that’s fair, particularly because they were descendants of Joseph, who saved the land from famine. In our Gospel we don’t know why some Galileans had their bodies desecrated while others didn’t, or why 18 were killed in the collapse of Sidon.

With the advantage of years we can see that the Egyptian slaves became the chosen people in the promised land and that many of the Galileans became followers of Jesus and so it all worked out in the end. But they didn’t know that at the time. And that left them with a choice: do they stick to their insistence on fairness or do they allow God to take over and set the timetable?

And what do we do when we see unfairness in our own time? God knows we’re seeing enough of it around us. At the risk of sounding redundant the message this Lent may well be that we need to work hard to stay out of fear. Financial advisors tell us not to follow the stock market too closely because it will only cause us to feel like we’re on an out of control roller coaster. I suggest that watching the 24 hour news cycle or getting our news from social media does the same thing.

We’ve all experienced events we didn’t expect and were grateful we didn’t get what we thought we needed. The country singer Garth Brooks released a song in 1990 called Unanswered Prayers where he expressed gratitude for some of the things he didn’t get turned out to be blessing for him. By not getting together with his high school crush he was available to meet the woman who is now his wife. On seeing his crush years later he recognized they never would have been happy together.

Of course seeing through God’s eyes is an impossible lift. We are bound by time and can’t see ahead of time how things will work out. But we’re also bound by the limits of our imaginations. And while we can’t see how things will work out, we can still believe that things will work out if we keep faith in God and stay true to what Jesus wants for us.

So what do we do in the meantime? A good deal of what we do is keep the faith and that happens more effectively when we stick together. When the slaves in Egypt were liberated they didn’t scatter to celebrate their newfound freedom; clearly that would have left them isolated and discouraged. Moses spent the rest of his life ensuring they kept both progress and faith. Jesus gathered a community around him not because it was easier for him but because he knew that his message’s survival depended on them gaining strength from each other and moving forward.

As I said we are bombarded by the 24 hour news cycle and countless outlets of social media. Now, as much as any time in our history, we need to find strength in each other and in hope. We gather for Eucharist not only because of our need for the Bread of life but also because of our need for each other. This Lent gives us the opportunity to renew each other’s hope, to recognize that God will never walk away from us. Let us celebrate that.

And that is good news.