Why do bad things happen to good people? The question has plagued people for millennia. No one wants to think that bad things can happen to them for no reason. It is far easier to blame the victim, to suggest that they have somehow done something to deserve the calamity that has fallen upon them. Of course, it really isn’t that simple.
(Jesus) asked them, ‘Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans?
History records Pilate as being rather brutal. He did have a fondness for crucifixion. We don’t have any other record as to why he chose to have this particular group of Galileans killed. But, with two sentences from Luke, we know a tragedy has occurred. People have died in a brutal, unholy way! Something bad has befallen potentially good people. The same could be said about those who died when a tower in the wall around Jerusalem collapsed and killed 18 people.
Why do bad things happen to these good people? Did they somehow deserve it? Were they being punished for their transgressions? Or were they merely victims of Pilates’s brutality and poor engineering?
Why do bad things happen to good people? The news is filled with bad things happening to good people. There are thousands losing their jobs daily in the US as DOGE makes massive cuts. We won’t even mention what ICE is doing! Tariffs are threatening businesses on this side of the border, to say nothing of the threats to our sovereignty. While there is an outright attack on diversity, equity, and inclusion south of us, there is also a parallel attack being felt by some groups here in our own country. The Trans community has particularly been targeted as people fight against pronouns and the ability of individuals to define and live fully who they are.
Jesus asks us, ‘Do you think that because these individuals are suffering in these ways, they are worse sinners than all others?’
Do people deserve to lose their jobs, their livelihoods because restructuring somehow demands it? Do people deserve to struggle financially because countries are engaged in a tariff war? Do Trans people deserve to be treated as less than because there are those who don’t understand the possibility that gender can be more than binary? Do we think that those who suffer are worse sinners than all others?
Jesus goes on to say: No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did.’
Unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did. The words sound harsh, yet they offer an important reminder that we are continually challenged to reflect, learn and grow. We are intimately connected in this world, one to another. We have roles to play. The choices we make have consequences.
Stores like Hudson’s Bay exist and support their many employees only in so far as people choose to buy enough products to make these businesses viable. Governments have the ability to change legislation and make decisions about what gets funding and how things operate only in so far as they have been elected and to the extent they are held accountable to stay within the frameworks established. Freedom of speech works best only in so far as there are those who ensure that the dignity of all is continually maintained.
Jesus knows that sometimes bad things happen to good people because we miss the impact of the choices we make. He also knows that we have the capacity to reflect, learn, and grow. We can repent. We can seek to know better and do better and that this is life-giving.
When the world seems inundated with bad things. It can feel like the man and the fig tree – there is nothing to be saved. It should be cut down. The Master Gardener begs to differ and is willing to keep doing the work with us, to keep tending us, to keep helping us reflect, learn, and grow. Jesus, God, doesn’t give up on us no matter how many bad choices we make, no matter how much bad happens in the world. God will keep digging around us and nurturing us to help us bear fruit. This is the wonder and grace of God’s love for us that transcends everything.
May we repent so that life and goodness can continue to happen thanks to the patience and persistence of the Master Gardener. This we pray as we sing: (VT) 551 Beautiful Things