TEXT: I Corinthians 15: 1-7, 12-14, 20, 35-44, 50-58
Luke 13: 1-9

Luke 13:1-9
1 At that very time there were some present who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 2 He asked them, "Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans? 3 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as they did. 4 Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them -- do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others living in Jerusalem? 5 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did."
6 Then he told this parable: "A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and found none. 7 So he said to the gardener, 'See here! For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and still I find none. Cut it down! Why should it be wasting the soil?' 8 He replied, 'Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig around it and put manure on it. 9 If it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.' " (NRSV)

INTRODUCTION:
No doubt you have expressed the oft quoted sentiment that there are only two things certain in this world. Death and taxes. At least with taxes you know when they are due, and you are supplied with plenty of complicated instructions to file them on time. But Death! We all face it from the moment that we are born, but not a single one of us knows the time or circumstances that will bring the end to our physical existence in this world. Now I realize that this is not a very cheerful topic at the offset, but what we believe about death greatly effects the way we live our lives.

Centuries ago, the Emporer Phillip of Mascedon was reported to have ordered his servant to wake him each morning with the phrase: "Remember Phillip, you are mortal!" Not a bad thing for us to remember when we begin to think that the balance of the world hangs on our shoulders, or when we are tempted to believe that we somehow live above the scope of other persons. Yet, is that all--that we are mortal?

Scripture teaches that just as there is an earthy or mortal dimension to life, there is a spiritual or eternal dimension to our life as well. While the world may hold that once you are dead you're dead. Puff! That's all she wrote. No more. Fini!-- Jesus boldly declared, "I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me shall live even if he or she dies, and everyone who believes in me shall never die (John 11 25-26)."

And as if the issue of whether or not the promise of resurrection is true isn't enough to contend with, there is the question raised by the seemingly well-meaning, but very self-righteous of us, as to whether or not some deaths are God's way of punishing sin. That's the question that the pharisees in our text were bringing to Jesus.

Here were some devout Galileans offering sacrifices for their sins in the temple who were slaughtered by Pilate's soldiers. Surely they did not deserve to die? Or maybe the fact that they had such an awful death signifies that they were truely great sinners and we just didn't know it. And so Jesus responds with the example of what at that time was recent news concerning the deaths of others in a tragic construction accident. He wanted to know if they were the worst sinners in town since they had died in such a way. Were those who recently lost their lives when the bridge collapsed due to the flood waters in California the worst sinners in California? Death comes to us all--sometimes gradually and expectedly, sometimes suddenly, unexpectedly, frighteningly--it comes. Rich or poor, educated or illiterate, old or young, righteous or sinner, innocent or guilty, it comes.

Jesus went on to say, "...unless you repent, you will likewise perish." Does that mean that if you or I, or anyone else for that matter, repents I will not die a physical death? No. Experience over the last 2,000 years does not indicate that that is what Jesus meant. What was meant, and is meant, is that while the death of our mortal bodies is not punishment for our personal sin, the ongoing life of our eternal spiritual reality is the reward of our repentance of sin and belief upon him as God's messiah--God's provision for our salvation.

The essence of the second part of the passage in Luke, the parable of the figless fig tree, is that the life which we have is a grace gift from the Master. As such, our lives should absorb the nutrients which God provides. We should thrive under the skilled care of the loving gardener. And if we do, the life of repentance will produce the fruit of repentance which we outwardly have professed to be true.

So you see, life comes down to an ultimate choice. The question for us is not why do we die, but how do we live? We all are going to die. But we are not all going to live. I don't know how else to say it. I wish that I could soft peddle it, but that's the scripture. "All have sinned and come short of the glory of God." "The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life." "For God did not send his Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world through him might be saved." I could go on and on with the word of the gospel. Sometimes it sounds harsh and exclusisve, but it is not that at all. It is the gospel--"good news." Death was the bad news. The good news is that death has been defeated. In Christ Jesus, the sting of death has been removed, and the offer of eternal life has been made for everyone. But a choice has to be made by us individually.

I don't know why that comes as such a shock to us. We make choices everyday. Some of those decisions have immediate implications for our lives. We choose what we will eat or what we will wear. Some will be made giving no thought to the future but will have future consequences. Some of those decisions will be made in light of desired future consequences. Others will have both an immediate and a future impact on our lives and those of others. However, there is one choice--one decision--which you can make now which will have immediate, long term and eternal consequences in your life. It is the ultimate choice which every individual who hears the gospel of Jesus Christ must make.

Is the promise of resurrection for real? Paul believed it to be so upon good evidence.

What is it like? We don't really know beyond the fact that the resurrected body as different from the mortal body as the flower is from the seed which was planted in the earth. What is most important is not what the resurrected body looks like, but what the resurrection of Christ proved and promises for us. Barclay has argued that the resurrection proves at least four great truths.
1. That Truth is stronger than falsehood. Jesus sated that he was truth, the authorities claimed he was a lier.
2. That Good is stronger than evil. Jesus said that his accusers were "children of the devil" and they charged him with being a demonic deceiver.
3. That Love is stonger than hatred. Jesus was the love of God incarnate, and those who sought to destroy him were filled with fear and hate.
4. That Life is stronger than death. Paul wrote that Jesus is the "first fruit" There is evidence of life beyond death.

But is belief in a resurrection so important for the Christian? Is it not enough to have the now? Oh friend the benefits to the believer in the present are immense, but imagine that they are but a shadow of all that will be.
Is it not worthy to serve Christ without thought of reward? Yes, it is, but Jesus has promised the "gift" or "reward" of heaven to those who follow him. Doesn't focusing on a future of an unseen heavenly glory take our focus off of personal involvement in the needs of the world around us? For some, yes it does. But the future hope provides an anchor in the storms of our lives as we engage in the reconciling ministry of the gospel. That anchor at times holds us secure while at other times it enables us to keep our sails into the wind so that we can continue the journey to which we are called. And It holds before us a promised port of security.

Why do I tell you this today? A number of years ago, I sat by the hospital bed of Doris Rickert. Doris was the pastor of a United Church of Christ Congregation in North Pomfret, VT, and she was dying of cancer. .....tell the story..... Her last words to me, were her last words to anyone. She said, "Tell them it's true, David. Tell them it's all true."