Sermon: Fertilized to Bear Fruit. March 24, 2019

Here’s the link to the sermon. It was preached at Grace on the Third Sunday in Lent, 2019. Text only this week.

Why do bad things happen to good people? Or to bad people, for that matter? These questions stalk us, distilled into the simple cry of the heart when faced with tragedy or heartbreak: Why? Jesus addresses two examples in today’s text. First, he asks about some Galileans who were killed while they were in worship, which hits home in our time. Second, he asks about those killed when a tower collapsed and fell on them. Why did these things happen? Were the victims to blame? No. So why? Jesus doesn’t answer this question. Instead, he tells a parable. In a world in which bad things happen, we are planted to do good. We are fertilized for this work by the death of Jesus Christ. In the end, faith must learn to leave the “why” unanswered, looking instead to the “who.” Who will save us? Jesus Christ, who calls us to bear fruit in his name.