Luke 13:1-5 (NRSV)
Read Luke 13:1-5 on biblegateway.com
Chapter 13At that very time there were some present who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. Verse 2He asked them, "Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans? Verse 3No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as they did. Verse 4Or 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? Verse 5No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did."
Devotion
So often the front page of the newspaper shows the faces of those who flee car bombings and catastrophic national disasters. We seem to have become a world on the run from danger and imminent disaster. Yet those were images that also stuck in minds of people in first-century Israel. As a young preacher, Jesus used those images of disaster to remind us that we are called to repent-to turn away-from our sinful ways. That includes you and me.
Prayer
God of truth and justice, help us hear your call to repent as a word of lifegiving mercy. Where we fail to see our own sins, give us insight and clarity. And when those sins overwhelm us, send your strong word of forgiveness and hope. We remember today those whose suffering is on the front page. Send your hope and mercy to them, too; for Christ’s sake. Amen.