At the beginning of time God created human beings in his own image. Ever since, human beings have been returning the compliment.
We keep imagining God in our own image. We keep wondering how we would exercise the power of God if we had that power.
Our Lenten collect reminds us that Lent is the time when we wrestle with the theme of God’s justice and God’s mercy.
So, how would we exercise justice and mercy, if we had the power to exercise it? I dare say we would forgive some people and punish other people.
But, as the prophet Isaiah reminds us, God says, ‘my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways’. And he says this, specifically in relation to God’s justice and his exercise of mercy.
‘Let the wicked forsake their way, and the unrighteous their thoughts; let them return to the Lord, that he may have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord’.
So, how does God ‘abundantly pardon?’ And if he pardons abundantly, why do we see such suffering in the world? Why did fifty die in the mosque shootings in Christchurch? Why are thousands dying because of the cyclone in Africa? Why are we praying for a little baby boy who died a cot death last weekend? Or what about those Galileans who were punished by Pilate? Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them?
Our Christian doctrinal understanding is that humanity’s sin brings suffering into the world, both directly through human wickedness and indirectly through a broken creation that does not function properly. And this suffering is not shared out fairly. Innocents suffer because we live in a fallen, broken world.
How does God respond to this? He yearns for us to repent and turn to him so that all may be enveloped in his love. He reaches out to humanity offering us an end to suffering if we will only repent and turn to him.
And he communicates this with a story about one more chance. A story about a man who does not cut down an unproductive fig tree just in case with a bit more love and attention it might bear fruit next year.
It is yet another story of God offering one more chance. The Bible is full of them, one long list of these stories. They come to us out of the text like rolling extensions to article 50. Each story gives us more time to sort ourselves out.
This is the church all the time, but especially in Lent; a church that has been granted an unexpected extension so we can sort ourselves out. May we use the time wisely. Amen.