I'll show you mine if you show me yours

Luke 13:1-9

          It's curious how we count our blessings and lament the troubles we have. Perhaps it's a fine line between seeing the good in something bad and revelling in the bad. It's the difference between a masochist and a person who sees a silver lining in everything. I am certainly not looking for any trouble myself. Life seems to dole out problems as it is. Illness, violence, poverty, hatred. There is no need to to seek the wrongs that life holds. Our mission is to overcome and put our talents to work to at least alleviate the pain and suffering.

           The curious part to me is how we all handle life's problems. Some lament how bad they have it. They use it as a spotlight on themselves, an attention getter that is supposed to show how they have it worse than everyone else and that they deserve all the attention. There are people like that. Still others accept their problems but make them seem easier to bear or justified as not as bad as someone else.  'Sure I have cancer but thank God I'm not like that one that has AIDS'. Something that makes them seem better than the morally repugnant AIDS patient. 'Lord know what they did to get that!'

         I myself have had (have, had?) numerous problems in my life. Sadly I will confess, I have sometimes sunk into the depressed feeling that it is all about me. Self pity is a willing leader.  In all life's challenges, it is not about me. When someone gets cancer or AIDS or someone close dies, it is not about them. I don't wish to say that they are not deserving of compassion, charity and understanding. 

        What I like to think is that even though life is fraught with challenges and problems, it is just that, a challenge. The challenge is to rise above whatever troubles we have. Use it as leverage. Is there someone who has a more serious problem that we could comfort?  Can we possibly see some good that comes out of our trial? Are we being called to be compassionate and understanding of others?  The big one might be, are we being called to appreciate life and the fragility of it? Is it a wake up call to our own limited amount of time here on earth?

        We all have 'issues' and problems. Is mine worse than yours? Are we going to play the game of "I'll show you mine if you show me yours"? As horrible as it is is dealing with what life throws us, perhaps it is better and more befitting of believers to focus our attention outward. If we truly are believers, it isn't about me, me, me. What it really is about is how "me" can effectively love others.

At that very time there were some present who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. He asked them, ‘Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as they did. 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? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did.’

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. 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?” He replied, “Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig round it and put manure on it. If it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.” ’