Tragedy
Mazzolino, Ludovico, 1480?-1530. Parable of the Barren Fig Tree, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=56110 [retrieved March 21, 2025]. Original source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ludovico_Mazzolino_-_Mozes_en_de_tafelen_der_Wet.jpg.
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? —Luke 13:4
Jesus, while preaching and teaching, seemed to have no trouble calling to mind tragedies taking place in his society. We, too, have no shortage of tragedies to ponder. Every day, there are news reports of events that make us grieve.
In Gaza, a fragile ceasefire ends. Air strikes lead to 400 deaths, including a Hamas leader. But aid workers and hundreds of women and children are among the victims, too.
In our country, in the Midwest and South, there are dust storms, wildfires, and tornadoes raising anxiety for millions. At least 42 Americans died in storms this past weekend. In North Carolina, a tree fell directly on a family’s trailer, killing two boys trapped under the debris. “I am heartbroken,” wrote the North Carolina governor. “May their memories be a blessing.”[1]
In the wake of tragedies like these, it’s natural for survivors, first responders, and elected officials to share their grief. People name villains who were the cause of tragedy, and heroes who responded to the challenge with courage. They talk about the victims of tragedy, sometimes about their innocence, or some mistake or moral lapse that contributed to their demise.
Our life experience gives us some basis for appreciating Jesus’ comments on the tragedies of his time. He had listened to the report about the murder of some Jews from the north that had traveled to Jerusalem to worship at the Temple. They were probably zealots who advocated revolt from the empire, and their presence at Jerusalem offered the Roman governor a convenient opportunity to order their execution.
Luke’s single-sentence summary leaves us wondering about the precise thoughts and feelings of those making the report. Perhaps they were trying to convince themselves that this bloody crime was at least partially the fault of the poor character of these Galileans. Perhaps their body language or tone of voice implied the Galileans were less worthy than they in the eyes of God.
Jesus replies, “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.”
Then, as if to drive home the point that these sorts of things happen not only to their rogue Galilean cousins, Jesus refers to a second recent tragedy. It occurred at the pool of Siloam, which was located in a narrow valley in the extreme southeastern corner of the old city. In Jesus’ time sick people were brought to the pool because of a belief in the water’s magical healing quality. One day, from a ridge overlooking this pool, a tower fell, and eighteen people were killed. Perhaps there was someone’s grandparent looking for relief from pain, or a young boy with his parents seeking a cure for a crippling injury. These weren’t crude warriors who got what they deserved, but innocent people, hurting people like you and me, who simply had the misfortune of being in the wrong place at the wrong time when the stones fell.
Barbara Brown Taylor writes, “While Jesus does not honor their illusion . . . he does seem to honor the vulnerability that their fright has opened up in them. It is not a bad thing for them to feel the full fragility of their lives. It is not a bad thing for them to count their breaths in the dark – not if it makes them turn toward the light.”[2]
Kristina Ulmer shares her story of moving through darkness toward the light. One tragic morning in 2014, she and her parents were called to the scene of a car accident in which her younger sister Katie was killed. Katie, a waitress, had worked the breakfast shift just before the accident. Kristina asked a police officer to climb into her sister’s mangled car and retrieve her purse, which contained more than $100 worth of tips she had earned.
Kristina says, “Katie was such a kind person, and I remember thinking, ‘This money should go toward kindness. I put the purse in a cabinet in my living room, and for a long time, I wondered what I could do with that money in Katie’s memory.”
Finally, Kristina settled on an idea. She worked as a high-school English teacher, and had assigned her students to read Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury’s 1953 novel about a future dystopian society. Kristina says, “It’s set in a time when everyone is glued to their screens and society lacks empathy.” “Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? It popped into my head that I could have my students do acts of kindness with my sister’s money.” Kristina added her own money for a total of $500. That amount was enough for all 25 students in her English class to receive a crisp $20 bill. “I told them the way we prevent our world from becoming like the world in ‘Fahrenheit 451’ was through empathy and kindness.” “After I gave them the money, I told them I wanted them to perform an act of kindness with it, then record a little video about it.”
Kristina called the project the $20 Kindness Challenge. “One student went to a local diner, asked for a glass of water and left the waitress a $20 tip,” she said. “Another girl knitted a bunch of little red caps for babies with heart problems, so they could be easily spotted in the NICU.” Some students made homemade treats for pets at a local animal shelter, while others used their $20 to buy toiletries and food for unhoused people. “One of my favorites was a student who bought $20 worth of doughnuts while visiting some of her family members in the Midwest,” Kristina said. “She stood on a corner with her uncle and randomly handed them out to people.”
Kristina now hands out $20 bills twice a year and combines students’ video clips into a montage for them to watch together. Since the project began, her students have spent more than $7,000 on acts of kindness. She often imagines how her sister would have reacted to her students’ acts of kindness. “I believe she’d be ecstatic about how I used her tip money,” she said. “I personally feel that this helps Katie live on. It’s almost like she’s here with me every semester when I do this.”
Traveling through the darkness of tragedy, Kristina has found new light.[3]
If you are a victim or observer of tragedy, it’s important for a pastor to say, and for you to hear, that tragedy itself is not a punishment that God arbitrarily dispenses. But Kristina’s story suggests that tragedy can be a sacred experience. Heartache can become holy when it forces you to take the time, set the priorities, and make the choices that lead to light and life.
Another article in my files highlights a survey in which people expressed good intentions, but experienced difficulty in fulfilling them. Sixty-five percent said they would be willing to serve meals to homeless people, but just 12% had done so. Fifty-one percent said they would be willing to tutor or mentor at-risk children, but just 15% had done so. Sixty-percent said they would be willing to perform volunteer service through their place of worship, but only 33% had done so.[4]
Jesus, with his teaching in this text, speaks to people who need to be spurred on toward fulfillment of good intentions. Some will teeter on the brink of death one day, and see that all their good intentions were never realized. Jesus says that the day to decide, the time to follow Him, is today and now.
NOTES
[1] Marlene Lenthang and Kathryn Prociv, “42 dead in severe storms and tornadoes that swept across U.S.,” https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/42-dead-severe-storms-tornadoes-swept-us-rcna196672 , 17 Mar. 2025, accessed 19 Mar. 2025.
[2] Barbara Brown Taylor, “Living by the Word: Life-giving fear,” The Christian Century, 4 March 1998, p. 229.
[3] https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2025/03/15/teacher-kindness-challenge-sister-memory-ulmer/
[4] “More Americans want to volunteer, but don’t,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 10 March 2007, A29, col. 1.
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