The Suffering of the Innocent

By Audrey Thorne

Why do bad things happen to good people? This perpetual question is raised in this week’s strange reading from Luke 13. The narrative opens with folks from the crowd bringing word to Jesus about an atrocity at the hands of Pilate. Some innocent Galileans were murdered during worship in the temple, and Pilate mixed their blood with the blood of sacrifices. Implicit in the story is the idea that these Galileans were receiving some sort of retribution for their sins. We see a foreshadowing here of Jesus’ fate. Jesus, the Galilean, will also suffer at the hands of Pilate. Are those who suffer cursed or rejected by God? Jesus’ answer is an emphatic “no, I tell you!”

Suffering is not a sign of God's judgment for sin, yet sin is not without consequences. Jesus goes on to tell a parable of a vineyard owner who wants to chop down a tree that won’t bear fruit. The vineyard tender asks the owner for more time. Perhaps the tree will bear fruit this year if it is given extra care. There is still time to bear the fruit that comes with repentance. The good vinyard tender is on our side. But the consequences of perpetual fruitlessness are coming. God will cut down the fruitless trees to build something new. Jesus urges us and the crowd to “Repent! Bear fruit!”

But Jesus also speaks comfort to those who suffer in this life. We may not know why bad things happen to good people, but we learn from Jesus that suffering is not the retribution of God. You are not cursed or forgotten if you are suffering. Jesus, the innocent one, suffered too. On the cross, God stands in total solidarity with the crushed and oppressed. So much so, that he suffered and died with them. God became like us. God stands with those who suffer. God is with us in the shadow of death.