by Mark Escobar

Created on: March 09, 2010

Lk 13:1-9

The Parable of the Fig Tree

 “But I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did.”

 At a moment of global hardships when we are bracing for a period of grim disasters and tragedies like what happened in Chile recently, strident voices reflected the concern of many people asking for help and human support.  For decades we have been plagued by conflicting issues that run wide and deep shedding light on the plight of the poor and disenfranchised.  And our moral response gets to the mainstream with deeper insights.

       Perhaps a more coherent view of the gospel today can be taken from its background when two major horrors of murder and disaster created a climate of anger among the Jews and a landmark decision that deals with the call of repentance. 

        Leadership of Pilate[1] at that time could be gleaned with cruel capacity and abuse of power.  He had a number of projects that aimed at developing the civilization, the quality work force and stability of Jerusalem.  And one of them was to build a water system.  But that would require a great contribution of the Jews through taxes to pay off the labor and other expenses.  This brought massive protest and backlash among the Jews and Galileans denouncing the increase of taxes to the Roman government. 

            There was a radical group of Galileans known as ‘anti-taxation movement’ headed by Judas of Galilee[2] (or Gaulonites) that was placed on a heightened state of alert to seize control of Roman domination in Israel through a coup d’état; to overthrow the Roman occupation.  With strongest disapproval for such a rebellion, some scholars believe that Pilate might have had them killed while they were giving worship in the synagogue and made their blood mix with those animals sacrificed as part of their rituals. 

            Then the tragic news that brought the death of 18 people who were killed in an accident when the tower near the Pool of Siloam collapsed.  They might be construction workers who were doing some repairs and renovations to the tower which some scholars say that was part of defensive works like a citadel around the city walls of Jerusalem.

           

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