A call to a change of heart (Sabong News)
Author
Manila Bulletin
Date
MARCH 20 2022
The Galileans were Israelites who inhabited the fertile region of Galilee ruled by the Jewish tetrarch who was beholden to Rome. Many of them were prosperous farmers, shepherds, and traders. They were, however, considered impure by the religious leaders in Jerusalem because of their interaction with the Gentiles. The Roman authorities looked at them with suspicion because the Galileans were quite prone to rebellion. One in fact was led by a certain Judas the Galilean who led a revolt against the Roman census.
Once, a group of Galilean pilgrims caused a tumult in Jerusalem, probably while in the Temple. Pilate, ever sensitive to any sign of trouble, made a “preventive action” by sending his soldiers based in the garrison of Antonia and these massacred the Galileans. Thus the report about “the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with the blood of their sacrifices.” Jesus mentions this tragedy and adds that of 18 people who were killed when a tower fell at Siloam. Were these people more guilty of sin because they suffered in this way? Not at all! Death does not make distinction between good and bad people. And it is not necessarily a punishment of God. It is part of our being human, our being mortal. It may come to anyone at any moment.
This was the reality in the COVID-19 pandemic. It took only a matter of days for people to realize the vulnerability of the human being. Upon the rich and the poor, the powerful and the powerless, the just and the sinners—the dreaded virus established “social equality” among its victims.
While in the story Jesus does not judge those who fell victim to man’s cruelty or unexpected calamity, he uses the two incidents to make a call for repentance. He tells the living that procrastinating about their conversion may earn for them a worse fate: judgment in God’s hands.
Jesus further emphasize his message with the parable of the fig tree which is used as a symbol of Israel (Jer 8:13; Hos 9:10). God is the owner of the vineyard (Is 5:7). Like the Father, Jesus is the vinedresser who proposes the possible measures but admits that these are final. The message is clear: Israel, who has been barren, is given a final opportunity to repent and produce fruits of conversion.
