A long time ago a young man named Robert Allen Zimmerman of Duluth, Minnesota took up the guitar and took up the name Bob Dylan. He was a prophetic voice of protest at a time of cultural transition for our nation. In 1964, he penned a poem, later released asa song, entitled "My Back Pages," in which he reassessed a few assumptions of his earlier life. It ends in the haunting refrain: "I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now."
As I read this dense poem, I seem to find three key messages. First, don't take yourself too seriously. Second, don't preach too much, as you don't know everything. Third, the problems of the world are very complicated and should not be seen in simplistic or black-and-white terms. I believe these are three excellent messages for Lenten reflection.
In the gospel pericope today (Luke 13: 1-9), Jesus discusses two reputed incidents not corroborated by secular historians, but both quite believable. In one case, Pontius Pilate who, despite the attempts of the latest gospellers to rehabilitate him, lived and died a monster, is credited with murdering a group of Jews during worship. In the other case, a water tower -- likely the one that fed the Pool of Siloam featured in John's gospel -- collapsed, killing bystanders. The crowd obviously believe in the tired old notion that God is a micromanager; that when good happens, he is showing his preference for certain people and that when bad happens, he is punishing somebody. They could have taken to heart poin three of Dylan's advice and not been so cocksure about the ways of God. Jesus says those killed were no worse than anyone else!
Jesus then uses these stories to point out the obvious, that death can come at any time and that people need to be prepared for their end. I am reminded of another rabbi's message, that of Eliezer the Great. He told his disciples that the appropriate time for repentance is always the day before one dies. For obvious reasons that principle requires daily repentance and return to God. And a part of that could be living out some of the principles enunciated in the Dylan poem, so that we too can say, "I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now."
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