"From the Pulpit" - reflections on the weekly texts from Pastor Greg at Living Lord Lutheran Church
At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to [Jesus,] “Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you.” 32 He said to them, “Go and tell that fox for me, ‘Listen, I am casting out demons and performing cures today and tomorrow, and on the third day I finish my work. 33 Yet today, tomorrow, and the next day I must be on my way, because it is impossible for a prophet to be killed outside of Jerusalem.’ 34 Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! 35 See, your house is left to you. And I tell you, you will not see me until the time comes when you say, ‘Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.’ ”
Is it Just Me...?
Grace to you, and peace, from God our Father, and the LORD Jesus Christ.
Is it just me, or does it seem like the world is on fire these days? Never ending wars in Ukraine, Syria, South Sudan, and elsewhere. Gaza and Israel, will it ever end despite the recent cease fires? Wildfires in California, hurricanes and flooding in North and South Carolina, Florida, and elsewhere. The storms that are moving through the south this very day. A warming climate. To say nothing of the current "storm" in our nation's politics, that have turned us against one another. Even the church itself is under fire...clergy scandals all the time, the church's decreasing relevance in the world, empty pews, church closings. Not to mention the bazillion other disasters around the world that capture our attention. Can I get a big AMEN if you're feeling much the same way? (sign of me waiting, with my hand cusping my ear, listening for that big Amen.)
Using a cartoon from the '60's, the Rocky and Bullwinkle Show (remember that one?), one of the segments in that hour long show (which I still love, by the way), is Mr. Peabody and Sherman. Mr. Peabody was the bow tie wearing dog - a scientist with lots of high tech (at the time) gadgets around. Computers, science gear, etc. And his trusty human companion, Sherman. They had a machine called the "Way Back" machine. Mr. Peabody would dial up a year out of the past, and in a few seconds, the two were magically transported back in time to a year of historical significance.
Well, let's take our little way back machine back to the time of Jesus. Jerusalem, essentially the center of the world for Jews, was on fire, both literally and figuratively. The city suffered a number of fires, some of which lasted a week or more. The city's political system was on fire. Herod Antipas, the no account son of Herod the Great, pathetically led the outpost Jerusalem, in his little world of the Roman Empire. Apparently, dad had no confidence in his son, so he sent him to the "Russian front" of the Empire...Jerusalem, figuring he couldn't do much harm out there. (Boy, was dad wrong on this one!)
The political climate was terrible. Jews in Jerusalem were tolerated but not really part of the scene. Jews and Gentiles couldn't stand one another, but tolerated the other just to keep the peace. There were 2 judicial systems (sound familiar?) One for the well connected, and one for everyone else.
And along comes Jesus, to his beloved Jerusalem...seeing this mess that the world had made. Jesus had laid claims to be the Son of God, but everyone knew then that it was Herod himself who had made that same claim. After all, whose face was on the coins of the realm? It certainly wasn't Jesus! Jesus actually refers to Herod as "that fox" in Luke's gospel for today. And even the temple got in on the act, denying Jesus' clams that he was the Son of God. Let's just say that if we think the world is on fire now, you ain't seen nothin' like the fires back in the times of Jesus. It was H-O-T hot!
But here's the thing. Fires don't normally start by themselves (although they do on occasion.) WE start the fires, both literally and figuratively. We are the ones who ignite all the hatred and division in our world. We are the ones who divide and separate us one from another. It doesn't just happen automatically. Trying to be God in our own way, we separate ourselves from God and from one another. The world can seem like it's on fire at times, and I think ours is one of them now, just as it was in Jesus' time.
Speaking of fires, fires are very terrifying things. I'm thinking of the recent fires in LA, and other wildfires in the western US. Fires right now are burning in Texas, as we speak. Firefighters often speak of barnyard fires, where farm animals are trapped in cages, stables, and other pens. Some species have developed ways of protecting their young. Firefighters encounter a barn destroyed by fire. A hen found burned and charred to death, when her body is lifted, firefighters will often see a brood of young chicks - hers perhaps, and others, alive and unharmed, under the hen's wings. A sign that this one animal gave her life to protect those of her and other's young ones. Ones she didn't even know.
Jesus is in Jerusalem. Angered, distraught, heartbroken by the mess he sees in his beloved city. The city where he has come to die. A city on fire, if you will. And yet, all of these people, the righteous and the unrighteous alike, are those for whom Jesus has come do die. And die he will, for all the "chicks" in this barnyard he sees as Jerusalem. People scattering in all directions. Looking for safety. Looking for a way out of the mess that they had created.
I think this image of the hen and her chicks is relevant to us today, isn't it? In a world where we are so scattered by the "fires" we've created (see above), we look for a way out of this mess. We look for safety anywhere we can find it. And Jesus comes to give his life as a ransom for "many" as he would say. For the righteous and the unrighteous alike. For both saint and sinner. For all of us.
As we continue in our Lenten journeys, may you feel comfort in the shelter of Jesus himself. Jesus, who has come to give his life as a ransom for the likes of us. Thanks be to God. Amen.
"Rock of Ages" - 2 versions. Which one do YOU like best?
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