A sermon based upon Luke 13:31–35
In the name of Jesus; amen.
At that very same hour some Pharisees came and said to him, “Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you.”
Jesus was causing trouble and he was doing it on the Sabbath. He was preaching about God and had just healed a woman who had a physical ailment which had bent her over for 18 years. He had called the leader of the synagogue a hypocrite and the people were eating him up when suddenly some Pharisees come and tell him to run away.
At first it might seem as though they were trying to help Jesus by warning him of impending danger. This was the same Herod who had beheaded Jesus’ cousin, John the Baptist and his father was the one who had slaughtered innocent children in hopes of killing the baby Jesus. Herod might very well have been after him and would have had the means necessary to kill him.
It sounds as though they were trying to help.
Listen again to what Jesus tells them upon hearing his life is in danger: “Go and tell that fox or me, ‘Listen, I am casting out demons and performing cures today and tomorrow, and on the third day I finish my work. 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.’”
Jesus doesn’t sound too afraid, does he? In fact he sounds remarkably unafraid. We know why. Herod is not a threat; Jesus is on a mission that will take him to Jerusalem where he knows death is not going to come from Herod, but from the people who hand him over to be crucified.
He calls Herod a fox; an animal not considered the most cunning or ferocious in Jesus’ day. Herod is more of a nuisance than a threat to Jesus.
Maybe those Pharisees who come to warn Jesus were worried about him, but more likely they were worried about the trouble that Jesus was causing. If Herod was out to get him then the Pharisees didn’t want the trouble that would come with Herod’s desire to hurt him. Not that Jesus wasn’t already causing trouble, because he was; and if they got him to leave well… that might be better for them in every respect, or so they thought.
After calling Herod a fox Jesus makes it clear that he is headed for Jerusalem and he is going there because it is impossible for a prophet to be killed outside of Jerusalem. “Jerusalem, Jerusalem,” he laments, “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!”
The Pharisees want Jesus to move along or change his message. They were happy with the status quo and Jesus was messing it up for them.
Jesus calls Herod a fox, but he likens himself to a mother hen wanting to gather her chicks under her wings. It’s a beautiful metaphor… Jesus as mother.
Hens gather their brood under their wings when there is danger from a predator. They call out to them and make their wings into a protective dome with an opening large enough for all of them to gather under.
This is Jesus, a stark contrast to the fox Herod who wants to kill him and the Pharisees who want him to abandon them. Jesus’ desire is to offer shelter and protection to unwilling chicks.
Herod was the king of the Jewish people, but he was not a religious man. He was too concerned with his own well-being and status to give much credence to God. He was king at the pleasure of Rome and he served them… not the people. And the Pharisees, while religious, did not want to upset the boat. They liked their rules and their notions about holiness.
The message that Jesus preached upset their world… it was an upsetting message not because it was exclusive, but because it was too inclusive. It let too many people in under its wings and called them to reconsider too closely what made a person blessed.
Jesus’ message was for all; his motherly wings large enough to gather the whole world to his breast, but it meant a different life and that scared people.
It still scares people… this idea of being gathered under Jesus’ motherly wings. It’s why there are churches out there growing by leaps and bounds who do not display a cross anywhere or anytime in their worship. It’s why there are churches out there growing by leaps and bounds that preach that Jesus wants us to be rich and drive expensive cars. It’s why there are churches out there growing by leaps and bounds that tell its members that only they will be saved while the rest of humanity will be left behind to suffer eternal torment.
And yet, Jesus wants to gather us in and shelter us… all of us under the message of God’s love and grace like a mother hen gathers her chicks together under her wings.
This is why he made his way to Jerusalem even though he knew that Jerusalem meant his death; because the cross is meant to gather us and shelter us. The cross is meant to embrace us, not in death, but in new life. The cross is meant to hold us and cover us with all the blessings of God.
These wings of Jesus, this cross of Christ, is for all… be willing and be sheltered. Amen.
At that very same hour some Pharisees came and said to him, “Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you.”
Jesus was causing trouble and he was doing it on the Sabbath. He was preaching about God and had just healed a woman who had a physical ailment which had bent her over for 18 years. He had called the leader of the synagogue a hypocrite and the people were eating him up when suddenly some Pharisees come and tell him to run away.
At first it might seem as though they were trying to help Jesus by warning him of impending danger. This was the same Herod who had beheaded Jesus’ cousin, John the Baptist and his father was the one who had slaughtered innocent children in hopes of killing the baby Jesus. Herod might very well have been after him and would have had the means necessary to kill him.
It sounds as though they were trying to help.
Listen again to what Jesus tells them upon hearing his life is in danger: “Go and tell that fox or me, ‘Listen, I am casting out demons and performing cures today and tomorrow, and on the third day I finish my work. 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.’”
Jesus doesn’t sound too afraid, does he? In fact he sounds remarkably unafraid. We know why. Herod is not a threat; Jesus is on a mission that will take him to Jerusalem where he knows death is not going to come from Herod, but from the people who hand him over to be crucified.
He calls Herod a fox; an animal not considered the most cunning or ferocious in Jesus’ day. Herod is more of a nuisance than a threat to Jesus.
Maybe those Pharisees who come to warn Jesus were worried about him, but more likely they were worried about the trouble that Jesus was causing. If Herod was out to get him then the Pharisees didn’t want the trouble that would come with Herod’s desire to hurt him. Not that Jesus wasn’t already causing trouble, because he was; and if they got him to leave well… that might be better for them in every respect, or so they thought.
After calling Herod a fox Jesus makes it clear that he is headed for Jerusalem and he is going there because it is impossible for a prophet to be killed outside of Jerusalem. “Jerusalem, Jerusalem,” he laments, “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!”
The Pharisees want Jesus to move along or change his message. They were happy with the status quo and Jesus was messing it up for them.
Jesus calls Herod a fox, but he likens himself to a mother hen wanting to gather her chicks under her wings. It’s a beautiful metaphor… Jesus as mother.
Hens gather their brood under their wings when there is danger from a predator. They call out to them and make their wings into a protective dome with an opening large enough for all of them to gather under.
This is Jesus, a stark contrast to the fox Herod who wants to kill him and the Pharisees who want him to abandon them. Jesus’ desire is to offer shelter and protection to unwilling chicks.
Herod was the king of the Jewish people, but he was not a religious man. He was too concerned with his own well-being and status to give much credence to God. He was king at the pleasure of Rome and he served them… not the people. And the Pharisees, while religious, did not want to upset the boat. They liked their rules and their notions about holiness.
The message that Jesus preached upset their world… it was an upsetting message not because it was exclusive, but because it was too inclusive. It let too many people in under its wings and called them to reconsider too closely what made a person blessed.
Jesus’ message was for all; his motherly wings large enough to gather the whole world to his breast, but it meant a different life and that scared people.
It still scares people… this idea of being gathered under Jesus’ motherly wings. It’s why there are churches out there growing by leaps and bounds who do not display a cross anywhere or anytime in their worship. It’s why there are churches out there growing by leaps and bounds that preach that Jesus wants us to be rich and drive expensive cars. It’s why there are churches out there growing by leaps and bounds that tell its members that only they will be saved while the rest of humanity will be left behind to suffer eternal torment.
And yet, Jesus wants to gather us in and shelter us… all of us under the message of God’s love and grace like a mother hen gathers her chicks together under her wings.
This is why he made his way to Jerusalem even though he knew that Jerusalem meant his death; because the cross is meant to gather us and shelter us. The cross is meant to embrace us, not in death, but in new life. The cross is meant to hold us and cover us with all the blessings of God.
These wings of Jesus, this cross of Christ, is for all… be willing and be sheltered. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment