March 13, 2022 – Lent 2
St. John’s United Church of Christ, Union, Illinois
Philippians 3:17 - 4:1; Luke 13:31-35[1]
It’s nice to be
part of something bigger than yourself. In sports, its being part of the team.
In school, its being part of the musical. In business, its being part of the
company. In church, its being part of the choir. Being part of something bigger
than ourselves allows us to accomplish more than we could on our own. It also allows
us to share the joy of success and the agony of failure. I’m more than just me,
I’m one of US. We won. WE did it. We’ll get through this together.
It felt great
to cheer on the U.S. Olympians. You could feel the joy, the energy of the
event, and that’s something we can all take part in. That’s us out there, twirling
on the ice, racing down a ski slope.
Trouble is,
even when we’re part of “us”, the “me” can take over. Like it or not, our world
is obsessed with status and power. It’s not a bad thing to be the best, the
most powerful, the one in control. What is bad is when that status and power is
used to belittle, harm, or oppress others. It is that kind of power – corrupted
power, abusive power – that is challenged by a kingdom where the last will be
first and the first will be last.
The Herod that
the Pharisees warn Jesus about is Herod Antipas, son of Herod the Great we hear
about in the Christmas narrative. The kingdom of Herod the Great was divided
upon his death, and Herod Antipas inherited the territories of Galilee and
Perea. Then the Romans conquered the entire region. Herod was left to rule
Galilee as a client state of the Roman Empire. His hold on power was tenuous;
and Herod ruled only so long as he toed the line with Rome.
Fearing any
threat to his power, Herod has already had John the Baptizer beheaded. Now
Jesus is travelling Galilee preaching an upside-down kingdom. Not only will the
first be last, but the last – those who have been kept down, treated like dirt,
and ignored – they will rise to the top. This is not good news to Herod, and he
responds to this threat to his power with his own threat of death. Yet his fear
for himself misses the bigger story that is unfolding.
The mission and
method of Jesus are rooted in the history of the prophets of Israel. The
imagery here recalls the ancient promises of God’s care for Israel, but also
God’s judgment when the people fail to be faithful in their covenant. Like
Isaiah and Zechariah before him, Jesus speaks of gathering the scattered
children of Israel and bringing them under the protective wings of God’s love.
And like the earlier prophets, the words of Jesus go unheeded: “How often have
I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her
wings, and you were not willing!”
This lament
gives us a glimpse of the true identity of Jesus, and hints at what is to come.
He will continue with his work and face the danger that waits in Jerusalem with
the same resolve and devotion a mother feels for her children.
I once read a
story by N.T. Wright, a retired Anglican bishop, which described a fire in the
hen house, and the aftermath:
Those cleaning up have found a dead hen, scorched and
blackened, and live chicks sheltering under her wings. She has quite literally
given her life to save them. It is a vivid and violent image of what Jesus
declared he longed to do for Jerusalem and, by implication, for all Israel.
But, at the moment, all he could see was chicks scurrying off in the opposite
direction, taking no notice of the smoke and flames indicating the approach of
danger, nor of the urgent warnings of the one who alone could give them safety.[2]
What a metaphor
for God’s maternal love for everyone, even those who turn away, even those who
reject and stone the prophets, even those who would kill to protect their power
and privilege.
To be a prophet
is to speak truth to power, to challenge those in authority when they fail to
uphold their responsibilities. The kingdom Jesus proclaims is a threat to
powers everywhere, to Herod of Galilee, certainly, but also to the Roman
Governor of Jerusalem, and, perhaps more importantly, even the powerful in the
villages. “Jesus went through one town and village after another,” (v. 22) with
this message about the first and the last. Every town is a seat of power, and
lives are more easily destroyed by local people than by distant policies. The
people that Jesus meets one-by-one as he does his work have been hurt more by
violence, shame, and exclusion committed by their neighbors than they have been
hurt by the Romans. Jesus isn’t just taking on one provincial ruler.
Jesus is not
just coming to overthrow this ruler or that, but to overthrow every human
heart. All this stuff that seems so important: power, status, control, they
mean nothing in God’s realm. What matters most is the love that we show to one
another. Lent is the season of the church when we reevaluate our relationship
with God and examine the ways we live that lead us toward death and
destruction. This is the time to face what we fear and prepare ourselves to
follow Jesus on the way to Jerusalem.
I find it
curious that it’s the Pharisees who bring the warning. The Pharisees have been
listening, and they know that their power is threatened as well. Why, then,
would they warn Jesus of what is coming? One scholar suggests:
More than likely they have ulterior motives. Possibly
they are in league with Herod and hope to drive Jesus out of Herod’s
jurisdiction, into the arms of Pilate and Pilate’s responsibility. Then, like a
state governor in our day passing on responsibility to federal authorities, at
least Herod cannot be blamed for the results of this troublemaker’s actions.
Maybe Pilate can figure out a way to get rid of Jesus altogether.[3]
In response,
Jesus doesn’t hold back. He lets the Pharisees and Herod know he is not
politically naïve. Listen! You tell that fox that I’m working on something
bigger than he knows. I must be on my way, and your threats won’t stop me.
Maybe Herod does want to kill me, but there is something bigger, something more
important going on here. I won’t stop in the provinces. When I finish my work,
I’m going to Jerusalem. Pilate will see me soon enough. I’m not just going down
to Springfield, but all the way to Washington. And I’m fully aware of what they
do to prophets there.
“Jerusalem,
Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to
it!” (v. 34) I almost expect the next line to call for the destruction of the
city. But here Jesus turns the tables again. It’s not a hound standing up to
the fox; instead, it’s a hen trying to comfort her chicks. “How often have I
desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her
wings.” You poor people with your little kingdoms, your tiny circles of power,
don’t you see that you are just caught up in the storm, chirping into the wind,
driven by your fear to run from the very security you seek? This life of power
and control that you defend with such anxiety, this life is not what God wants
for you.
As Paul writes
to the church in Philippi, there is a way of life that makes you an enemy of
the cross of Christ. “Their end is destruction; their god is the belly; and
their glory is in their shame; their minds are set on earthly things” (v. 19). The
message that Jesus brings is that things can be different. We don’t have to
live this way. Life is bigger than power. Life is bigger than status. Life is
bigger than fear.
We could live
as if ruling one small piece of this world is all that is important. “But our
citizenship is in heaven.” We belong to something bigger than what is happening
in this little town, this province, this state. We are members of the
commonwealth of heaven. We are the Body of Christ. We are part of something
much bigger than ourselves.
We have been
given gifts from God, talents, skills, and we can use them to shape this world
into something better. When we use them together, we can make a remarkable
difference in the lives of people here in Union, in Illinois, in the United
States, and around the world. We are part of the Body of Christ, members of the
household of God. We are all in this together – our friends, our neighbors, our
classmates, our co-workers, and even our enemies, our homeless and hungry
brothers and sisters, and all the living beings that cover the face of the
globe. We may face danger, and we might have to walk the way that leads to the
cross, but God waits for us on the other side, with love stronger than death.
Therefore, my
brothers and sisters, stand firm in the Lord in this way, my beloved. Live
according to the example we have in Christ. And when the time comes, let us
say: “Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.” Amen.
[1] The
scripture quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard
Version Bible, copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of
the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
[2] N.
T. Wright, quoted in: http://i.ucc.org/StretchYourMind/OpeningtheBible/WeeklySeeds/tabid/81/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/382/Strong-and-Tender-Feb-22-28.aspx.
[3] Rodney
Clapp, “Pastoral Perspective” on Luke 13:31-35 in Feasting on the Word: Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary, Year
C, Vol. 2 (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009), p. 70.
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