Everything is funny as long as it happens to somebody else.
‹Will Rogers›
Atlantis: the domain of the Stingray
28Feb
2010
Sun
18:21
author: Stingray
category: Sermons
comments: 0
trackbacks: 0

Second Sunday in Lent

Luke 13:31-35

In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

You get an idea of the fixation Jesus has in today's Gospel...how fixated He is on you, that is. He is intent on getting to Jerusalem, and there die for you. He is intent on the task of saving you, of giving you victory over death, the devil, and your own sinful flesh, of giving you life everlasting.

Listen to him:

"Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be perfected." Nevertheless I must journey today, tomorrow, and the day following; for it cannot be that a prophet should perish outside of Jerusalem. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing! See! Your house is left to you desolate; and assuredly, I say to you, you shall not see Me until the time comes when you say, "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!"

He speaks of death and Jerusalem and the third day and prophets. Is there any doubt what's on his mind? It's a good thing he's fixated on this, for it is very good news for you.

Of course He had to go to Jerusalem. It's the holy city, but it is filled with such unholiness. It is the place of death for prophets. God would send His prophets to this city, in which sat the house on which He placed His name, and He commanded them to preach destruction and desolation. In return, the people of Jerusalem demanded the prophets' deaths. They would not prophesy good and prosperity for them, mostly warnings against sin from God—destruction and desolation—and so they were hated for it. This is the reputation that Jerusalem had developed.

Jeremiah got to taste it. As we heard in this morning's Old Testament lesson,

Now it happened, when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking all that the LORD had commanded him to speak to all the people, that the priests and the prophets and all the people seized him, saying, "You will surely die! Why have you prophesied in the name of the LORD, saying, 'This house shall be like Shiloh, and this city shall be desolate, without an inhabitant'?" And all the people were gathered against Jeremiah in the house of the LORD. And the priests and the prophets spoke to the princes and all the people, saying, "This man deserves to die! For he has prophesied against this city, as you have heard with your ears."
Jeremiah 26:8-11

And what was the prophet's response to all of this? "As for me, here I am, in your hand; do with me as seems good and proper to you. But know for certain that if you put me to death, you will surely bring innocent blood on yourselves, on this city, and on its inhabitants; for truly the LORD has sent me to you to speak all these words in your hearing."

"Look folks, this is the message God has sent me to proclaim. Heed His warning, or this destruction and desolation will befall you. Repent and turn from your ways, and God will relent, and you will prosper in His grace and mercy. That's the message. Killing me will not change that."

There are two points we can take away from this.

This first point is this: God's Word is God's Word no matter how much we like it or dislike it. His message to us is His message to us no matter how distasteful it may be to us. We may want to hear only good things from God through His prophets, and when He sends His prophets to proclaim peace and good times, that is most certainly His Word. But we certainly don't want to hear wrath from God through His prophets, but when He sends His prophets to proclaim doom and destruction and desolation, that is most certainly His Word. Old Adam only wants to be patted on the back, and if God's messengers will do it, all the better!

And that brings us to the second point: the rejection of God's Word is almost always indirect. Rarely do you hear anyone exclaim, "I hate God" or something similar. The mere thought of that is foolish to most, even the dyed-in-the-wool atheist or adherent to some religion.

On the contrary, God's Word is rejected indirectly. "Hate the message, kill the messenger," it could be said. Atheists would call those who listen to the message fools, and those who proclaim the message even greater fools. Adherents to religion would label listeners misled and the messengers false prophets. Even Christians will do this! They all look for faults in the Bible or the preacher. They have reasons to dislike the liturgy or the congregation. "I don't reject you, O Lord. I didn't like the way it was presented by the preacher...in the liturgy...in this congregation...by the people in this congregation...etc." It makes it all seem "safer", if you will: "No, no, no, God, I don't hate you, I hate the one you sent; I don't reject you, I reject the one you sent."

After these things the Lord appointed seventy others also, and sent them two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to go. Then He said to them, "...Go your way; behold, I send you out as lambs among wolves ... But whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace to this house.' And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest on it; if not, it will return to you. ... Whatever city you enter, and they receive you...heal the sick there, and say to them, 'The kingdom of God has come near to you.' But whatever city you enter, and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say, 'The very dust of your city which clings to us we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near you.' ... He who hears you hears Me, he who rejects you rejects Me, and he who rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me."
Luke 10:1, 3, 5-6, 8-11, 16 (emphasis added)

Direct or indirect, to reject God and His Word is to reject God and His Word. The indirect method is by no means "safer." Deny it all you want, if you hate and reject the messenger, you hate and reject the One who sent him. When the called messenger speaks the Word of God—proclaiming death and destruction, calling to repentance, proclaim peace and prosperity, forgiving sins—it is the voice of Jesus Christ that is speaking. Therefore, to hate and reject the messenger is to hate and reject the Christ, and to hate and reject the Christ is to hate and reject the One who sent Him, God the Father.

You can imagine, then, that Jesus takes this quite personally. Prophet after prophet sent in His name to preach a message of repentance to the people, and the people kill and stone the ones He sent. "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her!" No, it wasn't the prophets that were stoned and killed, though they certainly received the brunt of the people's rejection; it was the very Word of God that was stoned and killed with each prophet.

By the same token, you can imagine that the devil takes this in quite delightfully. When people reject the messenger—reject the message—he's got them! When the people killed and stoned the prophets, they were doing his work. When churches dismiss their faithful pastors, they are embracing him.

Jesus weeps. "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem...How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing!" Just last week and this past Wednesday we spoke these words from Psalm 91, a fitting image for what Jesus says:

He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High
Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress;
My God, in Him I will trust."
Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler
And from the perilous pestilence.
He shall cover you with His feathers,
And under His wings you shall take refuge;
His truth shall be your shield and buckler.
Psalm 91:1-4

And a beautiful image it is, too—a mother bird gathers her chicks under her wings. There, they are safe and protected. There they are tenderly guided. There they are safe while the world outside of the wings and feathers rages, possibly even to the point of the mother bird's death. That is representative of Jesus' love for Jerusalem: " O Jerusalem, Jerusalem...How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings..."

"...[B]ut you were not willing," Jesus continued. There's always got to be that pesky chick that thinks it can go it alone. It refuses the shelter of its mother's wings. The outside world isn't so scary to it. Such was Jerusalem's response to Jesus' love. They rejected the prophets' words; they rejected the Word of God—they were not willing to be under the shelter of the Word's wings.

Predators like those who go it alone. The young, stubborn, and helpless chick that wanders from its mother's wings is easy prey for predators. Those who reject the prophets and pastors sent to them—who reject the One who sent them—are easy prey for the devil, as St. Peter writes: "[T]he devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour."

"[Y]ou shall not see Me until the time comes when you say, 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'" Rejected or received, the Word of God remains the Word of God. And, as He remains the Word of God, He remains faithful to the task for which He was sent—fixated on it. Jerusalem would see this Prophet again, and they would proclaim, "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!" He would be seated upon a donkey; they would be placing palms and clothing on the path before Him. And He would be riding to His death for them, so that like a mother hen, He could gather them under the shelter of His wings...His outstretched, crucified arms.

There, He, who was despised and rejected, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, shed his blood as redemption for all, even those who despised and rejected Him...who caused Him sorrow and gave Him grief—those in Jerusalem who rejected His prophets and those today who reject His pastors—and also those who receive His prophets and pastors.

Of course He had to go to Jerusalem. Jerusalem was the city of death for the prophets of God, and especially for the Prophet of God, His only-begotten Son. His eyes were fixed on Jerusalem, for He would ride triumphantly into town, die triumphantly just outside of town, and rise again triumphantly just outside of town—there He achieved His goal: triumph over death and the devil, redemption for all, and salvation for all who receive Him and His message—all by shedding His blood on the cross.

He shed His blood for you, dear hears, that you may say with the Psalmist,

You have been a shelter for me,
A strong tower from the enemy.
I will abide in Your tabernacle forever;
I will trust in the shelter of Your wings.
For You, O God, have heard my vows;
You have given me the heritage of those who fear Your name.
So I will sing praise to Your name forever,
That I may daily perform my vows.
Psalm 61:3-5, 8

Dear hearers, the message remains the same. Where you have sinned, confess that sin. Do not reject the messenger because his message is distasteful. Hear it. Listen to it. Receive it. As much as the call to repentance is distasteful, so much more is the good news he is given to proclaim sweeter. Therefore, repent and receive the good news.

Receive the good news: "Peace to this house. Jesus was fixated on His task...for you: Christ crucified for you, Christ risen for you, Christ ascended for you. Christ gives Himself to you in Word and Sacrament. This He does for your good—that where He is, you may be, too, safe in the shelter of His wings. That is, 'The kingdom of God has come near to you.' And since the kingdom of God has come near you, you are forgiven for all of your sins."

In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.


audio recorded on my digital recorder and converted to mp3
Have something to say about this entry? Submit your comment below.
name:
email:
web:
Give me a cookie and remember my personal info.
Hide my email address.
Type the correct answer: They are going to get they're / there / their reward.

This is a simple question designed to prevent spambots from spamming the site.

your comment(s):
[ Emoticons ]
Small print: All html tags except <b> and <i> will be removed from your comment. You can make links by just typing the url or mail-address.