2nd Sunday in Lent
Luke 13:31-35
"The Yearning, Wooing, Longing Pleading Heart of God"
31* At that very hour some Pharisees came, and said to him, “Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you.”
32* And he said to them, “Go and tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I finish my course.
33* Nevertheless I must go on my way today and tomorrow and the day following; for it cannot be that a prophet should perish away from Jerusalem.’
34* O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, killing the prophets and stoning those who are sent to you! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not!
35* Behold, your house is forsaken. And I tell you, you will not see me until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’”RSV
Grace and peace to your form our Lord and Saviour, Jesus who is the Christ. Amen
A small child, not even old enough for school, went into one of those mirrored mazes at an amusement park. When her father discovered that she had slipped away he saw her trying to find her way out and beginning to cry in fear. She became increasingly con. fused by all the paths, until she heard her daddy call out, "Don’t cry, honey. Put your hands out and reach all around. You’ll find the door. Just fol. low my voice." As he spoke the little girl became calm and soon found her way out and ran to the security of her father’s outstretched arms.
God’s voice is calling us from the confusion of the maze of life. He is waiting for us to reach hos out stretched arms. god is calling us through Jesus to him. We are hearing as God calls to us through his yearning, wooing, longing, pleading heart.
God yearns for us,. He years for the time when we will be with him again. He yearns for the time when the relationship between him and his creation will be perfect as it once was. God yearns for the time when all will be right between him and his creation.
As Jesus laments for Jerusalem in our gospel lesson as He says: O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, killing the prophets and stoning those who are sent to you!
Jesus is expressing in our gospel lesson this morning that yearning of God. Can you imagine the ache, the hurt in god’s hears as he years for what he has made to be in good relationship again with him.
Jesus says further: How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not!
Jesus is lamenting that God has tried to bring the creation back to Him. God has tried to bring the fallen creation back to him, from Noah to Jesus. God has tried in all kinds of manner to make the relationship between him and his people right.
God tired through Noah and the flood. He tried through Moses and the prophets. God tried through the Judges. God has tried in all kinds of manner to make the relationship between him and his people right.
God has tired to woo, to win back, to persuade his people to come back to him. Through the history of the Old Testament, God worked with the people of Israel trying to win them back. But at last, it was to no avail as Jesus says in our text: and you would not!
So God decided he would send Jesus to reconcile, the bring human kind back to God. What human kind would not do for itself, God did for them. That is the great news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. god decided that man could not be won back, so God decided in Jesus, to give man the girt of salvation. God decided that man would surely accept a free gift. A gift he did not have to earn, to work for, man only had to accept this gift by faith.
God’s heart longed for his people. He longed for them to trust, to believe in Him. But they would not. so God decided if he came among his people, if he walked with his people, if he told them as one of them of the great love he had for them. Maybe they would listen, maybe they would understand how he longed for have a right relationship with his people. So God became flesh and tented among his people. He lived among his people. He walked with them, he hurt with them, he taught them and pleaded with them.
God is like the ruler in the following:
"Long ago, there ruled in Persia a wise and good king. He loved his people. He wanted to know how they lived. He wanted to know about their hardships. Often he dressed in the clothes of a working man or a beggar, and went to the homes of the poor. No one whom he visited thought that he was their ruler. One time he visited a very poor man who lived in a cellar. He ate the coarse food the poor man ate. He spoke cheerful, kind words to him. Then he left. Later he visited the poor man again and disclosed his identity by saying, "I am your king!"
The king thought the man would surely ask for some gift or favor, but he didn’t.
Instead he said, "You left your palace and your glory to visit me in this dark, dreary place. You ate the course food I ate. You brought gladness to my heart! To others you have given your rich gifts. To me you have given yourself!"
This is the way in which Jesus came to us. He came disguised as a lowly man, but brought to us so much. He met our every need."1
There is truly a wonderment about God. He does all he can to bring the relationship between himself and his people into right order. He comes to earth. He walks with his people. He talks with his people. He dies for his people. He is raised from the dead for his people. He gives them the free gift of salvation and then He gives them the free choice to take that gift or leave it. If we went through all this for a certain group of people, we would demand that they take the gift, period. But not God. He places the gift of salvation in our hearts and then says, you may believe in the promises I have made for you, or you may not. That is your choice.
God is telling us that He has done all of the work of bringing his creation and himself back together. He knew he could not woo us back. But He knew he could through Jesus bring us back by punishing Jesus for our sins and making this relationship right again.
As you come to the Lord’s table this morning, come knowing that the yearning, wooing, longing pleading heart of God is present in and through the bread and wine. God yearns for you to accept this gift of salvation. God yearns for this relationship with Him be right again. Here at the table you can taste, touch and feel that great heart of God.
Salvation is present here in the word of God, in the sacraments of God.
"An unknown author wrote, "Longfellow could take a sheet of paper, write a poem on it and make it worth sixty thousand dollars. That is talent. Rockefeller could sign a piece of paper and make it worth millions. That is capital. A mechanic can take material worth $5 and make it into an article worth $50. That is skill. A merchant can buy an article for eighty cents, put it on his counter and sell it for a dollar. That is business.
But God can take a worthless, sinful life, wash it, cleanse it, put his Holy Spirit within it and make it a blessing to all humanity. That is salvation.
And that salvation is available for all who choose to accept it." 2
God’s voice come to us in the maze of life and calls to us. He calls to us to come to Him, to believe in his promises for our lives. He calls us to believe He has given us salvation. He calls us to be in a right relationship with him again. He calls us to be his people, to worship and praise him as our God. He call us in grace. He calls us in Love. He call us to be His.
A closing poem says it well:
God Does
When you feel unlovable, unworthy, and unclean,
when you think that no one can heal you,
Remember, Friend, God Can.
When you think that you are unforgivable
for your guilt and your shame,
Remember, Friend, God Can.
When you think that all is hidden,
and no one can see within,
Remember, Friend, God Can.
And when you have reached the bottom,
And you think that no one can hear,
Remember, my dear friend, God Can.
And when you think that no one can love,
the real person deep inside of you,
Remember, my dear friend, God Does! 3
Amen
Written by Pastor Tim Zingale February 26, 2007
1 Contributed by: Jason Cole from SermonCentral newsletter
2 From: Timothy Williams
3 Author Unknown
