Luke 13:31-35
At that very hour some Pharisees came, and said to him, “Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you.” 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. 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.’ 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! 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!’”
"Pressing On"
(Illustration from Sermon Builder 4.0)
When he was seven years old, his family was forced out of their home on a legal technicality, and he had to work to help support them. At age nine, his mother died. At 22, he lost his job as a store clerk. He wanted to go to law school, but his education wasn’t good enough.
At 23, he went into debt to become a partner in a small store. At 26, his business partner died, leaving him a huge debt that took years to repay. At 28, after courting a girl for four years, he asked her to marry him. She said no.
At 37, on his third try he was elected to Congress, but two years later, he failed to be reelected. At 41, his four-year-old son died. At 45, he ran for the Senate and lost. At 47, he failed as the vice-presidential candidate. At 49, he ran for the Senate again, and lost. At 51, he was elected president of the United States. His name was Abraham Lincoln, a man many consider the greatest leader the country ever had. Some people get all the breaks.
It is not easy to keep going, when everything looks like a failure. It is not easy to keep going when everything seems to be going against you. It is definitely not easy, when everything and everybody tells you to give up… that you are wasting your time… that it is - no use.
It is not easy… being the only person who knows that what you are doing is the right thing. It is not easy… That is what I think about when reading today’s text. Looking at Jesus in this text, I see just one more thing that presses on him, that stands in his way, - that tells him to stop his foolish mission ~ as a few actually friendly Pharisees warn Jesus that death awaits him at Jerusalem.
Jesus was faced with many obstacles in his ministry. Those who disliked him constantly threw tests at him, constantly looked to trap him, and constantly questioned his authority. Those who loved him pressed down on him like the paparazzi on a superstar actor, making it impossible to even move. Even his friends… his closest followers - the disciples, were often confused about what he taught and said some of the dumbest things when he tried to sit down and actually teach them. It is not easy… brothers and sisters, it seems downright impossible.
Yet… what do we see in the text? Does Jesus say, ok ok… enough already… I will turn back? Does he say, I’ve had enough of these tests, enough of the spotlight, enough of these disciples who can’t seem to tie their own shoes without help?
He flings out with just a touch of colorful language. “Go tell that fox!” Now, fox in those days was understood differently than it is in today’s context. Today, we hear fox and we think sly, smart, or crafty. Back then, it was known… as an animal of complete and total insignificance. I guess if we were to update it for 2006, Jesus might say something like “Go and tell that gnat,” or perhaps even, “Go and tell that waste of space you call a king”… “that I will go about what I am doing, I will continue my ministry, and on the third day, all I have worked for will be completed.” Despite all the efforts to stop him, despite all the obstacles in his way, despite all the words of wisdom that bid him not to go on… the third day would indeed show that all his work was not in vain. Hard work, perseverance… paying off.
However, I can already begin to hear it, “But pastor… this is JESUS we are talking about, of course HE could do it. Of course he is able to persevere. We are not Jesus, we are not even in the same zip code as Jesus.” To this I would like to respond by reading an old news story about the “Little Satellite That Could!”
The Little Satellite That Could (From Sermon Builder 4.0)
“In 1972, NASA launched the exploratory space probe Pioneer 10. According to Leon Jaroff in Time, the satellite’s primary mission was to reach Jupiter, photograph the planet and its moons, and beam data to earth about Jupiter’s magnetic field, radiation belts, and atmosphere. Scientists regarded this as a bold plan, for at that time no earth satellite had ever gone beyond Mars, and they feared the asteroid belt would destroy the satellite before it could reach its target.
“But Pioneer 10 accomplished its mission and much, much more. Swinging past the giant planet in November 1973, Jupiter’s immense gravity hurled Pioneer 10 at a higher rate of speed toward the edge of the solar system. At one billion miles from the sun, Pioneer 10 passed Saturn. At some two billion miles, it hurtled past Uranus; Neptune at nearly three billion miles; Pluto at almost four billion miles. By 1997, twenty-five years after its launch, Pioneer 10 was more than six billion miles from the sun.
“And despite that immense distance, Pioneer 10 continued to beam back radio signals to scientists on Earth. ‘Perhaps most remarkable,’ writes Jaroff, ‘those signals emanate from an 8-watt transmitter, which radiates about as much power as a bedroom night light, and takes more than nine hours to reach Earth.’
“The Little Satellite That Could was not qualified to do what it did. Engineers designed Pioneer 10 with a useful life of just three years. But it kept going and going. By simple longevity, its tiny 8-watt transmitter radio accomplished more than anyone thought possible.
“So it is when we offer ourselves to serve the Lord. God can work even through someone with 8-watt abilities. God cannot work, however, through someone who quits.”
Now… brothers and sisters, by this illustration I am not trying to compare some of you to dim bulbs… quite the contrary. There are several amazing things happening here at First Presbyterian. Each and every one of you continues to contribute to the life and ministry that happens here and that happens outside these walls. There are several of you who are even going the extra mile, contributing that extra hour… or two… or four. You respond to the challenge and dig in with both feet. But I expect there is more than a good share of obstacles… that feeling that “I just can’t do this!” Perhaps others even tell you that it is a complete waste of time and resources. Or perhaps it is as simple as “I’ve built it… and they haven’t come yet!” It is not easy…
My message today is not to loose hope… not to give up if things aren’t happening as quickly as you would like. Don’t let obstacles stand in the way of what God is calling you personally to do.
Keep at your calling, and know that God is using you… and that even though you may not see the results of your work - something is happening.
Journalist Jacob Riis once said, “When nothing seems to help, I go to look at a stonecutter, hammering away at his rock, perhaps a hundred times, without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet after the one hundred and first blow, it will split in two; and I know that it was not that blow that did it, but all that had gone before.”
Brothers and sisters, there are great things happening here, but I also wish to encourage you and let you know that it will not always come easy, we will not always see the immediate effects of what we are doing, we will not see our work producing much of anything… but be encouraged… knowing that even as Christ’s ministry was fulfilled… the ministry that you and I are called to do will eventually produce the good works that God has called us to do. It may indeed happen for us the first time… but it may take the hundred and first time. Know that God is working through you, know that the result of your labor is still out there waiting to be fulfilled, and know that even though everything seems to be working against you… the Lord will always be working with you.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
