(Slide 1) This morning we are going to be privy to a couple of conversations between a person who will remind us of ourselves in many ways and a professor/farmer who will remind us that the created order has much to teach us about God and His purposes and also much about what it means to follow Jesus. Now only for this morning, we will hear from them twice while over the next six weeks, we will hear from them once each week.
Let’s listen in…
(Dramatic reading from Living Lent; the animals tell the story, ‘the fox reveals a homeless savior’ by Creative Communications for the Parish © 2008)
With their conversation echoing in our minds, let us turn to what Jesus had to say about the fox in Matthew 8:14 -20:
When Jesus arrived at Peter’s house, Peter’s mother-in-law was in bed with a high fever. But when Jesus touched her hand, the fever left her. Then she got up and prepared a meal for him.
That evening many demon-possessed people were brought to Jesus. All the spirits fled when he commanded them to leave; and he healed all the sick. This fulfilled the word of the Lord through Isaiah, who said, “He took our sicknesses and removed our diseases.” When Jesus noticed how large the crowd was growing, he instructed his disciples to cross to the other side of the lake.
Then one of the teachers of religious law said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you no matter where you go!” But Jesus said, “Foxes have dens to live in, and birds have nests, but I, the Son of Man, have no home of my own, not even a place to lay my head.”
(Slide 2) I had a rather gruesome experience with a fox many years ago which has stayed with me and reminded me that foxes can exist close to us in the midst of towns and cities as well as in the country. I lived in Kalamazoo at the time and was working part-time for the apartment complex where Susan and I lived.
One hot sunny July morning, I was told to go to the unit across the street from where I lived and check out a bad smell near their doorway. I found a dead fox. I quickly stood upwind and was able to remove the beautiful animal from near their front door. I have never come closer to a fox, before or since, that day almost 20 years ago.
What do you know about the fox? Well I did some research on Wikipedia, the on-line encyclopedia, and discovered, according to its entry, that there are 27 varieties of fox and that the most common breed is the Red Fox. I also discovered that it does exist in urban areas as well as the country. Most are wild breeds but the silver fox, found in Russia, has been domesticated. They are solitary creatures and can live up to 10 years.
In the Bible, as we heard from Professor Junglefuss, the fox is spoken of and used to illustrate destructiveness, and craftiness. He cites Judges 15 and the story of an angry Samson who cruelly uses 300 foxes to get back at the Philistines.
Now according to one of my sources, the word ‘fox’ could also represent the animal called the jackal, which is more easily caught than the fox. It is referred to in passages such as Ezekiel 13:4-5 which says, ‘O people of Israel, these prophets of yours are like jackals digging around in the ruins. They have done nothing to strengthen the breaks in the walls around the nation. They have not helped it to stand firm in battle on the day of the Lord.’
The fox was not a very well liked and thought of animal. They hunt, dig holes, which can undermine foundations, and they are fast and sneaky.
But, they had dens, they had a place to stay, to live. Jesus did not. He was a homeless savior.
In order to understand this homelessness, let’s quickly examine the context of this passage by going back to the beginning of chapter 8. As it opens, Matthew states, ‘Large crowds followed Jesus as he came down the mountainside. Suddenly, a man with leprosy approached Jesus. He knelt before him, worshiping. “Lord,” the man said, “if you want to, you can make me well again.”’
As we read the conclusion of chapter 7 Matthew notes, in verses 27 and 28, ‘the crowds were amazed at his [that is Jesus’] teaching, for he taught as one who had real authority—quite unlike the teachers of religious law.’ Interestingly enough Jesus has become very, very popular. He was becoming successful. Both the crowds who followed Him, because they were desperate for healing and freedom from Satanic bondage and oppression, and the leaders who became jealous of Him because He did things that wished that they could do, saw Jesus use great power to do things that others had only dreamt about.
With all of this new found fame, it begs the question, ‘How could Jesus remain a homeless savior?’
Think with me for a moment about the homes that Jesus entered and did a miracle in. In our text for this morning he entered Peter’s house and with a touch of His hand, healed Peter’s mother-in-law.
In Matthew 9:18-26 (the very next chapter), Jesus enters a synagogue leader’s home and heals his daughter. He went into the homes of sinners and those rejected by the social elite. How could Jesus be homeless? Who wouldn’t want Jesus in their home?
What makes Him homeless is that He raised the bar on what is required to truly follow Him and in doing so He caused many people to turn and leave because they did not want to pay the price of following Jesus. What was it that the professor said? ‘There were a few who truly loved him, but most people were just looking for a political leader or a handout or a miracle worker.’
We seek the shortcut, the easy way, or ‘The five steps to a greater life.’ But Jesus talked about the narrow way that leads to life.
We look for miracles. We look for God to simply say, ‘Abracadabra!’ We treat God as a miracle dispensing agent. But Jesus did not choose, at times, to use a miracle to make changes in people’s lives.
We look for a political leader to solve all of our problems. But Jesus did not play politics. He paid taxes! Look at Matthew 17 verses 24 to 27. And He said, ‘give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.’ But His agenda was, and still is, non-partisan. It was spiritual not political.
In our text we read that one, who is a religious leader, says, ‘I will follow you no matter where you go!’ Jesus says, ‘I ain’t got a home!’ Here is a member of what appears to be the opposition saying, ‘Pick me, Jesus, pick me!’ But He is someone, in the context of his time and place, who had it made!
But I think that Jesus, knowing how it was, said ‘I don’t have a place to live and you do! Are you willing to ‘part company’ with all of that?’ Are you willing to become homeless with me?
Another says, ‘let me first go home and bury my father.’ Jesus says, ‘Follow me now!’
One of my sources suggested that maybe the father was not quite dead yet but soon would be dead. And maybe this man was the first born son who would get everything, as per the laws and customs of that day.
We don’t know for sure but Jesus says, ‘Leave it! Follow me now, don’t wait! Don’t delay!’ Why? Because Jesus knew how we humans operate and what is so exciting and adventuresome one day is abandoned the next day. What would happen once the man had everything? Would he still want to follow Jesus then?
Eventually, as we already know, everyone left Jesus and He struggled alone in the Garden of Gethsemane. Yes, some of the disciples went with Him but when He was physically alone, He was alone. No one was there with Jesus.
The fox, sly and crafty has a place to live, several in fact. But the Son of God, our savior and redeemer, had no place to lay His head. He was homeless because He spoke of the cost of following Him (as well as saying that He was the fulfillment of the messianic prophecies) which caused Him to be rejected by His hometown, those in power who saw Him as a threat, and eventually God the Father. ‘My God, my God what have you forsaken me?’
The next time you look at a fox, remember about out homeless (but risen) savior.
Now other animals are mentioned in the Bible and one is a very prominent one which appears in several interesting and even prophetic places – the donkey. What might Professor Junglefuss have to say to Juanita, and us, about the donkey? (Slide 3)
(Dramatic reading from Living Lent; the animals tell the story, ‘the donkey reveals a peaceful savior’ by Creative Communications for the Parish © 2008)
Now I learned a great deal about donkeys in this conversation. The biggest one is that to have ridden in on a donkey was in keeping with the customs of that day for royalty.
Let’s hear from Matthew’s account, chapter 21 and beginning with verse 1: ‘As Jesus and the disciples approached Jerusalem, they came to the town of Bethpage on the Mount of Olives. Jesus sent two of them on ahead. “Go into the village over there,” he said, “and you will see a donkey tied there, with its colt beside it. Untie them and bring them here. If anyone asks what you are doing, just say, ‘the Lord needs them,’ and he will immediately send them.” This was done to fulfill the prophecy, “Tell the people of Israel, ‘Look, your King is coming to you.
He is humble, riding on a donkey— even on a donkey’s colt.’”
The two disciples did as Jesus said. They brought the animals to him and threw their garments over the colt, and he sat on it.
Most of the crowd spread their coats on the road ahead of Jesus, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.
He was in the center of the procession, and the crowds all around him were shouting, “Praise God for the Son of David! Bless the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Praise God in highest heaven!”
The entire city of Jerusalem was stirred as he entered. “Who is this?” they asked. And the crowds replied, “It’s Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”
I also did a topical search of the Bible about the donkey as well and I discovered that there are 74 passages which reference ‘donkey.’ The search also supported the professor’s assertion that it was a sign of wealth as we read in Job 1:3, ‘He owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred teams of oxen, and five hundred female donkeys, and he employed many servants. He was, in fact, the richest person in that entire area.’
The search also noted their gentle spirit as we read in Isaiah 1:3. ‘Even the animals—the donkey and the ox—know their owner and appreciate his care, but not my people Israel. No matter what I do for them, they still do not understand.’
Then there is the Old Testament quote in the Matthew 21 passage. It is a quote from Zechariah 9:9. ‘Rejoice greatly, O people of Zion! Shout in triumph, O people of Jerusalem! Look, your king is coming to you. He is righteous and victorious, yet he is humble, riding on a donkey—even on a donkey’s colt.’ This prophetic utterance was made about 500 years before Jesus’ birth.
So what does the donkey teach us about our gentle savior? Let’s turn to Philippians 2 and read verse 5 through 11:
Your attitude should be the same that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not demand and cling to his rights as God. He made himself nothing; he took the humble position of a slave and appeared in human form. And in human form he obediently humbled himself even further by dying a criminal’s death on a cross. Because of this, God raised him up to the heights of heaven and gave him a name that is above every other name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Remember what was said in the dialogue? ‘The donkey is everyman’s beast of burden.
So, by riding a donkey, Jesus was identifying with all of us, from high born to low, from rich to poor, from immigrants like me to professors like you. ‘
The Christian faith is a faith in which its God identified with humanity on a human level. Jesus was, and still is, every person’s savior. He died for all of humanity not just a select group of people. ‘Red, and yellow black and white they are precious in His sight…’
And as Paul wrote, Jesus ‘took the humble position of a slave and appeared in human form. And in human form he obediently humbled himself even further by dying a criminal’s death on a cross.’
Jesus was therefore not just a homeless savior He was also a peaceful one. He did not resist arrest. In fact, when one of the arresting party had an ear sliced off, Jesus healed the man right then and there and rebuked Peter who had drawn the sword as we read in John 18:10-11. He could have called down the power of Heaven on his arresting party but He did not. He chooses to be peaceful.
In fact, just a few hours or so before He was arrested and crucified, He said to the disciples, ‘I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give isn’t like the peace the world gives. So don’t be troubled or afraid.’
Lent is the 40 days prior to Easter and while it is something that some of us grew up with in church there are others of us who did not. I have grown to see this period of time as a period of reflection, surrender, and confession.
And as I reflect on the story of the fox I realize that I need to confess and surrender my attachments to this world because all that my culture offers me does not contribute to my spiritual growth. This does not keep me from serving the Lord in this community and this culture. But it helps me to remember that my ultimate destination is heaven and not the honor and success of the here and now. I am to be ‘homeless’ as I follow Jesus.
As I reflect on the story of the donkey I realize that I need to have the Holy Spirit help me being more gentle and kind. They are important character qualities that the Holy Spirit can help us develop. I must surrender my impatience and my selfishness and allow God to help me give up the right to claim things that I really can live without.
As you reflect this morning on the stories of the fox and donkey, I invite you to take some time to reflect on what they have to teach you about Jesus and following Him.
For the next couple of moments, as some music is played, take some time in your seat, and seek the Lord this morning by asking Him this question, (Slide 4) ‘What are you asking me to give up not just for Lent but for the sake of my faith in and relationship with You?
…amen.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fox
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donkey
Power Points for this sermon are available by e-mailing me at pastorjim46755@yahoo.com and asking for ‘021008slides’ Please note that all slides for a particular presentation may not be available.
