2nd Sunday of Lent
Luke 13:31-35
Love Forsaken
"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!’" Luke 13:31-35, RSV.
Grace and Peace to you from our Lord and Saviour, Jesus who is the Christ. Amen
There was a little boy named Bobby. Bobby was like most boys of the age 6, he liked to run and play. But Bobby had problem with his ears. It wasn’t a problem that the doctors could help him with. Bobby’s problem was, he didn’t like to listen when he should. When his mother would call Bobby, he would pretend not to hear her, and keep on doing what he was doing.
Well, one day, while Bobby was riding his bicycle up and down the block, he had an unexpected visitor at his home, his uncle came. His uncle wanted to surprise Bobby and take him to the circus. Bobby’s mother called for him, she called once, she called twice, she called three times but Bobby wouldn’t come. Bobby thought his mother wanted him to do something, so Bobby kept riding his bike. His uncle couldn’t wait any longer, so he left. Bobby missed out on going to the circus. Just think of what Bobby missed.
A few days latter, Bobby’s dad came home from work early and planned to take the family to a Kansas City Chiefs football game. It was the first game of the new season. Bobby’s brother went to him to tell him to come home, so they could go to the football game. But Bobby wouldn’t believe him, so the family left and Bobby came home to a baby sister. Bobby missed out again, because he wouldn’t believe or listen.
Later on in the month, Bobby’s grandmother and grandfather came for an unexpected visit. They hadn’t seen Bobby in many years. Bobby’s mother called for him and called for him, but Bobby wouldn’t come. She didn’t know where he was. Bobby was at a friends house watching TV, but hadn’t told his mother where he would be. His grandmother and grandfather could only stay a little while because they were just passing through, but Bobby came home too late and missed out on something very special again.
Bobby had a very difficult time believing that people wanted to do some very nice things for him. He couldn’t believe that his uncle wanted to take him to a circus, his father to take him to a football game, and then he wasn’t around to receive a very special visit from people who loved him a lot, his grandparents. This is a sad story, a sad story about a boy who wouldn’t believe in the love that everyone wanted to give to him.
As sad as this story about Bobby is, there is still a sadder story, it is about the people of Israel who wouldn’t believe in the love that God had for them, and the sad story about the people today who won’t believe in the love that God has for them.
In our gospel lesson, Jesus laments over the failure of the people of Israel to heed the call of God in their lives. Jesus says, "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!!"
God through the prophets came to the people of Israel with his message of salvation, with his gospel of love. But time after time, the people would not listen. They were like Bobby, they couldn’t believe that God could love then that much. The prophets came, they told the people of the love that God had, they told them to turn from their evil ways, to obey God, to gather under his love, but they would not. God tried over and over again, but the people turned a deaf ear to him.
So, then God decided if the people wouldn’t listen to me, if they won’t listen to my messengers, then I will come directly to earth and speak to them myself. But we know the outcome of that initiative by God. Some people listened, but many more did not, in fact they became so upset by the presence of God in their lives, they killed him. They could not understand such love, they could not accept such willingness on the part of God to love them, that they fought against it to the point that they killed God.
Each time God called to his people, they could not believe that God didn’t want something from them, but that God only wanted to give them something his blessings, his love. If we feel sad for the Jewish people of Jesus day who did not heed the call of God, how much sadder are we today for those people who know the whole story, but do not heed the call of God.
Today, people have an advantage over the people in Jesus day. Then they didn’t know the outcome of the story, they lived the story with Jesus, but today, we know the outcome. It has been written down for us, it has been witnessed to through the generations by people who were there, but still, but still people do not believe or trust in God’s love for their lives.
The Greek philosopher, Plato, has a fable that can help us to see the importance of listening to God’s call in our lives
"A man is seated in a carriage drawn by a pair of young and spirited steeds. In the vehicle, the driver holds the reins and guides the horses on the straight and smooth road.
One day a heavy drowsiness comes upon the driver and he falls fast asleep. The horses, not feeling the restraint of the reins go off the right path and soon they are speeding over the bush and brush over hill and valley. In their mad flight they come nearer and nearer to the edge of a deep pit, a bottomless abyss. A man stand afar off and seeing the threatened danger, calls to the driver in a loud and mighty voice: "Wake up! Save yourself!!"
With a start, the driver suddenly awakens. In a moment he realizes his peril. Pale and trembling, he hastily grasps the reins, and exerting almost superhuman effort, he succeeds in swerving the horses to one side, thus saving his own life and those of his animals."
God’s voice is calling us as we approach the pit of death and destruction in our lives. He calls us, he evenreaches out to help us grab the reins, to stop the forces of evil, sin and death in our lives. God calls us to turn from our road of destruction, to his road of life. But how many listen??? How many heed that voice??? Sometimes you and I are asleep as we live our lives. We are tossed to and fro by all the different winds, all the different condition of our culture. We are called to a life of consumerism. We are called to a life that is easy with quick fixes, we are called to a life that idolizes youth, sex and beauty. We are pulled along in a headlong flight to destruction, until the voice of God calls to us, until God jumps into our carriage and helps us to rein in our lives, helps us to live not for ourselves not for our culture, not for what Madison Avenue would think is important, but what God declares is important in our lives. His love, his mercy his forgiveness, his grace, and our sacrificing our wants, ideas, and passions so that we might serve him and our neighbor.
The Jews of Jesus’ day missed God’s call to leave their lives of law keeping, of trying to please God by keeping the letter of the law, to leave that and live in God’s free love, to leave that and live in God’s grace. They missed the call, that didn’t let God help them rein in their run-away passion for living by the letter of the law. They fell over the cliff.
God is calling us to leave our live that is lived for self, that is tossed to and fro by the demands of our culture, by the demands of the mass media, by the demands of "every one else is doing it," syndrome. God is calling us to heed his word, his word that frees us from self, that frees of from our culture, that frees us from our following our neighbors, he frees us from that so that we might follow him, we might live in his love, we might accept his forgiveness, his mercy, his acceptance of me as a whole person because of the sacrifice Jesus made on my behalf on the cross of Calvary. God calls us to to let him help us steer our carriage in life. He calls us, he asks us if he can jump aboard, if he can be our partners as we journey the road of life.
Will you heed his call. Will you let him jump aboard.Will you and God together drive your carriage down the highway of life?
Amen
Written by Pastor Tim Zingale
