4 March 2007

Luke 13:31-35

Jesus is in Galilee in today’s gospel lesson. He’s doing that what he does best: teaching, preaching & healing. Now we have to understand a little bit of ancient middle east geography here to really understand the lesson from Luke. Herod, whom Jesus calls a “fox” in our lesson this morning, rules as the sovereign puppet of Rome over Galilee. Galilee is to the north of Jerusalem.

Now Herod is not a nice guy. This is the same ruler who beheaded John the Baptist not too long before today’s reading took place. It’s not the same Herod who was around at Jesus’ birth and had all those children massacred in Bethlehem. This is his son; so there’s something to be said for genetics. Both Herods were terrible, ferocious rulers who stood at nothing when their power was being threatened. They held onto power like a leech; grasping at it and sucking it dry.

And people like John and Jesus were definitely a threat evidently. The problem with John and Jesus was that they both had followings made up of the masses. They were popular and had large followings of people who sought them out. They weren’t from the power class of the day; they were ordinary people who preached new ways of being. They could, perhaps, if they wanted, foment revolution and unhappiness with the current political state. And Herod knew it!

People were unhappy with the way of being under Roman rule. God had given the land to the Hebrew people to rule and use as their own. To have this foreign power take over and control their land was against the covenant that we heard about in the Genesis passage this morning, which God had made millennia earlier with Abraham. There was much unhappiness and revolt was always just around the corner.

And it was Herod’s job to keep everything peaceful. That’s how he could maintain his power. Keep Rome happy and the people quiet. And folks like Jesus and John threatened to disrupt that quietude. An eye had to be kept on them at all times. And if necessary, eliminate them; which Herod did do with John.

So these friendly Pharisees come to Jesus and warn him. “Herod has it in for you,” they tell him. But Jesus doesn’t run. He has his own message for Herod basically saying that he’s going to be doing what he’s called to do. And then he’ll be on his way to Jerusalem; out of Herod’s territory.

Why Jerusalem? Why can’t Jesus stay in Galilee? After all, it’s his home territory and where he has the most fame. Jerusalem was the ultimate place for Jews. It’s where the seat of worship was; the Temple. And Jesus, being a good Jew, knew that that is where his message had to go. And where he’d most likely find his end. He knew that his message of God’s reign on earth would be too much for the political turmoil of Jerusalem. There was too much going on in Jerusalem for Jesus’ message not to upset the apple cart, as it were.

So Jesus knew that he had to turn his face to Jerusalem, even though he knew that it spell the end of his time on earth and he would face the excruciating death that he eventually underwent.

And then we get Jesus’ words about Jerusalem. “Jerusalem, Jerusalem,” he says, “the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!”

This is probably the most feminine imagery we have of Jesus, when he compares himself to a mother hen, trying to protect her chicks by spreading out her wings over them: Jesus as protector of a resistant Jerusalem. And I don’t think it’s any accident that just moments before he speaks of Herod as a fox. Mortal enemies, chickens and foxes and we know who ends up being on top in that fight.

We clearly see two sides of Jesus in this scripture. At first, he’s tough and hard as nails against Herod. Then within a sentence or two, he’s turned into a softy, protecting Jerusalem under his wings. That’s the Jesus we know; tough when he needs to be; soft for those on the outside.

We’re called to be the same: tough and hard against the powers that be in our day and age yet reserving our soft side for those who are on the margins, caring and protecting those whom those same powers would ignore or be malevolent to.

It’s a balancing act between the two extremes; knowing when to be difficult and demanding of justice and within a short amount of time called to be gentle and compassionate. We must carry both sides and know when to use them. Jesus is our model. He shows us the way to act as a person of faith concerned about justice and righteousness in our world.

Jesus’ faith called him to be both at the same time. And we need to find the faith to do the same. Need to work towards the faith that Jesus exhibited. A faith that challenges the status quo and looks out for the dispossessed. A faith that is constantly on the look-out for those who need care and protection; those who are on the edges of society.

But don’t forget the other side: the faith that stands up and says “no more.” No more misuse of power, no more neglecting of the poor and those who have no homes, who are hungry, who have fallen through the cracks of our society.

It is a balancing act. And we must learn to walk the tightrope, knowing when to lean to one side and then the other. Our faith calls for it and, indeed, we have Jesus as our model.