DEATH THREATS AND FRIENDLY PHARISEES
Luke 13:31-35
Second Sunday in Lent, Year C
Analysis by Bruce K Modahl
31At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to him, “Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you.” 32He said to them, “Go and tell that fox for me, ‘Listen, I am casting out demons and performing cures today and tomorrow, and on the third day I finish my work. 33Yet today, tomorrow, and the next day I must be on my way, because it is impossible for a prophet to be killed outside of Jerusalem.’ 34Jerusalem, Jerusalem, 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! 35See, your house is left to you. And I tell you, you will not see me until the time comes when you say, ‘Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.’”
From Wikimedia Commons
“By Jesus’ death he strangles death. He rises from the grave, leaving his death and ours behind.”
DIAGNOSIS: Have It Your Way
Step 1: Initial Diagnosis (External Problem): Death Threats
Jesus is in Galilee and on Herod’s turf. Some Pharisees come to warn Jesus that Herod wants him dead. It is hard to parse the Pharisees’ motives. Perhaps they are not as friendly as they seem. No matter. Jesus has an appointment in Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those God sends to them. Either way, the fox is in the chicken coop and the chicken hawk circles the barnyard.
Step 2: Advanced Diagnosis (Internal Problem): Opposing Wills
Jesus says, “How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!” One can almost hear the petulant child saying to the parent who is trying to help, “I can do it myself. I’m not a baby.” That may be a necessary step as the child learns to tie her shoes. It’s another matter altogether when she is aiming her bicycle towards the approaching car.
Step 3: Final Diagnosis (Ultimate): Your House Is Left to You
When Jesus says, “Your house is left to you,” he is saying, “Go on then. You’re on your own, little chick. Are you really going to save yourself from the prowling fox? Shadrach and company, can you save yourselves from the tyrant’s fiery furnace? Are you going to save yourself from the lion’s den, Daniel? Self-destructive as you are, are you going to save yourself from yourself?” All you can do finally is shout or whisper, “Hosanna; Save us.”
PROGNOSIS: Tethered to Jesus’ Death and Resurrection
Step 4: Initial Prognosis (Ultimate Solution): Divine Necessity
Something wondrous takes place in the collision of wills – ours and God’s. “You are not willing,” says Jesus, “but I must.” I must travel to Jerusalem; the city that kills the prophets and stones the ones God sends. Will a hen continue to shelter her chicks under her wings as the fox approaches? Will she give her life for them? Will God enter the fire with Shadrach and his friends and the lion’s den with Daniel? Will God in Christ exchange his righteousness for our sins, his life for our death? Yes, yes, yes, and yes. By Jesus’ death he strangles death. He rises from the grave, leaving his death and ours behind.
Step 5: Advanced Prognosis (Internal Solution): Transformed Wills
In the confession of sins, we acknowledge our bondage to sin. We admit we have not loved God with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. Then we ask, “For the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ, have mercy on us. Forgive us, renew us, and lead us, so that we may delight in your will and walk in your ways, to the glory of your holy name.”
Every act of confession is a return to the baptismal font where our lives are embedded in Christ’s life; and our self-will is transformed to his will.
In seminary worship class, we are taught to walk with the palms of our hands pressed together. We teach our children to do the same thing with their hands when they bow their heads to pray. Someone told me the reason we press our hands together in this fashion is that it mimics the shape hands take when they are bound together at the wrist and led along the way. The Holy Spirit tethers us to Christ at our baptism. So tethered to Christ, the Spirit leads us to answer the altar call Sunday after Sunday where we are fed with Jesus’ life for the forgiveness of our sins.
Try it next Sunday. As you join the line in the center aisle, press palm to palm (right thumb over left, as some of us were taught); sense the Spirit tugging you forward. When your turn comes, turn those hands to form a cross, or cup them as a manger; lift them up to receive the body of Christ.
Step 6: Final Prognosis (External Solution): Walking in His Ways
Jesus made his way through Galilee casting out demons and performing cures. Human strife on all levels is what gives life to the powers that are hostile to the rule of God. Enmity fuels the forces which disfigure God’s good creation. Grievance and resentment are products of these inimical forces. Through Christ we are reconciled to God; and we are entrusted with the ministry of reconciliation. We strive for reconciliation. By that striving we walk in Jesus’ way; and, by faith in Christ I believe, we are doing nothing less than casting out demons.
