This week's thinking bit... |
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This week's thinking bit... |
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JOKE DU JOUR...
An elderly couple had dinner at another couple's house, and after eating, the wives left the table and went into the kitchen. The two gentlemen were talking, and one said, "Last night we went out to a new restaurant and it was really great. I would recommend it very highly.
The other man said, "What is the name of the restaurant?"
The first man thought and thought and finally said, "What is the name of that flower you give to someone you love? You know... the one that's red and has thorns."
"Do you mean a rose?"
Those of you with sharp ears will have notice that we’ve got readings full of animals today... a cow, a goat, a sheep, a dove and a pigeon get cut in half, and birds of prey turn up for a thwarted dinner, then Herod is likened to a fox and Jesus to a hen. That, coupled with the warning from Paul about those “whose god is the belly” suggests we ought to be thinking about restaurants, recipes and Master chef, it being Lent...
As well as animals here’s something about places and investment in homelands which runs through the readings. Abram is being promised Land - the covenant is all about God blessing Abram and giving him both descendants to continue his line and a place in which to do it. Ten years had passed since the first covenant when God had promised both the first time; and another 15 were to come before the realisation of the covenant would come to be.
Paul reminds the Philippians that citizenship is in heaven. They are tourists, travellers, pilgrims passing through this world, with their investment in another place. I’m only visiting this planet...
And in the gospel reading Jerusalem - the city where God is supposed to dwell - will become the very place where they kill the Saviour, the promised Messiah.
There are two other things which I think shout at us from the gospel reading:
Why is the passage set for us today, in Lent? Because it is part of the journey Jesus is making towards Jerusalem, and towards the cross of Calvary. The turning point for Luke is in Chapter 9 when Jesus “sets his face towards Jerusalem”, and the tone and teaching changes and from this point onwards the crucifixion is inevitable.
Last week as we considered Jesus’ temptations - at this point the crucifixion was not inevitable - the devil was tempting Jesus to take the easy way out, to avoid the suffering. Jesus was resolute then and he was resolute at the point he set his face towards the cross. And in today’s reading we can see that he knew what he was doing. Jesus not only has a strong sense of what his mission is about and where it will lead; that Herod cannot stop or deflect him - but this is also tempered with a heartbrokenness that Jerusalem (God’s holy city) will be the one who rejects and crucifies him. The very place which should welcome the Messiah with open arms will reject and kill him. What Herod threatens, Jerusalem will accomplish. And although Jesus wills salvation for Jerusalem, Jerusalem wills destruction for Jesus.
And it is that choice which brings about the consequences of desolation - other versions translate that verse more fully: “See, your house is left to your desolate” [NIV]. The very centre of religion has become so out of step with God’s will, plan and purpose that they execute the prophets and stone those who are sent to the city - and they will execute the Messiah too.
As always when we meet the Religious Establishment, or religious figures in the gospels we must be wary of shaking our heads and tut-tutting over them.. because WE are the religious establishment of today.
And just as there were Pharisees who wanted to help and support and warn Jesus, there those in the religious establishment who recognise where God is working and throw their lot in with that - however dangerous or unpopular that may be. But likewise much of the religious establishment then looked at Jesus and saw in him a disturber of peace; a threat; a radical and unwelcome challenge to their tradition - one who needed to be removed. And we must be careful that we don’t over look where God is working just because we don't expect God to work in that kind of a way.
One of the standard essays theological students must write at some stage in their formation is the one whose title is: “Who killed Jesus?”. And in writing such an essay the student ought to explore the role of the Roman authorities; the role of the Jewish people as a whole and the anti-Semitism which has been engendered downs the years due to a particular reading of some parts of Matthew’s gospel [Mat 27.25]; the role of the Religious Establishment - of Jerusalem, and their reaction to the Messiah; or did Jesus bring the experience on himself - by provoking the authorities then not resisting as they responded?... and the ultimate answer is that Jesus death was in some way tied in with the forgiveness of sin - so Jesus death was due to anybody who has ever sinned. Which means you and me.
So when we meet the Religious Establishment in the gospels, let it not be with a disinterested eye, or a detachment, or a cynical apportioning of blame.. let’s remember that had we been there, we too would have been faced with a choice. We would have had to make a decision about this country boy preacher...
And we still have a decision to make. The self same Jesus who lamented over Jerusalem laments over our individual lives and our life as a community. “How often have I desired to gather you together under my wings... How often have I longed to be your shelter, your protection, your lover... and yet... and yet... you turn your back on me. You refuse to see me in the lives of others. You think the only place I am is in your buildings or institutions...”
Lent is a time for us to do some housekeeping, to look at our habits and patterns - not just for a few short weeks of a church season, but to better focus and resource our discipleship - our journey through this world to the glory of heaven. And so much of the challenge of the gospel seems to be about looking and listening to see where God is already active in the world - ahead of us - in strange people and in unusual situations.
So as we read these words of lament over the holy city, let’s ensure that this Lent is a time of eye opening for us; by the books we read, by the prayers we say, by the silence and stillness we keep; and let us allow ourselves to be gathered and protected by a nurturing loving God, as a hen does with her chicks.
Fr Andrew Perry
Rector,
St John the Evangelist, Pevensey Rd, St Leonards on Sea
