Three readings which ask much of the preacher in understanding the context in which each was written and the context in which they are presently received. Our identity is found in our eternal relationship a self-sacrificing God and his Son Jesus Christ.
OT – God had made a promise to Abram. Abram is complaining that he has not yet received the promised, descendants and land. God shows Abram in a strange vision that this promise is rooted in an eternal covenant and that if the covenant is ever broken by God, God will suffer the fate of the sacrificed animals, namely death.
In today’s gospel Jesus is warned by some Judean Pharisees that Herod, arguably the most powerful man of the area, wants to kill Jesus. Herod is quite capable of seeing someone put to death, even a good man, for this is the Herod who had John the Baptist beheaded. Jesus does not flinch when warned of Herod’s nefarious plot. Luke tells us that Jesus has set his face toward Jerusalem and will not be dissuaded from carrying out the mission given him by his father. Jesus is not interested in saving his own skin, rather he is set on carrying out the mission his father has given him. Jesus sets an example for all who would follow him, Jesus exemplifies an unwavering commitment to the doing God’s will.
And that is not the only important example Jesus sets in these few verses of today’s gospel. Jesus speaks compassionately about Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets, the city that will see that Jesus is killed. He says “Jerusalem, 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!“ What a vivid and surprising image. Jesus desires to treat those who will kill him as helpless little chicks. A mother hen will use her own body to keep her chicks safe from predators and the elements. The world can be a dangerous place for those downy little birds, but the mother hen will do all that she can to keep those chicks safe. Of course we know that in Jerusalem Jesus’ wings will be spread as his arms are nailed to a cross like the crucifix above our heads. Under those loving arms we are shielded from the worst that sin and death can do – we are offered eternal life. It is right for us to seek such safety, the security Christ offers.
Jesus, like God his father, is committed to the eternal covenant. Humanity has repeatedly broken the covenant and Jesus willingly offers himself, he is sacrificed for humankind. Jesus rises to life eternal and is seated on the right hand of God –the covenant is restore, there is an eternal relationship between God and humankind! A relationship of self-sacrifice.
Paul – For many live as enemies of the cross of Christ; that is the way of self-sacrifice. Their end is destruction; their god is the belly; and their glory is in their shame; their minds are set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will transform the body of our humiliation that it may be conformed to the body of his glory
In Lent we are called to repentance, to turn away from all that draws us away from the loving arms of God, from all that stalls our progress in our relationship with God. Have we settled in to a spiritual routine that no longer affords us opportunities to grow? The tragedy of the people in Jerusalem is that they stopped growing. Their fixed religious rituals, there routinized temple attendance, their legalistic observances, although well-grounded in the history of their faith had not kept pace with God’s mission to the world. The one perfect and eternal sacrifice was in their midst and they could not see him. As he made his way to the cross to spread his wings over the whole world they went to the temple and found the curtain which separated the holy of holies from the people was torn from top to bottom. The division between God and humanity was shattered. A new covenant is established. The promise of God’s loving protection remains as true today as ever.
John of the Cross, a 16th century Carmelite monk and mystic. He experienced great pain and suffering throughout his life. As he sought to reform the Carmelite order that had become to enamored by worldly things, his fellow monks rejected his efforts, imprisoning him in a small dark cell in the monastery for 6 months, bringing him out only occasionally to beat him in front of his fellow monks as they ate their dinner. By God’s providence John of the Cross eventually escaped. Many of his subsequent writings are treasured for their spiritual insight and guidance. Some of the most beautiful word he offers are from his sayings of light and love – they speak of John of the Cross finding his identity in God and not settling for anything less. John writes:
- Mine are the heavens and mine is the earth. Mine are the nations, the just are mine, and mine the sinners. The angels are mine, and the Mother of God, and all things are mine; and God himself is mine and for me, because Christ is mine and all for me. What do you ask, then, and seek, my soul? Yours is all of this, and all is for you. Do not engage yourself in something less or pay heed to the crumbs that fall from your Father’s table. Go forth and exult in your Glory! Hide yourself in it and rejoice, and you will obtain the supplications of your heart.