Claimed, gathered and sent

This is the sermon I preached last Sunday, 3/17/19, at St. Timothy Lutheran Church. The gospel text is Luke 13:31-35 .                            Our gospel lesson from Luke is soap opera- esque with all the conflicting wants and desires it portrays. In the midst of the clashing cravings, Jesus grounds his ministry in the divine necessity, God’s desire for Jesus. The first want we come across is Herod’s desire to kill Jesus. This information is brought to Jesus by  some  Pharisees. They were not all lumped together. There were those who were sympathetic to Jesus’ mission. However, in essence, they were still encouraging Jesus to abandon that mission and save himself.  Herod’s was no idle threat. After all, Herod had beheaded John the Baptist, Jesus’ cousin. You’d think Jesus would be scared, literally to death. Jesus doesn’t even mention Herod’s threat because he was so consumed with his mis...

Here are some ideas about this coming Sunday's gospel lessons. This was sent out to the people of St. Timothy.  Gospel: Luke 13:31-35 31 At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to [Jesus,] “Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you.”  32 He 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.  33 Yet 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.’  34 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!  35 See, 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.’” Is it hard to imagin...

These were the thoughts that came to me as I pondered Luke 13:31-35. Jesus does not seem bothered by the news that Herod is after him. Don't take Jesus as naive. He is simply working from a different timetable--God's. I love the way Jesus talks about what he's doing the next few days--like he didn't even hear what the Pharisees told him. He had a plan and that's what he was following until the third day. Jesus did not give into fear that Herod was plotting Jesus' death. Following that exchange, Jesus goes into a lament for Jerusalem and how they have missed the opportunity to let God protect them and hold them. Sundays and Seasons explains the imagery in this way: "Jesus’ desire to gather God’s people together in safety, love, and protection is reflected in the feminine image of a hen gathering her chicks under her wing. This motherly, passionate desire—rather than the resistance we or others may show toward it—lies at the heart of the gospel message i...