Lent 2 – 2022
Luke 13:31-35 (Genesis 15:1-12,17-18)
Marian Free
Loving God, may we so keep our eyes on you that we will not be led from our path no matter the circumstance in which we find ourselves. Amen.
Foxes, chickens, Herod, Jerusalem, threat, lament, warning and determination, references to time and Pharisees worried about Jesus’ fate. There are so many threads in the few verses that make up today’s gospel that it is difficult to know which, if any, of these is useful for our Lenten observance or even if they hold together. On this occasion, the immediate context of our passage doesn’t help us to determine its meaning. Immediately prior to these verses Jesus who, on his way to Jerusalem has been going through villages and towns teaching, responds to a question as to who will be saved. Jesus answers by issuing a warning to the effect that now is the time to accept God’s invitation to enter the kingdom before it is too late, before others – the gentiles – have taken all available places and the door is shut.
Following the Pharisees’ warning and Jesus’ response is an account of Jesus’ observing people at a banquet and his comment that it is better to take a lower place at the table and be invited to move up than to take a place of honour and be demoted. Both reflections conclude with a reminder that kingdom values reverse those of the world: “the first will be last and the last will be first” (13:30) or “those who exalt themselves will be humbled and those who humbled themselves will be exalted” (14:11). These reflections are indeed useful for those of us who are examining our lives this Lent, but they provide little insight into today’s gospel.
Perhaps a more useful starting place for our understanding of today’s passage is to go back to the moment that Jesus left the relative safety of Galilee and began his journey to Jerusalem. In 9:51 (53) Luke tells us that Jesus ‘set his face towards Jerusalem’. As I mentioned a few weeks ago, this is strong language. Jesus’ experience so far has told him that his message and his presence is not welcome among those in positions of leadership in the church. What is more the fate of John the Baptist is evidence that the powers representing Rome will, at the very least, view him with suspicion if not fear (something that the warning of the Pharisees in today’s reaffirms). Jesus is not going to Jerusalem because he is seeking glory or even because wants to see the great city. He has set his face to Jerusalem because he knows that this is where he will face his destiny.
The (unexpected?) warning from the Pharisees provides an occasion for Jesus to reflect on his mission. His response to Herod (“tell that fox”) indicates that nothing – not even the threat of death will deter him or cause him to turn from the path that has been set before him. There is work to be done and he will continue to fulfill his purpose: ‘today and tomorrow and on the third day I finish’. It is easy to see a reference to Easter here, but in colloquial terms ‘today and tomorrow’ relate to what Jesus is doing now and ‘the third day’ means ‘in due course’. Jesus’ listeners (who do not have our benefit of hindsight) will have heard this as an indication of Jesus’ resolve, his determination to complete the task set before him whatever the obstacles. The threat of death is no obstacle. Jesus will not be distracted or deterred. He has a task to fulfill and he will not turn aside until it is completed. “Today and tomorrow and the next day I must be on my way.” (He must stay where he is until he has done all that he is meant to do, but then he must continue to Jerusalem no matter the personal cost.)
In this way Jesus is nothing like his forbear Abraham who, despite being chosen by God and having received God’s promises, needs constant reassurance. Abraham is not willing to face danger and he often takes the easy way out – making up his own mind about the best way forward rather than trusting in God’s purpose for him. He is easily distracted by his desire for an heir and his anxiety that the kingdoms through which he passes will not allow his party to pass through in safety.
Jesus has no such concerns. Whatever the situation, whatever possible obstacles lie ahead, he is utterly focused on God’s will for him. Jesus’ resolve, his commitment, determination and single-mindedness are what stand out in today’s gospel and are what provide an example, an incentive for our own practice this Lent and for our Christian vocation as a whole.
In comparison to Jesus, how do we stack up? In the light of Jesus’ determination to see his mission to its end, we should ourselves how much we are concerned for our own safety, our own comfort, our own goals for our future? How often do we let our own timidity, or our lack of confidence prevent us from placing our trust completely in God? How often and how easily are we distracted from our primary goal of being a disciple of Christ How many of our resolutions have faltered because we did not have strength to follow through?? Indeed how many times have we been sidetracked from the task we set ourselves for this Lent?
I leave you with two prayers from A Prayer Book for Australia, that you might like to pray daily this Lent and which might help to strengthen your resolve to be better disciples of Christ.
Christ, whose insistent call
disturbs our settled lives:
give us discernment to hear your word,
grace to relinquish our tasks,
and courage to follow empty-handed
wherever you may lead. (210)
Loving God,
give us wisdom and understanding
in discerning your will for our lives.
Teach us in all things
to seek first your honour and glory.
May we perceive what is right,
have courage to pursue it
and grace to accomplish it,
through Jesus Christ our Lord. (213, adapted).
May we have grace to relinquish all that stands between God’s will and ourselves and our selfish desires and may we have the courage to pursue whatever it is that God might ask of us.
Swallowsrest 