Christ Lutheran Church

1701 Arroyo Chamiso

Santa Fe, NM 87505-4775

(505) 983-9461

church@clcsantafe.com

  

Sunday, February 28, 2010
Second Sunday in Lent

 

GOSPEL: Luke 13:31-35

 

At 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.’”

 

 

+ In nomine Domini.  Amen.

If we are going to follow the story of Jesus in these 40 days of Lent, then we have to understand the history of the story which we are following … and, since this morning we have read a portion of the Gospel According to Luke where Jesus has something to say about the King, that means we have to understand something about King Herod. 

It can be a little hard to follow this history in the Gospels because the Herod which Jesus attacks with his “Go and tell that fox” statement is not the same Herod at the beginning of the Gospel of Luke when Jesus was born.  That would be this Herod’s father, Herod the Great … the Jewish Roman client-king of Israel who came into power during the Roman occupation of the land and enjoyed Rome’s backing.  He was known for his colossal building projects including the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem, the foundation stones of which today form among other things the well-known Western Wall (the Wailing Wall).  But he was also, as someone has described, “a madman who murdered his own family.” 

When Herod the Great died, his kingdom was divided among three of his sons (the ones he didn’t murder): Archilaus who became king of Judaea, Herod Antipas who became tetrarch of Galilee and Peraea, and Philip who became tetrarch of territories east of the Jordan.

So, the Herod of our Gospel portion this morning is Herod Antipas, no mere inheritor of his father’s grandiosity and cruelty and generally questionable behaviour.  John the Baptist met his death because he criticized Herod for divorcing his wife and then marrying Herodias the sister of his half-brother (also named Herod). 

He is the one, at least in Luke’s Gospel, who plays a role in Jesus’ trial, since Jesus was a Galilean and therefore under the jurisdiction of Herod Antipas who was, says Luke, in Jerusalem at the time … and so Pilate the Roman Proconsul sends Jesus to him for questioning.

Antipas was pleased because he hoped to see Jesus perform a miracle, but when Jesus remained silent in the face of questioning, Antipas mocked him and sent him back to Pilate.  Luke says that this very action was enough to improve relationships between Pilate and Herod who formerly had been enemies.

Oh, and in case you are curious as to what happened to Herod Antipas and Herodias, they were exiled into the Roman Province of Gaul (modern France, Belgium, and Luxembourg) … exiled by the Roman Emperor Caligula when he came into power after the death of Tiberius, who was the Roman Emperor when Jesus was put to death.

That is the backdrop upon which the scene of today’s Gospel portion is played.  In Luke’s telling, Jesus has just been speaking to the crowd which, he says, were counted in the thousands so many that they were trampling upon each other.  He tells them to beware of the piety of the Pharisees, not to worry about those who can only kill the body, that in God’s counting even the hairs upon their heads are numbered, compares the caring of God to the lilies of the field who do no work but are tended by the Holy One and if that is true then how much more does God care about each of them, warns them about the future, speaks of the kingdom which stands in opposition to the turmoil of the world … and then comes our reading today where the Pharisees (that is interesting isn’t it? … the Pharisees, who are so often looked upon as the opponents of Jesus, but here we are given a clue that they are more “debating partners with Jesus” debating what a holy life should really look like) … the Pharisees seeing that things are heating up politically and knowing that the Romans and their puppets (like Herod Antipas) are not fond of anything that resembles a political movement … they come to Jesus and warn him to flee because Herod Antipas who has already beheaded John the Baptist is most likely wanting Jesus taken out.

And then in stark contrast to a leader and a government whose purpose is antithetical to a movement of healing and love, Jesus says, “Go tell that fox …”  and the Greek word that Luke puts into Jesus’ mouth is quite telling … because on the one hand a fox is ritually unclean and that would be invective enough … but the word in Greek is feminine … Luke has Jesus call Herod Antipas, a female fox … one might say vixen with all the negative implications thereunto.

And then Jesus begins to speak about what is more important … the work of the reign of God … the healing of the sick, the casting out of demons, the work of compassionate love … and then in a lovely and very moving little tiny parable of sorts, he weeps over Jerusalem and compares himself (is it? Or is it God?  Or is it both?) … compares himself to a mother hen who wants only to take the little chicks she has brought into the world and protect them under her wings.

And Luke adds that phrase that we say every Sunday in our worship, “Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord” … a not so subtle mocking of the one who claims to be King of the Jews, Herod Antipas.

+++

Where are you in this story?  Where do we find ourselves in this story?  And, how do we translate this little Gospel piece into our century?

In one way we might find ourselves naming the Herods of the ages (there have been so many, and there seem to be an endless supply of them coming out of the pages of history) … the cruel rulers and leaders of governments who care not for the rights of those whom they govern, and care only for their own place in history, care only for their own posture and aggrandizement of importance and usually wealth.

In another way, it would be an interesting thought experiment to substitute the name of our city or of the nation’s capital or of the major metropolitan areas in the moaning of Jesus who says of his time “Jerusalem, Jerusalem …”  Maybe it would make us think of our governments as more than just entities of power, maybe it would help us give them their humanity.

Maybe it is that we see ourselves in need of sheltering more than anything else … looking for the protecting wings of a mother hen who will keep us safe and away from harm.  It might make us even more sensitized and attachable to the hurts and wounds and cries of those near us, maybe even sitting next to us.

And maybe we do not have to work so hard at translating the sacred texts of our tradition … maybe it is that they come so directly to us that they speak inside our hearts and souls and bring us up short against our failings to bring healing and health to the world and all who live therein … and make us turn away from selfishness and dis-inclusiveness, and in the very idea of a Lenten Journey, toward the opening of our minds and hearts and arms to the embrace of brothers and sisters known and not yet known.

May it be so among us.

Let us pray. Spirit of Jesus, who longed to gather all God's children together, sustain our passion for welcoming and loving all people, especially those who are marginalized and excluded. We are aware of the reality that following you will entail suffering and struggle; yet, comfort us. We are not alone or far from your care. Empower us to persist in your way of peace. Amen.

Deo Gratias (+)

The Rev. Benjamin Larzelere III
Pastor, Christ Lutheran Church
Santa Fe, NM

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