Lectionary Musings for February 24, 2013

Luke 13:31-35
13:31 At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to him, "Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you."

13:32 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.

13:33 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.'

13:34 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!

13:35 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.'"

Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem, but at his own pace.  He is in the area controlled by Herod Antipas when Pharisees come to warn him that Herod wants to kill him.  The warning rings a little hollow when we contemplate Herod's actions when later Herod has the chance to kill Jesus.  Herod sends him back to Pilate, not the actions of a man who has been waiting three months to kill Jesus (according to Luke's time table),  Perhaps the Pharisees simply want to get Jesus away from their fiefdoms and think he will be afraid of a threat from Herod.

Jesus does not fear Herod.  He does not even respect Herod calling him "that fox".  He tells the Pharisees that he is busy caring for the least and will not move on until he has finished his work.  The words"today and tomorrow, and on the third day" here and in the following verse just mean an indefinite period.

But Jesus has a purpose in his journey.  That purpose is to die in Jerusalem.  He makes that clear in his lament that the city kills the prophets and stones others.  Yet, God has tried again and again to gather her chicks under her care, but they have refused to accept her love.  The use of a feminine image reminds us that God is neither male nor female. This passage also reminds us that it is ultimately our choice to accept God's love or not.

The New Revised Standard Version translation of the beginning of verse 35 is not very enlightening.  The New International Version translates that first sentence as "Look, your house is left to you desolate,"  House in this case refers to Jerusalem and reminds us that  by rejecting Jesus as God Incarnate, Jerusalem is choosing to separate from God.  Yet, God's love does not stop because we turn away.  God is always the father waiting for the prodigal child to return.

Jesus quotes Psalm 118:26.giving us the last sentence of verse 35.  That quote reminds us that a triumphal entrance into Jerusalem awaits Jesus on Palm Sunday.  Christians today see that Psalm 118 as a messianic psalm.  At the time of its writing, this verse applied to the king's entrance into the temple.  Jesus knows what is coming: celebration, death and triumph.  Jesus is in control.  God will choose the place and time.

Lectionary Musings for January 27, 2013

¹⁴Then Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and a report about him spread through all the surrounding country. ¹⁵He began to teach in their synagogues and was praised by everyone. ¹⁶When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, ¹⁷and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written: ¹⁸“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, ¹⁹to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” ²⁰And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. ²¹Then he began to say to them, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

Ruins of Sepphoris

This week's lectionary reading in Luke's gospel finds us in Chapter 4.  Jesus returns to the synagogue of his youth and reads from the writings of the prophet Isaiah.  The passage he chooses may well have been written about Isaiah himself.  Now, Jesus applies them to himself and they take on new meaning.

His focus will not be on the religious whom he sits among.  His focus will be on the poor, those that are not full participants in their faith.  Jesus will make them valued members of his faith and recipients of his all encompassing love.

He will seek those who cannot seek him: the captives, the blind, the oppressed.  To them, he will proclaim the love of God.

He claims ownership of this passage and proclaims himself God's anointed.  He does not claim to be the Messiah yet.  This is the opening of his ministry.  He is setting the stage for the revelation of divinity that is to come.

Why would he choose to make this proclamation in Nazareth?  Nazareth, where he grew up,  was a small village of Jews.  However, Nazareth was adjacent to a new city, Sepphoris.  Sepphoris had been rebuilt by Herod Antipas after it was destroyed by the Romans in 4 BCE.  By the time of Jesus it was a bustling city whose population was much influenced by Rome.  Perhaps Jesus intended for his words to go beyond the boundaries of Nazareth to Sepphoris.

Those that frequented the synagogue in Nazareth may well have frequented the ten synagogues in Sepphoris.  Having grown up in the area and worked in Sepphoris, Jesus would know that what was said in Nazareth would spread to Sepphoris.  In a subtle way, Jesus is announcing himself not just to Jews but also to Romans.

Jesus tells those that hear him that the world is changing, that a new force has entered into both the world of Jews and the world of the Romans.  There is no fanfare, but God's good news is seeping into the world.  Drop by drop hearts will be changed.