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.

Praying for Our Enemies

Christ tells us to love our enemies and pray "for them that despitefully use you" in Matthew 5:44. Nowhere does he ever tell us to pray for ill to happen to an opponent. Yet, Senator Coburn asked that his supporters do that on the Senate floor before the vote on health care reform. Whatever your belief about the rightness of the bill, no Christian should pray for misfortune on another. That some did is horrible.

The evidence for that is the video above where a caller wants to know if his group's prayers for the death of Senator Byrd have backfired and killed Senator Inhofe. Senator Barrasso assures him that Senator Inhofe has not expired and simply missed the vote because he knew it was a lost cause. Senator Barrasso evidently thinks that it is normal to pray for an opponent's death since he takes the caller's comments in stride and responds only to the question as to the health of Senator Inhofe. He does not address the question as to how hard he prayed for Senator Byrd's demise. Altogether this exchange is spine chilling.

When we pray for our adversaries, we are to pray for the best to happen to them. This is difficult to do. C. S. Lewis wrote that one way to deal with our anger toward another who has wronged us is to pray for their well-being. I did this a number years ago. I don't know if the praying helped the one I prayed for, but I know that it extinguished any hatred and anger I had toward this person. There lies the answer. Christ's instruction leads to our own well-being.

Christians must never pervert prayer for an evil purpose. To do so denigrates God and eats away our souls. My prayer for those that wished ill for Senator Byrd is simple: "Please God, bathe them in your love. Amen."

Bad Days

My mother died three years ago today. She had fought Parkinson's disease for over sixteen years. I was her caregiver. I was with her early in the morning as life slipped away. I held her hand and petted her head. I don't know if she knew I was there, but that doesn't matter. She was not alone when she died, that is what matters. I have been alone ever since.

Tornadoes

Last night, so many people died because of nature's wrath. All I can do is pray for their loved ones in this time of sorrow. Tornadoes ripped through communities in the middle of the night. Because I live in Texas, I have been in a tornado's path several times, but I personally have never been punished by those fierce winds.

I have seen one dip out of low hanging clouds behind us as we drove home from the country. I have seen the path of a tornado through the countryside that looked like a giant lawnmover had been driven cross country. Instead of twisted grass from the rotary blades, there were twisted trees. That tornado started in open country, then whirred through a small town. Luckily, no one died.

I have made my mother sit in the hallway (the center of the house) with the family pets around her as we listened to the wind howl and the radio broadcast the nearness of a twister. Strangely, I never was afraid. That destroyer passed us by with no damage. Will I always be so lucky?

Tornadoes are a reminder of how fragile our world really is. We are so sure that we are in control of our destiny. We make plans that assume a world unchanged. Tornadoes, whirling fingers of death, obliterate
our structures and our lives.

We need to worry less about the second coming, the rapture, and the millenia, and more about the present. We need to help others today because there may be no tomorrow. We need to pray for all those injured by nature's untamed ways. We need to thank God for the moment. We need to acknowledge how fleeting life can be and savor the now.