Sermon Tone Analysis

Are You Willing?

INTRODUCTION

For God So LOVED

SECOND SUNDAY IN LENT

The powers and prophets have always had a difficult history.

The Old Testament is filled with stories of prophets being chased away for fear of their lives.

You may recall the story of Elijah, in particular, where he is hunted by Ahab and Jezebel.

Or where the people tell Jeremiah that his prophecies are lies.

While we at times have mistaken prophets to be future tellers, what they really are, are truth tellers, revealing the heart of reality that those in power often don’t want to admit.

Nathan the prophet revealed the heart of David when he pointed out his adultery and murder, urging David to repentance.

Luckily for Nathan, this story ended well.

However, for numerous other prophets, the revealing of the heart has been painful and has often caused the death of the prophet rather than repentance from those in power.

It doesn’t take much digging to find that the harsh resistance many in power have toward prophetic words extends beyond the pages of the Old Testament.

We can recall resistance to words preached by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and watching as those in power attacked and denigrated others during the American Civil Rights movement for speaking up for justice, truth, and love.

We can see the anger of leaders who were questioned by Dietrich Bonhoeffer during the Nazi regime.

It doesn’t take us long to realize that the powers of this world like to stay in power, and they often react violently when they are pushed to examine their motives.

These are just a few examples of many, both from Scripture and modern history, of times where people have chosen to speak up for the ways of righteousness, love, and truth and have, in turn, been forced to fear for their livelihood or their lives.

Jesus is no exception to this type of reaction.

As he travels, he is healing people, casting out demons, preaching freedom for the oppressed and a new kingdom.

Those in control do not like these words.

They react violently to these examinations of their hearts.

They react critically to words that call for justice, peace, and compassion.

They react with anger to words about releasing power and material wealth.

Jesus is warned to leave or face death by the hand of Herod.

However, Jesus doesn’t flee; he keeps moving forward, toward the very seat of power, Jerusalem.

Not only does he move closer to the city, but he also continues to do the things that have angered Herod in the first place: healing others, freeing the oppressed, and preaching a new kingdom.

He doesn’t move away from the threat; rather, he seeks to embrace it, saying he longs to gather the children of Jerusalem under his wings like a hen with her chicks.

Fire is as terrifying to trapped animals as to people, if not more so.

When a farmyard catches fire, the animals try to escape; but, if they cannot, some species have developed ways of protecting their young.

The picture here is of a hen, gathering her chicks under her wings to protect them.

There are stories of exactly this: after a farmyard fire, those cleaning up have found a dead hen, scorched and blackened—with live chicks sheltering under her wings.

She has quite literally given her life to save them.

It is a vivid and violent image of what Jesus declared he longed to do for Jerusalem and, by implication, for all Israel.

But, at the moment, all he could see was chicks scurrying off in the opposite direction, taking no notice of the smoke and flames indicating the approach of danger, nor of the urgent warnings of the one who alone could give them safety.

This picture of the hen and the chickens is the strongest statement so far in Luke of what Jesus thinks his death would be all about.

Though they reject his words and through the cross, Jesus continues to speak truth to power, knowing it will ultimately lead to his death.

He continues forward, knowing it is not death that will have the final word but resurrection.

BODY

Jesus is ushering in the kingdom of God, and to the powers of that world, this kingdom is a threat.

a. Jesus is preaching of the kingdom of God where the last shall be first, where the poor will be fulfilled, where there is rest, where people are not commodified, where there is restoration, peace, and equality.

b.

Herod, however, was a person of control, wealth, and power—he was accountable therefore not to abuse them.

This Herod, Herod Antipas, was the Herod who divorced his wife to marry the wife of his half brother.

When John the Baptist spoke against Herod’s marriage to Herodias, it ultimately led to John’s death.

Herod is known for building a new capital city, Tiberius, on top of a Jewish graveyard.

These prophetic words are not spoken out of superiority but out of humble compassion.

a. Jesus longs to gather the children of Jerusalem under his wings, even though they refuse to listen.

This is a posture of compassion.

He longs to see them repent and return to the bosom of God.

This takes humility.

Jesus knows he is approaching his death, yet he still willfully walks toward the cross, out of compassion for even those who seek to do him ill.

b.

Jesus makes it clear that the rejection of the kingdom is not because it has not been offered to them.

i.

It is the will of Christ that they be restored, but they are the ones who refuse to listen.

Jesus continues to speak truth, even unto death.

Jesus walks toward Jerusalem with the knowledge of his death waiting, yet he continues to walk.

He continues to heal.

He continues to preach.

He continues to help the people imagine a new kingdom where the last will be first and the poor fulfilled.

He references his death when he talks about three days.

He also references his death when talking about how Jerusalem has killed the prophets be- fore.

There is a certain kind of bravery that can walk toward death in confident hope, while preaching the very words that will get you killed, simply because they are the words God would have you speak.

But Jesus wants salvation for all so he can’t shrink from his mission.

We have seen this type of bravery at various moments in history.

The prophets of the old Testament who preached, taught, and illustrated prophetic words

despite knowing what the consequences could be.

Thousands, maybe millions of nameless faithful Christians across the ages who have lived their faith in the face of opposition and oppression such as we have not ever known.

The Rev. Dr. King knew that preaching words of justice, equality, and nonviolent resistance could very well lead to his death, yet he continued to do so.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer spoke against the Nazi regime up until his death as a political prisoner.

The hope of the kingdom wasn’t in the dying but in the resurrection.

a.

While Jesus continues to allude to his death, he’s always pointing toward his resurrection.

i.

The third day is the resurrection day.

b.

The hope of the prophetic modern-day saints has been in the hope of resurrection.

i.

When we look throughout history at modern-day saints and prophets, we see a theme that they do not fear death because they have an abiding hope in the resurrection.

Are we willing to let Jesus gather us in?

we need him to save us from our sins and from ourselves.

Can we humble ourselves?

Can we admit any sinful attitudes and actions that are destroying us and undermining our potential?

Can we realize that they may seem to be a shortcut or advantage in today’s world, but it’s a sham.

Rich people may try to buy their children into college, but you can’t bribe your way into the good graces of the living God.

Jesus is so loving and gracious.

But the clock is ticking for our season of opportunity.

If we admit our need he can help us like nobody else ever could.

But if we are stubborn.

If we listen to other stories, we limit how we can benefit from the love he has for us.

Are we being called to speak the truth about Jesus with bravery?

Lent is a time for confessing and seeking out the Word of God for our lives, but God might also have a difficult and prophetic word for the powers of our world.

The church is called to preach the kingdom of God in the ways that Jesus was, and the world often doesn’t like it.

Yet we are still called to preach this word.

The Herods and Jerusalems of our world might stand against us, but we are to preach the words anyway, even as we walk in the same direction of Jesus, toward the cross.

CONCLUSION

We are not so far removed from the prophets of old.

The powers of today still seek control, power, and never ending wealth.

The kingdom of God still calls for truth, for the good news, for the last to be first, for justice, and for love.

As citizens of this kingdom of God, we are called to speak the gospel into a dark world, at times to speak prophetic, challenging words to the Herods and Jerusalems of our world.