O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing!

 

 On that very day some Pharisees came, saying to Him, "Get out and depart from here, for Herod wants to kill You."  And He said to them, "Go, tell that fox, 'Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.'  Nevertheless I must journey today, tomorrow, and the day following; for it cannot be that a prophet should perish outside of Jerusalem. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her!  How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing!  See!  Your house is left to you desolate; and assuredly, I say to you, you shall not see Me until the time comes when you say, 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'"

 

- Luke 13:31–35 

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus taught, "What is the kingdom of God like?  And to what shall I compare it?  It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and put in his garden; and it grew and became a large tree, and the birds of the air nested in its branches." And again He said, "To what shall I liken the kingdom of God?  It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened."  And He went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem.  Then one said to Him, "Lord, are there few who are saved?"  And He said to them, "Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able.  When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, 'Lord, Lord, open for us,' and He will answer and say to you, 'I do not know you, where you are from,' then you will begin to say, 'We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.'  But He will say, 'I tell you I do not know you, where you are from.  Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.'  There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrust out.  They will come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, and sit down in the kingdom of God.  And indeed there are last who will be first, and there are first who will be last."   

 On that very day some Pharisees came, saying to Him, "Get out and depart from here, for Herod wants to kill You."  And He said to them, "Go, tell that fox, 'Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.'  Nevertheless I must journey today, tomorrow, and the day following; for it cannot be that a prophet should perish outside of Jerusalem.  O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her!  How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing!  See!  Your house is left to you desolate; and assuredly, I say to you, you shall not see Me until the time comes when you say, 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'"  My study Bible comments here that today's passage shows first, Christ voluntarily going to His Passion.  Secondly, it displays His great love for Jerusalem in spite of its continual state of rebellion.  Finally, He reveals His foreknowledge of how He will be received on the first Palm Sunday.  

 

Let us note that Jesus' cry, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem" is a lament made with love and sadness, and Jesus also shows His commitment to the mission entrusted in Him, remaining in Jerusalem, "for it cannot be that a prophet should perish outside of Jerusalem."  It's quite interesting to think of this image that Jesus has given, of Himself as a would-be mother hen gathering her brood under her wings.  This is a striking maternal image of Jesus that He gives to us directly.  We might take a close look at some historical architecture of Churches to see how it reflects Christ's image here.  Looking at the beautiful and majestic dome of Hagia Sophia (Holy Wisdom) Church, built in what was then Constantinople (532-537), and minus the minarets added later, we see a very rounded maternal image which reflects Christ's desire to embrace His children as a hen would under her wings.  (See this architectural drawing of the structure.)   This Church was the largest cathedral built in the world for nearly a thousand years, but nonetheless its shape manages to convey the sheltering in the wings of a mother hen, a rounded image with a brilliantly illumined dome that seemed to float above the people.  Interestingly the name Hagia Sophia, "Holy Wisdom," is also feminine in its Greek form, although it refers to Christ Himself.  Why is it important that Christ gives us this picture?  Because it teaches us how our faith works in so many balanced and powerful ways.  Those who would suggest that our faith is merely one of patriarchy would be entirely mistaken, because in Christ's language and practice during His ministry the feminine plays a great role as well.  His love for Jerusalem -- the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! -- is clearly stated here in maternal terms.  It is little wonder that for the Orthodox world, perhaps the greatest image of protector is that of the Virgin Mary, the Theotokos, or "Mother of God."  She is, additionally, considered to be the greatest of the saints, and exalted as the one who exemplifies our faith among human beings.  She bore possible shame and humiliation in her acceptance of her role given by God, protected and sheltered our Lord, and in humility bore the pain that would come as well.  Of course, the whole of the Church and all the faithful is necessary to the faith, and no one is left out. But Christ gives us one of the greatest images we have of what it is to love and care for one's lost children in this image of the mother hen and her brood, and the great desire to protect.  In chapter 15, Luke will also give us the parable of the Prodigal Son, with its image of the father who runs to the returning prodigal.  But let us for today be grateful for Christ's portrayal of His love as that of a hen who longs to protect her lost children, and who will nonetheless stay for the sacrifice He must make at their hands, although they will leave their home desolate.

How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing!

 

 On that very day some Pharisees came, saying to Him, "Get out and depart from here, for Herod wants to kill You."  And He said to them, "Go, tell that fox, 'Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.'  Nevertheless I must journey today, tomorrow, and the day following; for it cannot be that a prophet should perish outside of Jerusalem.  "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her!  How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing!  See!  Your house is left to you desolate; and assuredly, I say to you, you shall not see me until the time comes when you say, 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'"

 

- Luke 13:31-35

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus taught, "What is the kingdom of God like?  And to what shall I compare it?  It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and put in his garden; and it grew and became a large tree, and the birds of the air nested in its branches."  And again He said, "To what shall I liken the kingdom of God?  It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened."  And He went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem.  Then one said to Him, "Lord, are there few who are saved?"  And He said to them, "Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I will say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able.  When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, 'Lord, Lord, open for us,' and He will answer and say to you, 'I do not know you, where you are from,' then you will begin to say, 'We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.'  But He will say, 'I tell you I do not know you, where you are from.  Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.'  There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrust out.   They will come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, and sit down in the kingdom of God.  And indeed there are last who will be first, and there are first who will be last."

 

  On that very day some Pharisees came, saying to Him, "Get out and depart from here, for Herod wants to kill You."  And He said to them, "Go, tell that fox, 'Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.'  Nevertheless I must journey today, tomorrow, and the day following; for it cannot be that a prophet should perish outside of Jerusalem.  "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her!  How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing!  See!  Your house is left to you desolate; and assuredly, I say to you, you shall not see me until the time comes when you say, 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'"  My study Bible says of today's passage that it shows, first, that Christ voluntarily is going to His Passion; secondly, His great love for Jerusalem despite its continual state of rebellion; and finally, His foreknowledge of how He will be received on the first Palm Sunday (Luke 19:28-44).  

As it draws nearer to the time of the Cross, we find that both the state and religious establishments are bound to be against Christ.  First of all, some Pharisees are warning Him about Herod's intent to kill Him.  Herod is Herod Antipas, the tetrarch of Galilee, commonly called King.  He rules for Rome, and is the son of Herod the Great who was responsible for the slaughter of the innocents in Bethlehem (Matthew 2:16-18).  Herod Antipas has already had John the Baptist beheaded (Luke 9:7-9), and we have read that he fears that Jesus is John risen from the dead because of the many signs Christ does.  But Jesus turns His attention away from Galilee and toward Jerusalem, for that is where His Passion will happen.  He gives a dismissive and assertive reply back for Herod ("Go, tell that fox, 'Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be perfected'").  But His real focus, as we note, is on Jerusalem, "for it cannot be that a prophet should perish outside of Jerusalem." We note Jesus' lament, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her!  How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing!  See!  Your house is left to you desolate; and assuredly, I say to you, you shall not see me until the time comes when you say, 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'" As my study Bible notes, Jesus' lament is filled with love.  Indeed, this is a stunning reference in that He portrays Himself with a feminine reference in the image of a mother hen who gathers her chicks under her wings for protection, but these children in Jerusalem were not willing.  The religious leadership is unwilling to heed His warnings and prophecies (Luke 11:37-54).  Also noteworthy in today's passage is Christ's reference to Himself as a prophet.  But, like the prophets before Himself, Christ's prophetic role means rejection by the religious establishment in Jerusalem.  Let us note that He remains the Christ, the Messiah, although prophecy is clearly one of the roles He has also fulfilled as Messiah.  So, as the state begins to menace Him, the stage is set, and once again, as we have observed in the readings over the past week or so, we become aware that for Christ it is the light of the Cross that now leads the way toward Jerusalem.  We note the poignant way that passion is combined with love, Christ's wistful regret over the choices of His children as a brood of chicks a mother hen seeks to protect, and also His reference to Jerusalem as "the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her!"  And again, as we have observed so often throughout the past week of readings or so, the drawing near of the Cross and His human death also tells us that Judgment is near, that inescapable time that will come to all of us, about which He has continually warned His disciples and those who follow Him regarding the time of our lives in this world and how precious it is.  Now is the time, in today's reading, as He will head toward Jerusalem, He clearly indicates that His rejection at Jerusalem means for the religious leaders, "your house is left to you desolate; and assuredly, I say to you, you shall not see me until the time comes when you say, 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'"  That time to which Jesus refers is the coming of the Kingdom at the final judgment.  His ministry is drawing to a close, and the time for repentance, due to hardness of heart, is past.  There is no time limit on God's mercy, but there is a natural progression that happens in the  heart through rejection of God, the passing of a point of the possibility for our own "change of mind."  In the eyes of the Church, we may become so hardened to God's truth that we render ourselves incapable of repentance.  Today's passage tells us about God's personal love, expressed by Jesus as that of a mother hen who wants only to care for and protect her chicks.  Let us remember this image, for it is the image of God's love always extended to us, if we are willing.

 

 

 

 

How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!

Christ Pantocrator/Teacher, Byzantine, 13-14th century, Vatopedi Monastery, Mt. Athos, Greece

"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness.  Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  Because you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, and say, 'If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.'  Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets.  Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers' guilt.  Serpents, brood of vipers!  How can you escape the condemnation of hell?  Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes:  some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city, that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.  Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.

"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her!  How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!  See!  Your house is left to you desolate; for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!' "

- Matthew 23:27-39

In yesterday's reading, Jesus continued His final sermon, given in the temple at Jerusalem:   "But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers.  Therefore you will receive greater condemnation.  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.  Woe to you, blind guides, who say, 'Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obliged to perform it.'  Fools and blind!  For which is greater, the gold or the temple that sanctifies the gold?  And, 'Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gift that is on it, he is obliged to perform it.'  Fools and blind!  For which is greater, the gift or the altar that sanctifies the gift?  Therefore he who swears by the altar, swears by it and by all things on it.  He who swears by the temple, swears by it and by Him who dwells in it.  And he who swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and by Him who sits on it.  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law:  justice and mercy and faith.  These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.  Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence.  Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also."

"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness.  Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness."  Jesus continues His criticisms of the religious leadership, based on their hypocrisy.  Here He describes the emphasis on outward appearance of cleanliness (as He has already attacked their practice of ritual purity which covers up a lack of concern about true internal righteousness).  This is the starkest and strongest image possible, the image of death within.

"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  Because you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, and say, 'If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.'  Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets.  Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers' guilt.  Serpents, brood of vipers!  How can you escape the condemnation of hell?  Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes:  some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city, that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.  Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation."  Here Jesus speaks of the treatment of the prophets who have come before Him, and links the persecution of the prophets of old with the leadership of His own time.  In the parable of the Wicked Vinedressers (told in this reading from December 5th), Jesus illustrated the prophets having been repeatedly sent to Israel, to call people back to God.  But here, this condemnation of all that has gone before, sweeping up the current leadership in the guilt of those who have committed these crimes of the past, Jesus emphasizes their lack of leadership and care of the common people, their charges whom these leaders are supposed to guide toward God.  We and the crowd that listens to Jesus preach here surely have the recent memory of John the Baptist in mind.  (Indeed, Christ has asked these leaders in the same week about the baptism of John and its holiness, in this reading.)   In fact, my study bible points out that some patristic commentators suggest that Zechariah (mentioned here by Christ) was the prophet at the time of Joash the king (2 Chronicles 24:20-22), but others teach that Jesus here is referring to the father of John the Baptist, who, according to tradition, was also murdered in the temple.

"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her!  How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!  See!  Your house is left to you desolate; for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!' "  My study bible says that God's deepest desire is the reconciliation of God's people, but most do not want Him.  The desolate house, it says, refers both to the temple and to the nation itself, as house can be used to mean "family" or "tribe" (see Psalms 115:12, 135:19).  My study bible adds that once Christ departs, both the temple and the nation will be without God's presence.  Finally, let us note this feminine image which Jesus presents us of Himself, as a hen who gathers her chicks and wishes only to protect them with love.

Jesus ties in the hypocrisy and bad practices of the religious leaders with the desolation and coming destruction of the temple and of Jerusalem.  In the following chapter, He will go further into this prophecy of what is to come.  But it is clear from this final sermon of Jesus that He knows full well what is to come regarding His Passion and the Cross, and also what will become of Jerusalem and the temple once He has been crucified.  It is a time of the deepest possible transition, the deepest possible effects of their choices.  So much so, that Jesus ties in all the evil that has gone before in terms of the persecution of the prophets with what these leaders are about to do, and what will be the result.  Let us remember that in our past two readings Jesus has scathingly criticized the leadership, based on their hypocrisy which, most importantly, hinders the spiritual progress of their flock toward God.  Jesus has repeatedly said that this is the most important job of a pastor or religious leader.  In His own teachings to His disciples (to whom this final sermon is also addressed), He has repeatedly and emphatically spoken about humility and also the importance of self-knowledge, leading to personal correction in casting off the impulses and desires that may lead to abuses of those less powerful (illustrated in the image of cutting off hand or foot or eye "if it offends" in this passage).  But in today's reading, Jesus takes this all a step further, when He ties this abusive and neglectful behavior of the leadership with the whole of the spiritual history of Israel, culminating in the prophecy of what is to come in Jerusalem and to the temple (which will continue into the next chapter).  Significantly, Jesus' prophecies of what is to come -- and the tying in of repeatedly sending the prophets to Israel to call her back to God -- give us the sense in which our choices manifest in results in this world, even if we no longer are living to see them.  It is similar to the projection of a lifetime spent going in the wrong direction of one individual.  Here, a whole history of passed down errors and selfish personal indulgence -- rather than righteously upholding the teachings of God in personal conduct -- coupled with the refusal to hear the One who is sent, will have disastrous results.  Whether or not we want to see history this way, or even that our choices can manifest in such effects, we must see this text as tying in all of these things, in Jesus' words.  In other words, whatever we make out of what Jesus is saying here, there can be little, if any doubt that we are given the certainty that our own corrupt choices have effects in our lives and upon those around ourselves.  As we have seen from the texts as we read through the Gospels all along, when we are presented with spiritual truth (in whatever form, I would venture to say) we are not simply given a gift which we might easily refuse.  Spiritual truth, in whatever form it comes, is, finally, the gift of reality presented to us; paraphrasing the name of God given to Moses in the Old Testament (I AM WHO I AM - in Exodus 3:14), spiritual truth is what is.  Fighting against and rejecting that reality is, in a particular way, the same as rejecting the laws of physics.  If we fight against gravity, we don't expect that is not going to have its effects.  If we reject spiritual truth, we should not expect that this will create no effects in our lives.  It seems to me that it is certain, whether or not we realize or recognize it in our lifetimes, that rejection of spiritual truth works itself out in real effects -- often with a great lag of time, depending on the circumstance and the depth of rejection involved.  This may seem a bit mysterious, and indeed, it is.  It falls within the very definition of mystery, since "to those who are outside, all things come in parables" (Mark 4:11-12).  Indeed, this word for parables can also be used interchangeably with "riddles" or even "mysteries" -- hidden, secret things.  We are responsible for what we hear, and also for our lack of capacity to hear; at least somewhere deep within us, we have the faculties for such spiritual hearing and sight.  Whether or not we care to use them also seems to be a function of a depth of decision, part of the mysterious nature of faith and how it works within us.  We are offered grace, even in the admonitions of Christ, who, in this starkest and harshest of critical language, still tries to save and to warn.  Let us pay attention for our own conduct, our own faith, our own times, and their effects.   The icon above, from Vatopedi Monastery on Mt. Athos in Greece, is a depiction of Christ the Teacher, as He holds a scroll of His teachings.  Let us note that at the same time, He raises His hand in blessing, indicating that all is given through grace.  But He is also Christ Pantocrator, or Almighty, a reminder that His teachings are His word, the reality or Logos of God, and so they are always connected to His power of judgment and of eternal life.  They carry with them the weight of truth, and its fullness of effect in terms of our own response.  Let us remember that His teachings and warnings carry the same weight for us today as they do for those whom He addresses in the temple.  We are warned of the importance of our own righteousness and the internal life of the soul.  As the hen who would gather her chicks under her wings, everything Jesus says -- even criticisms and warnings -- are given from love for us.  May we be His willing children who do not reject that love.

How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing!

 On that very day some Pharisees came, saying to Him, "Get out and depart from here, for Herod wants to kill You."  And He said to them, "Go, tell that fox, 'Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.'  Nevertheless I must journey today, tomorrow, and the day following; for it cannot be that a prophet should perish outside of Jerusalem.

"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her!  How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing!  See!  Your house is left to you desolate; and assuredly, I say to you, you shall not see Me until the time comes when you say, 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'"

- Luke 13:31-35

In yesterday's reading, Jesus said, "What is the kingdom of God like?  And to what shall I compare it?  It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and put in his garden; and it grew and became a large tree, and the birds of the air nested in its branches."  And again He said, "To what shall I liken the kingdom of God?  It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened."  And He went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem.  Then one said to Him, "Lord, are there few who are saved?"  And He said to them, "Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able.  When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, 'Lord, Lord, open for us,' and He will answer and say to you, 'I do not know you, where you are from,' then you will begin to say, 'We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.'  But He will say, 'I tell you I do not know you, where you are from.  Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.'  There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrust out.  They will come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, and sit down in the kingdom of God.  And indeed there are last who will be first, and there are first who will be last."

 On that very day some Pharisees came, saying to Him, "Get out and depart from here, for Herod wants to kill You."  And He said to them, "Go, tell that fox, 'Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.'  Nevertheless I must journey today, tomorrow, and the day following; for it cannot be that a prophet should perish outside of Jerusalem."  Herod is the tetrarch of Galilee.  This is an overt sign that state power wishes to interfere with the ministry of Jesus, and we have already been told about the beheading of John the Baptist (3:19-20, 9:9).  Cyril of Alexandria comments that this warning by the Pharisees comes just after Jesus speaks about judgment, and warns the people that without entering through the "narrow gate," that judgment will not go favorably.  Jesus has explicitly said that "there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrust out," which is language frequently aimed at the leadership, and particularly the Pharisees.  Jesus' reply to their warning about Herod is a rebuke:  He will continue casting out demons and performing cures "today and tomorrow."   Moreover, on the "third day" His work will reach its ultimate fullness.  There is a play on words in the Greek; Jesus says that He "completes" the cures and exorcisms He performs today and tomorrow.  This word in modern Greek can mean "conclude" as well.  But the same root forms the verb for "perfect" -- to bring something to its ultimate point of fullness.  He also makes it clear that His departure for Jerusalem, and leaving Galilee, is His choice for the ultimate perfection of His ministry on the "third day."

 "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her!  How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing!  See!  Your house is left to you desolate; and assuredly, I say to you, you shall not see Me until the time comes when you say, 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'"  My study bible tells us that there are three things confirmed here in Jesus' statement.  First, He is voluntarily going to His Passion.  He also displays His great love for Jerusalem despite its continual state of rebellion.  Finally, He expresses here His foreknowledge of how He will be received on the first Palm Sunday.

Even as Jesus has not yet departed Galilee, He expresses His awareness of what will happen in Jerusalem.  Actually, if we look closely at His words, He is describing what must happen in Jerusalem.  He neither concedes to the Pharisees nor to Herod, but nevertheless Jerusalem is where He must go for His Passion.  It's important that we note also that Jesus' language about Jerusalem is expressing His love for it, as heart and center of God's people.  Quite notably, Jesus gives us an unusual maternal image of Himself, as a hen who would gather her brood under her wings.  He says, "How often I wanted to gather your children together."  In that phrase, how often, we can read Jesus speaking as the Lord of the Old Testament, the One who sent the many prophets and others to Jerusalem who were killed and stoned there.  With this language, Jesus also gives us the understanding that His warnings and stern rebukes are made out of love, because He desires those whom He loves to come to Him, through that "narrow gate" He spoke of in yesterday's passage.  This is a question of a love that wants what is best for its wayward children, but does not countenance that which is ultimately destructive, and cannot force a returned love.  What we read then is a kind of excessively painful heartache that is carried by our Lord for His children who do not love Him back.   It is certainly a part of the Cross and His Passion, and it tells us that whatever it is that breaks our own hearts in this world, Christ Himself -- even as Son -- knows full well.  There are those who would ask if God feels pain, and I think that we can point to this passage and read the expression clearly in Jesus' statement regarding those whom He loves, to whom has repeatedly been sent those who would call them back.  It is a lament of loss and desolation, for He knows the conclusion is one of rejection.  What is harder to bear than the rejection of those whom we love?  In chapter 7, we are given the story of the sinful woman who was forgiven much (7:36-50).  He then tells the woman, "Your faith has saved you."  We know that Christ's love is so strong that His forgiveness is endless.  But where our own love and faith is not returned, and communion is broken, even God's love cannot reach.  These passages seem to tell us that the key to all is trust, a communion of little child to parent.  All discipline, any rebuke we read, is made from love.  In Revelation 3:19, the Lord says, "As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten.  Therefore be zealous and repent."   Our relationship in Christ will always be one of constant learning and growth, our own point of perfection far ahead on that horizon of "fullness."  Can we trust in His love?

How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!

 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness.  Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  Because you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, and say, 'If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.'  Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets.  Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers' guilt.  Serpents, brood of vipers!  How can you escape the condemnation of hell?  Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes:  some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city, that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.  Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.

"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her!  How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!  See!  Your house is left to you desolate; for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'"

- Matthew 23:27-39

In our current readings, Jesus is in Jerusalem.  It is Holy Week, the final week of Jesus' earthly life, and the last Passover He would attend.  Yesterday, we continued reading His final sermon:  "But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers.  Therefore you will receive greater condemnation.  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.  Woe to you, blind guides, who say, 'Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obliged to perform it.'  Fools and blind!  For which is greater, the gold or the temple that sanctifies the gold?  And, 'Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gift that is on it, he is obliged to perform it.'  Fools and blind!  For which is greater, the gift or the altar that sanctifies the gift?  Therefore he who swears by the altar,  swears by it and by all things on it.  He who swears by the temple, swears by it and by Him who dwells in it.  And he who swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and by Him who sits on it.  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law:  justice and mercy and faith.  These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.  Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence.  Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also."

 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness.  Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness."  In yesterday's reading, Jesus said to them, " For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence.  Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also."  But here, He goes even further in the description of what kind of hypocrisy He sees in them.  The filth inside isn't a matter of dirty dishes and utensils, but tombs filled with decay and death and uncleanness.  It is a warning to all of us about a hypocritical life, and how seriously we should take this flaw, a kind of fallen state in which we become blind to our own spiritual death.

"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  Because you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, and say, 'If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.'  Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets.  Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers' guilt.  Serpents, brood of vipers!  How can you escape the condemnation of hell?  Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes:  some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city, that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.  Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation."  Jesus' condemnation of the leadership continues to build.  Not only are they responsible for the extremes death and uncleanness within themselves, but they take on the guilt of all before them who have passed on this way of being untrue to the love of God, the hypocrisy that murdered the prophets while posing as the righteous.  All of this in which they freely chose to participate will come upon this generation.  It is not completely clear which Zechariah Jesus refers to here, but some teach that He refers to the father of St. John the Baptist, whom patristic tradition says was murdered in the temple.   Others teach that it was the prophet Zechariah at the time of Joash the king (2 Chronicles 24:20-22). 

"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her!  How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!  See!  Your house is left to you desolate; for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'"  My study bible says that God's deepest desire is the reconciliation of His people, but most do not want Him.  The desolate house, it says, refers both to the temple and to the nation itself.  "House" can be used to mean "family" or "tribe" (see Psalms 115:12, 135:19).  Both the temple and the nation will be without God's presence once Christ has departed.

The maternal image that Jesus gives here of Himself is an astonishing one in a number of ways.  Or, rather, perhaps we could say that it is one which we must sit up and notice.  It is a picture of Christ, the Lord, having watched over Jerusalem like a mother hen throughout time, throughout the history of God's people.  It is important that we have this understanding of the maternal and feminine characterization of Christ's love, care, grace, and tender mercy, because it tells us something about what it means to be fully human as one who is created in the image of Christ, and who must learn to be Christ-like.    The fullness of our Lord includes this maternal image, one of comfort and care and protection  and eternal mercy.  He characterizes Himself as One with the care of a deeply devoted and loving mother, but whose love, concern, and care is not reciprocated by her children. In this extremely moving lamentation over Jerusalem, Jesus teaches us about who He is as Lord of a universe, the One to whom we are to turn, and who longs for us to do so.  But the most devoted care and protection cannot function through rejection, and repeated rejection.  Jesus teaches us that even in His majestic identity as Creator and Lord of the universe, He is maternal and loving, with the tenderness of a mother hen for her chicks.  He inspires us to know what a balanced life really is, with its capacity for love and devotion -- and for the heartbreak of rejection and failure of one's beloved children.  Let us consider all that He teaches us, about Himself, and about what we ourselves are to imitate.  The depth of care and protection that He teaches are His here belong to all who find Him, and are capable of reciprocating even the smallest sense of that love.

How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing!

 On that very day some Pharisees came, saying to Him, "Get out and depart from here, for Herod wants to kill You."  And He said to them, "Go, tell that fox, 'Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.'  Nevertheless I must journey today, tomorrow, and the day following; for it cannot be that a prophet should perish outside of Jerusalem. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her!  How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing!  See!  Your house is left to you desolate; and assuredly, I say to you, you shall not see Me until the time comes when you say, 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'"

- Luke 13:31-35

Yesterday we read that Jesus said, "What is the kingdom of God like?  And to what shall I compare it?  It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and put in his garden; and it grew and became a large tree, and the birds of the air nested in its branches."  And again He said, "To what shall I liken the kingdom of God?  It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened."  And He went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem.  Then one said to Him, "Lord, are there few who are saved?"  And He said to them, "Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able.  When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, 'Lord, Lord, open for us,' and He will answer and say to you, 'I do not know you, where you are from,' then you will begin to say, 'We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.'  But He will say, 'I tell you I do not know you, where you are from.  Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.'  There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrust out.  They will come from the east and from the west, from the north and the south, and sit down in the kingdom of God.  And indeed there are last who will be first, and there are first who will be last."

On that very day some Pharisees came, saying to Him, "Get out and depart from here, for Herod wants to kill You."  And He said to them, "Go, tell that fox, 'Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.'  Nevertheless I must journey today, tomorrow, and the day following; for it cannot be that a prophet should perish outside of Jerusalem. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her!  How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing!  See!  Your house is left to you desolate; and assuredly, I say to you, you shall not see Me until the time comes when you say, 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'"  It seems there are some Pharisees who wish to help Christ, and have Him avoid death at the hands of Herod.  But Jesus has different ideas.  He knows what the time is, where He is going, and why.  My study bible says that today's passage shows first of all that Christ is voluntarily going to His Passion.  Also, His great love for Jerusalem is clearly expressed here, despite its continual state of rebellion (O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her!).  Finally, Jesus reveals His foreknowledge of how He will be received on the first Palm Sunday (Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!).   To be perfected is also a way of saying "complete."  He is speaking of the completion or fulfillment of His mission of Incarnation, the consummation of His life.  It comes from the word for "end."

What we note in today's reading is the compassion and love with which Jesus views Jerusalem.  This is despite the fact that Jerusalem is the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her.  Jesus gives us a wonderfully protective maternal image of Himself, so that we may understand our almighty God as the one who wanted to gather Jerusalem's children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings.  This is an image of love, of Mother Church.  It is one that may inform us also of the ancient understanding of Mary as protectress, just as she nurtured and protected her child, Christ, in the world.  It also gives us a powerful understanding of the inviolable free will with which we human beings are endowed by God.  The Son Himself has come to the holy city, and though it is His deepest desire to take Jerusalem under his wings, Jerusalem refuses, was not willing.  There is nothing He can do but profess His love and desire in this motherly and wistful image of loss.  He is sad for Jerusalem, whose house is left desolate.  The teachings we get from Jesus' words today are clearly reflected in His parable of the wicked vinedressers, which will appear in Luke's chapter 20 (20:9-19).   Jesus speaks not only as human being, but as Lord, when He links the killing of the prophets and the stoning of those sent to her with His statement, "How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing!"  The desolation that is left is that this visit of the Son will be the final effort of messengers sent to her.  Our Lord does indeed grieve for those who are not willing to respond to God's love.  Whatever else we take from this story, we may take that understanding.  God goes to the Cross, to suffering and death, God suffers from our rejection, God suffers for us.  Let us understand this love, and how free our God has made us, with choice to receive or to reject.

How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!

 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness.  Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  Because you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, and say, 'If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with then in the blood of the prophets.'  Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets.  Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers' guilt.  Serpents, brood of vipers!  How can you escape the condemnation of hell?  Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes:  some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city, that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.  Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.

"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her!  How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!  See!  Your house is left to you desolate; for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'"

- Matthew 23:27-39

In our current readings, Jesus is in Jerusalem, and it is Holy Week.  He has made His Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, cleansed the temple, and engaged in confrontation, questioning, and testing by the various parties of the  leadership, with His own challenging responses.  (See the readings from Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.)  In Monday's reading, Jesus began His final public sermon, a great indictment of the practices of the leadership.  In yesterday's reading, He continued:   "But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you shut up the kingdom against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers.  Therefore you will receive greater condemnation.  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.  Woe to you, blind guides, who say, 'Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obliged to perform it.'  Fools and blind!  For which is greater, the gold or the temple that sanctifies the gold?  And, 'Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gift that is on it, he is obliged to perform it.'   Fools and blind!  For which is greater, the gift or the altar that sanctifies the gift?  Therefore he who swears by the altar, swears by it and by all things on it.  He who swears by the temple, swears by it and by Him who dwells on it.  And he who swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and by Him who sits on it.  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law:  justice and mercy and faith.  These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.  Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence.  Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also."

"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness.  Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness."  Again, Jesus uses vivid imagery to express the idea -- and the true spiritual condition -- of their religious hypocrisy.  We would do well to remember that Jesus is the One who has come to give us life in abundance.  He is the light of the world, and that light is the life of the world.  It is evil that is death, and the internal darkness of tombs is full of death.

"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  Because you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, and say, 'If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with then in the blood of the prophets.'  Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets.  Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers' guilt.  Serpents, brood of vipers!  How can you escape the condemnation of hell?  Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes:  some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city, that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.  Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation."  Here is another measure of hypocrisy:  those who have harmed the servants who have come in the name of the Lord, calling God's people back to God, are their "fathers."  The present day leadership builds tombs to the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, and declares they would not have responded as did their fathers.  But Jesus says they are identical and do the same, and thereby witness against themselves.  By doing what they do (and will do to him) they also inherit the guilt of the same acts.  See Jesus' parable of the Wicked Vinedressers in Wednesday's reading for a deliberate illustration of what He is alluding to here.

"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her!  How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!  See!  Your house is left to you desolate; for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'"  My study bible says here that God's deepest desire is the reconciliation of His people, yet most do not want Him.  The house left desolate refers to the temple and also to the nation (of which the temple is great symbol and representative), as a house also has the meaning of "family" or "tribe" (Psalm 115:12, 135:19).

Jesus' repeated use of the word "woe" in this final public sermon is one that is important for us to understand in its context.  Hilary of Poitiers has commented that "woe" is a voice of sorrowing. For this reason Jesus says earlier in the sermon that the Pharisees and scribes close the kingdom of heaven, because they hide in the law the consolation of His truth.  They lost sight of the advent of the Messiah expected by the prophets.  St. Hilary writes, "Through deceptive teachings, they do not allow others to go to heaven either. They do not adorn the way of eternity" (On Matthew 24.3).  That woe is a voice of sorrowing is very pertinent and evident in today's reading, as we read Jesus' clear words of lamentation over Jerusalem.  Jesus' words give us this clear understanding, when He says, "How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!"   The maternal image of the hen gathering her chicks is the image of Christ as He pronounces woe, even as He calls Jerusalem "the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her."    All the images given here are maternal and caring.  He even calls Jerusalem "her," giving us not just the language of mother and home, but also of the Bride.  This final summing up of woes regarding the leadership isn't one of condemning anger, but of sorrowful lament.  There may be a kind of righteous anger or indignation at the practices that harm the people, especially the poorest and the helpless who are led astray and preyed upon, but there is sorrow in the lament of where it all leads, and the result these choices will produce.  All of the practices that Jesus condemns are those of turning astray from God and from the prophets and servants repeatedly sent to call them back to God and to God's ways.  The last and final one sent is Christ -- the Son Himself (see again the parable of the Wicked Vinedressers in Wednesday's reading).  Christ's great lament over His beloved, the Bride Jerusalem, becomes a teaching for all of us and for the whole world.  This isn't just about one people, but it is about all of us who call ourselves children by adoption, who desire also to be a part of God's people by following Christ.  The Church falls under the same "rule" that Jesus espouses here.  Hypocrisy that hides greed and exploitation will also bring woe and lamentation, a sad state.  It hides death and darkness inside of a whitewashed exterior, when we are called to come to the One who gives life to the world.  If we look around us in our world, we can see the effects of evil acts.  There is hypocrisy to go around.  Those who profess to love Christ cannot hide behind a false exterior kind of morality or "legality" while the things they do only bring more death and suffering into the world, especially to those who are powerless.  Let us remember His words of lamentation, and that they apply to us today as they did on that day when Jesus said them in the temple in Jerusalem a generation before its destruction in 70 A.D. at the siege of Jerusalem.  He is still the mother hen who wishes to gather her chicks under her wings, if we are but willing to come.

How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing!

 On that very day some Pharisees came, saying to Him, "Get out and depart from here, for Herod wants to kill You."  And He said to them, "Go and tell that fox, 'Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.'  Nevertheless I must journey today, tomorrow, and the day following; for it cannot be that a prophet should perish outside of Jerusalem.  O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her.  How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing!  See!  Your house is left to you desolate, and assuredly, I say to you, you shall not see Me until the time comes when you say, 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'"

- Luke 13:31-35

In yesterday's reading, Jesus teaching, and He asked, "What is the kingdom of God like?  And to what shall I compare it?  It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and put in his garden and it grew and became a large tree, and the birds of the air nested in its branches."  And again He said, "To what shall I liken the kingdom of God?  It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened."  And He went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem.  Then one said to Him, "Lord, are there few who are saved?"  And He said to them, "Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able.  When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, 'Lord, Lord, open for us,' and He will answer and say to you, 'I do not know you, where you are from,' then you will begin to say, 'We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.'  But He will say, 'I tell you I do not know you, where you are from.  Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.'  There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrust out.  They will come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, and sit down in the kingdom of God.  And indeed there are last who will be first, and there are first who will be last."

 On that very day some Pharisees came, saying to Him, "Get out and depart from here, for Herod wants to kill You."  My study bible tells us that "this warning of some Pharisees may well be sincere, or it could be a cunning way to get Jesus to Judea so they could enforce their authority against Him.  Herod Antipas imprisoned and beheaded John the Baptist."  Herod was the ruler of Galilee; Jerusalem is in Judea, governed by Pontius Pilate.

And He said to them, "Go and tell that fox, 'Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.'"  A note tells us that "Jesus does not mince words in calling Herod fox for his sly craftiness.  Perfected refers to the completion of Jesus' mission through His Passion and Resurrection in Jerusalem.  He has nothing to fear from Herod."  This word for "perfected" in Greek has the meaning of perfected, but its root is "finish" or "fulfilled," meaning "to the end," "complete."  Nothing will jeopardize Jesus' mission.

"Nevertheless I must journey today, tomorrow, and the day following; for it cannot be that a prophet should perish outside of Jerusalem."  My study bible tells us, "Jerusalem, the center of religious authority, often was the site of the judgment and persecution of God's prophets.  Jesus speaks with prophetic irony here."

"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her.  How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing!"  Of this verse my study bible says, "Jesus' tender lament and judgment over unrepentant Jerusalem show He loves His adversaries as we are to love ours."  It's a statement about rejection, and yet a willing love on Jesus' part, a longing to care for those who are His children.

"See!  Your house is left to you desolate, and assuredly, I say to you, you shall not see Me until the time comes when you say, 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'"  My study bible says that "the time referred to is Palm Sunday, when Jesus will be acclaimed at His Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem." 

There is such a deep lament here in Jesus' words about Jerusalem.  The implication is that He's been watching over Jerusalem for many years, for centuries -- that is, over the Jerusalem that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her.  Who has sent them?  Was it Christ who wanted so often to gather Jerusalem's children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, they they were not willing?  This is the implication in the verses.  And desolate the city is left, and all Christ does is lament!  Our choices are important; they may have devastating effects upon our lives, and yet it is our freedom that is the most absolute part of ourselves.  Christ Himself does not interfere with this, but rather implores with love, and repeatedly sends prophets and saints, and those who tell us of God's word.  The welcome, "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!" is the one that will be shouted upon His welcome to Jerusalem, at the beginning of Holy Week, the start of His Passion, and death and Resurrection.  This welcome is the welcome of the Messiah, and yet it is the end of His mission into this world.  Those who would be His children now are those by adoption.  In chapter 8, Luke tells us that Jesus teaches, "My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it."  So we may become children  by adoption, through faith.  Jesus' life, teaching, Passion, death and Resurrection are for this:  that those who would be gathered under His wings may come from everywhere, simply by faith.  Let us remember His great grace, this gift that reaches to all of us.  Are we willing?

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing!

 

  On that very day some Pharisees came, saying to Him, "Get out and depart from here, for Herod wants to kill You."  And He said to them, "Go, tell that fox, 'Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.'  Nevertheless I must journey today, tomorrow, and the day following; for it cannot be that a prophet should perish outside of Jerusalem.  O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her!  How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing!  See!  Your house is left to you desolate; and assuredly, I say to you, you shall not see Me until the time comes when you say, 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!' "

- Luke 13:31-35

Yesterday we read several of Jesus' teachings:  He said, "What is the kingdom of God like?  And to what shall I compare it?  It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and put in his garden and it grew and became a large tree, and the birds of the air nested in its branches."  And again He said, "To what shall I liken the kingdom of God?  It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened."  And He went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem.  Then one said to Him, "Lord, are there few who are saved?"  And He said to them, "Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able.  When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, 'Lord, Lord, open for us,' and He will answer and say to you, 'I do not know you, where you are from,' then you will begin to say, 'We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.'  But He will say, 'I tell you I do not know you, where you are from.  Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.'  There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrust out.  They will come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, and sit down in the kingdom of God.  And indeed there are last who will be first, and there are first who will be last."

On that very day some Pharisees came, saying to Him, "Get out and depart from here, for Herod wants to kill You."   My study bible has a helpful note:  "This warning of some Pharisees may well be sincere, or it could be a cunning way to get Jesus to Judea so they could enforce their authority against Him.  Herod Antipas imprisoned and beheaded John the Baptist."  Although journeying toward Jerusalem, He is still in the territory governed by Herod.

And He said to them, "Go, tell that fox, 'Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.' "  Again, my study bible has a helpful understanding for us:  "Jesus does not mince words in calling Herod fox for his sly craftiness.  Perfected refers to the completion of Jesus' mission through His Passion and Resurrection in Jerusalem.  He has nothing to fear from Herod."  Later in Luke's gospel, we will read of the friendship of Herod and Pilate effected during Jesus' trial.

"Nevertheless I must journey today, tomorrow, and the day following; for it cannot be that a prophet should perish outside of Jerusalem."  My study bible says, "Jerusalem, the center of religious authority, often was the site of the judgment and persecution of God's prophets.  Jesus speaks with prophetic irony here."  Jerusalem is the great city, the center of religious activity, the site of the Temple and therefore so much of Jewish history -- including the persecution of the prophets.

"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her!  How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing!  See!  Your house is left to you desolate; and assuredly, I say to you, you shall not see Me until the time comes when you say, 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!' "  Again, my study bible has a helpful note for us:  "Jesus' tender lament and judgment over unrepentant Jerusalem show He loves His adversaries as we are to love ours."

I always remark upon the loving nature of Christ's interior relationship to Jerusalem, and it's illustrative of events in our own lives, when people whom we love may disappoint or turn asunder relationships as we would have them.  Jesus' image He uses here is very affectionate, and maternal:  "as a hen gathers her brood under her wings."  Often, I've been told, the mystical saints of history (those who are male) have a feminine quality to them.  I think this is very important and essential that we understand something about our faith:  tenderness and love are qualities that belong to all human beings.  Jesus has just spoken of His perfection, and so we should view this kind of love, the one that is tender, protective, and careful even of those children who will do what they will -- until rejection is clear.  Jesus sets for us an example of what it is to be truly loving and at the same time discerning; He teaches us the paradox of God's eternal love which is also truth and true judgment.  Those who reject Him He cannot force into relationship, into the relationship He truly desires and will never cease desiring.  So it often is with us, when those whom we love are destructive or harmful or rejecting.  Our love may never cease, even when relationship as we would desire it is impossible.  In our prayers, let us remember Jesus' love even for those who would harm Him; as my study bible puts it, even for His enemies.  So, by His example, we can continue to love even those whom we can no longer trust nor engage in relationship as would be our fondest desire.