FOXES AND HENSLuke 13:31-35 31 At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to him, "Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you." 32He said to them, "Go and tell that fox for me, 'Listen, I am casting out demons and performing cures today and tomorrow, and on the third day I finish my work. 33Yet today, tomorrow, and the next day I must be on my way, because it is impossible for a prophet to be killed outside of Jerusalem.' 34Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! 35See, your house is left to you. And I tell you, you will not see me until the time comes when you say, 'Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the SOVERIGN.'" More stories from home. My parents lived on a farm in Richland Center Wisconsin for 4 years. They moved up North from Mississippi because the "end of the world was coming" and they needed to live off the land as an extended family. My parents, grandparents, aunt and uncle all tried to live off this farm. But after 4 years, the farm and all the equipment was up on the auction block. And there was the story of the "last straw that broke the camels back" – the story of the foxes, hens and chickens. On the evening before the auction a pair of foxes got into the chicken coop and killed all the chickens and baby chicks. My parents would tell and retell and retell this story of the straw that broke the camels back. And they would both talk about the ruckus they heard coming from the chicken coop as the mother hens were trying to protect their chicks from the foxes. BUT to say the least...we know who lost the fight. Today, we have another FOX and HEN story. There are four major characters in this story from Luke 13:
And in this story we find a clash of the wills....a FOX AND HEN fight if you will. The further we move into this JOURNEY of LENT, this journey to the cross with Jesus, it appears that things are getting just a bit rough. The foxes are beginning to come out of their holes and are stalking their prey. Enter Character #1 – The Pharisees....Well, they are beginning to get a little uneasy about this Jesus. They would prefer that Jesus just go away before things really heat up. They didn't want conflict and their certainly did not want their theology challenged! The Pharisees would rather not have Jesus shake up their good, pious and religious community complete with over a thousand made up rules, regulations and laws! Strange as that may sound for the Pharisees, they were actually showing Jesus some kindness, maybe for the first and last time! BUT in actuality, they were really concerned about their own skins because they knew Jesus was a threat to their comfortable and law ridden religious system. Their hope was that Jesus would just move out and move on from their region. So the Pharisees warned Jesus: 31 At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to him, "Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you." Enter Character #2 – Herod – This is not the first time a HEROD wanted to get rid of Jesus – is it? Remember back to the birth of Jesus? Another Herod, Herod Antipas – King of Galilee was out to kill Jesus. This Herod makes a deal with the Wise Men or the Astrologers seeking the young Jesus. They want to find this Jesus so they can "worship" him! 16 When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he was infuriated, and he sent and killed all the children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had learned from the wise men. (Matthew 2:16) Jesus was a threat to the political power of Herod. Jesus was a threat to the religious power of the Pharisees. And it seems that at this point, Herod too wanted Jesus abolished. Herod too want to solve this Jesus problem. But Herod wanted to see Jesus dead, not just out of the region, but cold stone in a tomb! 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. 33Yet today, tomorrow, and the next day I must be on my way, because it is impossible for a prophet to be killed outside of Jerusalem.' Enter Character #3 – Jesus - It is actually Jesus who gives Herod the nickname "FOX. And this was not complimentary by any stretch of the imagination. The nick name FOX conjures up three images:
You think Jesus would have thought twice before calling Herod a FOX. This would certainly get back to Herod and would infuriate him even more! You didn't just call Herod a nasty name and get a way with it in those days! Freedom of speech was at a premium. But Jesus' RESPONSE to the message that Herod was seeking to kill him? Quite amazing actually! Jesus basically said....I will be about my business – and you go tell that FOX, HEROD, that I will continue to heal people, continue to heal individuals of their personal demons AND on the third day I WILL FINISH MY WORK....a reference to his eventual resurrection on the third day after the powers that be finally send him to his death! Enter Character #4 – The City of Jerusalem - Jesus face is set toward Jerusalem like FLINT. Talk about the Purpose Driven Life!? Jesus makes it clear that mission is what is important and that he will not be stopped by any religious or political fox....not even the foxes with the power to take his life! And now for the good stuff – Jesus is lamenting – displaying his love and compassion for the Pharisees, for Jerusalem, even for Herod gathered that day. And Jesus says: 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! Jesus makes it clear that he earnestly desires to protect those who are on the margins, those who are weak, those who are disenfranchised, those who are threatened by the religious and political foxes of the day. Jesus makes it clear that he desires to protect those who are in the margins and are vulnerable to the abuse of the religious and political powers of the day. And to illustrate this point Jesus uses the word "children" – those who cannot often speak for themselves – those who are most vulnerable and susceptible to abuse. Jesus invites all those who are in need of healing, in need of protection, in need of political or religious liberation, who live in the margins, who need hope for the future, who are in need of peace in the here and now, who are in need of the warmth of his love to gather under his wings! WHO are the FOXES in our world, our community today? Who are those foxes who are seeking to eliminate/execute the goodness of God in Jesus? Who are those foxes seeking to eliminate Jesus' radical message of inclusive love – of liberation for ALL! WHO are the foxes today that are working to silence the PROPHETIC VOICE!? I think of the Stoles Project our Director of Music, David works with – a testimony of clergy who have had to leave their pulpits because they were gay or lesbian.... My own journey – because I was gay – I was not good or "holy" enough to carry the message of the Gospel to university communities as a campus pastor.....and the message translated was that "you just aren't good enough for God".....to be a part of his messengers of the word. Anglican/Episcopalian (SEE NEWS STORY) Our own current administration...not much needs to be said here. Our own current administration apparently has sought to continue the oppression of people of color, of women, of the LGBT communities. For two years I worked on the forefront of ACTION WISCONSIN seeking to secure equal rights for LGBT persons living in Wisconsin. But during those two years I realized the ONE great institution withholding complete and equal rights from LGBT individuals, from women, from person's of color was and is the "CHURCH" – or those who buy into the bigotry of the religions right. In my understanding of the person of Jesus in the Scriptures that he was radical in his expressions of love and acceptance of those living on the margins. Jesus was radical in his acceptance of those living on the fringe in his day and those who were considered unacceptable and were to be avoided. These were exactly the men and women that Jesus was PRESENT with. And for you and me today? What can we take away from this stage in Jesus' journey to Jerusalem and to the cross? You – Me – WE ARE both the CHICKS and the HENS and there are still quite a few foxes out there seeking to keep us from our mission, desiring to keep us from our own journeys to our own Jerusalem – our own Calvary. Will you and I allow the FOXES out there deter us from our mission? Will we shrink back, listen to the voices of warning telling us that we won't be popular, we won't be accepted, we may end up loosing our livelihoods, loosing even our own lives for the sake of the mission – for the sake of the true prophetic voice? Jesus, would not only tell us to keep on, to assure the NAY SAYERS that we are going to make it – that we are going to survive – that we indeed will survive even our own personal Calvary's and will live in resurrection power! Jesus would tell us to NOT ONLY keep on keeping on in this journey of faith and personal sacrifice BUT he would tell us to SPREAD our WINGS EVEN WIDER – to gather more of those living in the margins into the loving stretch and protection of those WINGS OF LOVE. Jesus would call us to coddle those in need, to bring the message of liberation, freedom, peace, justice, mercy, complete and utter acceptance that can ONLY be found under those wings of God's LOVE! Under the wings of God's love is found release from personal demons, healing for physical bodies, minds, hearts and spirits..... Jesus would tell us to keep on keeping on this march toward our own Jerusalem even if it will mean death in the end and eventual death to self . But we are assured of the glorious hope of a new resurrected life coming forth from that death itself! Jesus would tell us to give up our lives for the "CAUSE"! So the BOTTOM LINE is THIS – this Christ – this Jesus – whose example we follow – was HONEST, WAS DARING, WAS ANTI-ESTABLISHMENT – was UNWILLING to bring others down with him AND he was willing to FACE THE VERY THING HE FEARED THE MOST! And think, what is your own personal Jerusalem? What is the thing that you fear the most? Mark 8:35 – "For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it." Jesus put his face like flint toward Jerusalem. The people of Jerusalem that had plugged its ears time and time again and killed its prophetic voices and settled for marginalization and mediocrity! Jesus says to HEROD the FOX and to every political and religious FOX we are confronted with today, BRING IT ON! BRING IT ON! I am marching TOWARD THE CONFLICT rather than turning in fear and running! Jesus, the mother HEN will indeed pursue even one lost and marginalized chick among the BILLIONS who have been found. This mother HEN will pursue that one lost chick through thick and through thin – even to the point of losing its life for that chick. This hen will do all that is necessary to bring that prophetic message of love and home and freedom to those she seeks to bring under her warm embracing wings of all-inclusive, unconditional love. Will you, will I do the same? Will we keep moving, keep marching toward Jerusalem with Jesus to be that prophetic voice to a world so desperately in need? Will we be that as a community here at Spirit of the Lakes and will be those people as individuals? Jesus ends this passage with a look to Palm Sunday with the words: 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 Sovereign.'" You, Me, we are the blessed ones who COME IN THE NAME OF THE SOVERIGN – moving toward Jerusalem – moving toward the Cross – moving toward our own death to self and resurrection to new and RADICAL life in GOD! |