SERMON

SERMON= —Luke 13:31-35—2^nd Sunday in Lent—March 3&4, 2007R= 12;St. Paul, Carlisle

Grace to you and peace from God our Father a= nd the Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Jerusalem!= Jerusalem!<= /o:p>

T= he city that kills prophets and stones those who are sent to it.=

A lament from the heart of Jesus who knew the destiny that waited for Him there.

= This lament tells what Jerusalem has done in the past to God’s prophets and that looks ahead to what = will happen when God removes His protective presence and allows His people to experience the consequences of their sin.

= It’s rather ironic that messengers of God die in the Holy City. Jesus knows that He’ll be k= illed here too, but not by the devious Herod.&n= bsp; Jesus will die at the hands of the religious establishment.

= Today’s gospel reading is filled with a complicated clash of wills that we see throughout the Gospel story. There’s the intention of Jesus’ enemies, the unwillingness of Jerusalem, and against these thereR= 17;s the determination of the Messiah and the fulfillment of the will of God.

= One of the questions that arise from this reading and the clash of wills in our lives is “who sets our agenda, who determines our course?” This is our stewardship challenge—it is the foxes of this world or the loving embrace of our Father, our God who sets the agenda and leads us down our particular path = of life?

= The foxes in this world often seem to have the power, at least power the way t= he world defines it, and because we start to believe it’s true, we give these foxes power over us to control how we live and tell us what’s important.

= This is true whether it is the foxes of economy, popularity, and social customs= , of the foxes of addiction or indifference.&n= bsp; These foxes will drive us off our course if we allow them. The bottom line here is who do we= give final authority to in our lives. To one of these foxes or to a God who’s willing to face a Cross so He c= an help us understand how much He loves and wants to care for us.<= /span>

= The other question that comes out of this gospel reading is—“How a= re we part of Jerusalem= ?”

= In Jesus, God‘s living presence comes over all of Jerusalem and His lament becomes and u= rgent invitation to those who will hear. But it is also a warning of judgment to come. It echoes the messages of GodR= 17;s prophets throughout the ages—“Repent before I destroy my house.”

It’s addressed to every person in our = gospel reading, and to everyone of us gathered here today.

> &n= bsp; It’s addressed to Herod, who fearfully beheaded John the Baptist, but now who arrogantly boasts that He has power over Jesus. Herod who believes his destiny is= his own hands and believes that he controls his own future.<= /p>

It’s addressed to the religious establishment, to those devout people who believe they already know what G= od wants and so aren’t open to learning; who would rather crucify an innocent one than be open to hearing that they may be wrong, and so remain inflexible, unyielding, and unloving.

= It’s addressed to the Pharisees who stand apart, doubting and not wanting to ge= t too close to Jesus because He makes them uncomfortable. Who end up siding with those in p= ower because it’s the easy way out.

= It’s addressed to the disciple of Jesus, those who want to follow, but who will= run away when things get tough. = Who are too afraid of those in power to follow their heart and their convictions because they might get hurt.

= From time to time every one of us stands somewhere among this crowd in Jerusalem. During our Lenten pilgrimage, we’re asked by the Gospel text for today; to see how it is we fit in= to the crowd who would crucify Christ.

= Some of the crowd had good intentions, some didn’t. Some acted out of fear, some out = of self-preservation. Some beli= eved they were acting for God, some didn’t even give God a thought. =

= Whatever the thoughts, whatever the motives, the results were the same. The Holy City was thrown into turmoil and Jesus was crucified.

The frightening aspect of all this is that t= he real threat to Jesus didn’t come from the outside—but from the with= in God’s chosen people.

= The hopeful part is that God was at work in all of this to bring about His will. = Jerusalem will face a lot of suffering= in the future, just as God’s people always will when they get so fixed on t= heir own agenda they forget it might not be God’s agenda. As we continue to talk about Stewardship, let us always remember that our lives must be centered—grounded in Jesus Christ and our agenda must be God’s agenda for us or we are just kidding ourselves.

Jesus Christ refused to be moved from the de= stiny God had chosen for Him, He is the One who claims us in the present and is = able to transform us in the future.

= God will remove His presence from Jerusalem for a time, but He will never totally forsake it. God will ALWAYS be at work to bri= ng His people back to Him.

God is always at work for the good of all His people.

= He seeks to gather us under his wings if we are willing, to protect us, and to give us refuge. It is this l= oving God we must listen to and follow, for it is only God, Not the foxes of this world,

= Not the crowds of Jerusalem,

= &n= bsp; Not even ourselves,

It is only God---

= Who has called us,

= &n= bsp; Who has gathered us, and

= &n= bsp; &nbs= p; Who is in charge of our future.

Thanks be to God.

Amen. &= nbsp; <= o:p>