Not Without Hope

Luke 1:32-35 At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to him, “Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you.” 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.  Yet today, tomorrow, and the next day I must be on my way, because it is impossible for a prophet to be killed outside of Jerusalem.’  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!  See, your house is left to you. And I tell you, you will not see me until the time comes when you say, ‘Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.’”

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   Have you ever been told you're in danger? It could be that someone was actually trying to kill you as in Jesus's case, or it could have been a number of other threats to your existence.  Perhaps you heard you were going to lose your job/income.  Maybe you got news that the rent is going up beyond what you can pay.   A dire diagnosis, for you or a loved one, news of an accident, impending national disaster, or even a pandemic... there are a myriad of things that upon hearing about them, rattles your world. 

How we respond to that news is dependent on three things; our personality, our life experience, and our faith/belief system.  Jesus hears the news that Pilate is out to kill him, and told 'Run, Jesus, Run... ala Forest Gump) and Jesus responds from his personality, which contains sarcasm: Tell that fox for me...  Jesus responds from his life experience, which tells him life is short, make the most of every day because we are both fragile and finite: I am casting out demons and performing cures today and tomorrow, and on the third day I finish my work.  And Jesus responds from his faith which informs his make the most of every day attitude, that God has a plan for his life that no one can stop, and that he will work toward the fulfillment of Gods plan as long as he has breath: 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.’
Jesus responds as if Pilate is a bully on the playground (I don't sweat you...) but those of us who have felt the sting of those kind of threats wonder if, on the inside, Jesus felt fear like the rest of us.  We wonder if a wave of 'what ifs' washed over him as he contemplated the tenuous divide between life and death. Perhaps he was 'rattled' as human beings tend to be when faced with our own mortality.

But his insouciant response was not at all reflective of his call to save.  The very next thing Jesus does is lament... mourn... grieve, over Jerusalem.  He weeps like a parent for a wayward child.  You know that feeling, don't you?  When your child, or anyone who means the world to you continually makes choices that take them down the wrong path? And no matter how hard you try to redirect, turn, and teach, your voice falls on deaf ears.  You realize deep in the pit of your stomach where the pain resides, that if they don't change course, they are going to self destruct.  Your wish is that you could go and scoop them up, coop them up, keep them safe, warm, filled, happy... 
Jesus leaves them to their own "house." But  he does not leave them orphaned.  He does not leave them with disgust, or even with condemnation.  Jesus instead,  leaves them with hope. Note: Jesus never leaves us without hope.
His limited time on earth will not be long enough to see Jerusalem repent, turn, see things differently.  But he has left them the plan.  He has given them the blueprints for a new structure, a design for a more peaceful, loving house, and has set workers in motion to begin building, even now.   

Hope... That Jerusalem will embrace love. That we will be healed. That the child will come home. 

Blessed Is the one who comes In the name of the Lord.
​Peace,
​ Pastor Linda