Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord
- Eric Cooter
- Nov 18
- 6 min read
Date Preached: 03/13/2022 Lent 2C
Place: Resurrection Episcopal Church, OKC
Readings: Genesis 15:1-12,17-18; Psalm 27; Philippians 3:17-4:1; Luke 13:31-35
The Politics of Jesus
In Luke's gospel, we heard today, Jesus' was confronted by the politico/religious leaders of his day, who did not embrace him and disagreed with his teaching. His way of love and grace was a threat to their way of power and influence in the community. The Pharisees were not only respected religious experts, they were political allies of the local tetrarch King Herod. Serving as his cronies, they brought Jesus a message as he approached Jerusalem, the seat of political power in that area of the world.
They said to Jesus, “Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you." Most scholars believe that knowing the characterizations of the Pharisees throughout the gospels, they were not warning Jesus for his safety or to help his cause. They wanted to quiet his message of love through their own threat of death, veiled curiously in the supposed motives of their political partner. It was what they wanted, but dared not publicly admit.
Jesus responded with his own clear, courageous rebuttal and said, “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.'” The Pharisees took a swing at Jesus because there was no room for his message and mission in their Kingdom. Jesus saw through their ruse, and skillfully revealed their hearts.
Jesus' mission was to proclaim good news to the poor, to bring release to prisoners, to give sight to the blind, and to let the oppressed to be free. The political and religious powers of the day tried to thwart this mission, because it threatened their influence, power, and ability to keep the people in spiritual bondage. Today's gospel reading shows us how God's mission of love, reconciliation, mercy, and grace will always come in conflict with human ideologies and power, which tries to exploit justice, destroys spiritual and emotional peace, and disrespects the dignity of every human being. The Pharisees had their own opinions about the Law and God’s mission, but it was not in line with God’s truth about mercy, reconciliation, and grace. We Christians have different opinions and ideas about everything, however, we Christians find common ground in the truth of Christ’s mission of love.
It's My Opinion and ...
Our differences are what make God's creatures remarkable and beautiful. Our distinctions make possible new and amazing discoveries. Our peculiarities lead to the creative work of musicians and artists. The differing theories and designs of talented engineers and scientists make possible incredible technology. However, our different ideas, thoughts, and processes, without the common truth of the simplicity of God’s dream; loving God and loving neighbor, it becomes something else. As a nation, we have become so polarized, unwilling to listen and learn from one another, and we choke out the best part of our humanity; God's love in us.
We still struggle to follow the simple message of love. Violence, injustice, and human atrocities are being weighed against each other throughout the world. Look at the violence against innocents in Ukraine as only one of example of where we seem to be headed. You would think that as connected as we are today through social media and the abundant availability of travel, we would be closer, and we might work together.
However, if we disagree today, we is no room for dialogue and engagement. We resort to personal attacks and tactics to undermine our opponents’ standing. In the aftermath of these battles, we are thwarting God's dream of loving God and loving neighbor. We are less united and like the Pharisees who claimed to be the bearers of God's truth, we become a loose affiliation of biased tribes with a desire for our own ideology and power. We Christians must remember that our first loyalty is always to Christ and his teachings of love, mercy, reconciliation, and grace.
God’s Kingdom vs. Worldly Kingdoms
Theologian Dan Clendenin once wrote, “By confessing Jesus as Lord, they (early disciples) rejected Caesar as king. Loyalty to Christ the king was absolute and unconditional, whereas fidelity to the Roman state was relative and conditional.”(2) A mortal threat existed for Christians who followed the way of Jesus in the first century Roman Empire, and to claim Jesus as Lord and not Caesar was a life-threatening choice. Today, we Christians do not face the fear of death for our faith, but following the Way of Jesus today can come with its own set of risks. It could cost us friendships and family connections.
Following the way of Jesus for Christians today is not so much about trying to fit our faith into a particular ideology that pits one side against another on issues. Following the Way of Jesus means we literally set our differences aside, so we might embrace, emulate, and carry on the way Jesus ministered, served, and became self-giving love.
So, imagine how things would be today, if we followed the Way of Jesus and it informed everything we do as a individuals, as families, as churches, as a nation, and as a world community. What if our policies, programs, initiatives, and disagreements were addressed with a commitment to the Christ mission values of mercy, reconciliation, and loving our neighbor.
We Christians make promises to do this work through our baptismal covenant through which, we promise, “to seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself” and “striving for justice and peace among all people, and respecting the dignity of every human being.” I would add that there are no exceptions or caveats with those promises and thus, it includes people who have different opinions than we might.
The Fox
Jesus said, “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it!” Throughout the biblical narrative, God sent prophets to call God's people back to the way of love and grace. God’s people had the choice to follow God’s way, or follow the way of their own human desires. Many times, those choices led to God's people to reject the message, to quiet the messenger, and then live with the results of their choices.
The Apostle Paul’s take on those choices? He wrote, “But our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” Clendenin explains, “The Jesus of the gospels proposes no political program, but instead something far more strenuous, something "scary, dark and demanding." No state or political party can indulge in the self-sacrifice that Jesus demands when he calls us to lovingly serve the least and the lost.” (2)
So, with whom or what is your allegiances? Does your principles define what the gospel says or does the gospel define what your principles are?The Way of the Cross proclaims that our relationship with God and with each other (a relationship of reconciled love) is much more important than any ideology, policy, or program that we might support.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Jesus said, “How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!” This image is one of Jesus as a mother hen caring for her chicks. It stands in juxtaposition to his warning to Herod the "Sly Fox," who would steal those chicks and devour them for his own pleasure.
Jesus was not some political antagonist who wanted to upend the political system of the day. Jesus longed to bring all of us together lovingly and gently into his arms of reconciling love, regardless of where we stand on the issues of the day. It may be difficult to follow Jesus today, because we may have to make a choice between Divine Kingdom citizenship and our other allegiances, desires, ideas, or opinions
So, during this Lenten season, I offer a challenge for all of us who may struggle with these choices. First, create time in your day to break down the walls between those with whom you disagree. Rather than giving up something this Lent, maybe we all should take the initiative to listen to those family members, friends, and colleagues with whom we have differing ideas. What would happen if we just listened and learned and loved?
Could you imagine what would happen if we tried that for a few weeks? If we chose the way of justice, peace, love, mercy, reconciliation, respect, self-giving love, and mutual service, we would all be changed. I bet the political polarization would become less important. Maybe the bombs would stop falling, the shelling end, and the armies retreat. Maybe there would be good news for the poor, freedom for the prisoners, recovery of sight for the blind, and the oppressed go free. Maybe we could proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor."
So, give it a try this week. You may not be able to change the world tomorrow, through this simple Lenten practice. However, if in our own circles we all proclaimed a little good news to the poor, brought just a bit of release to prisoners, gave some sight to the blind, and let the oppressed to be free for a time, maybe things might change. Who knows, maybe grace and peace and mercy might just become a reality.
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