Luke 13:31-35 - The Rev. Dr. Robert G. Walker - Year C - February 28, 2010

I feel a bit like the minister who was so committed to the premise of three points in every sermon that one time he preached on “Faith, Hope, and the Efficacy of Infant Baptism.”  I feel that way, because there really are several sermons that seem to be rather unrelated in the Gospel lesson from Luke this morning.  I’ll just preach several short ones, and hopefully you can put them together.     Number 1.

I’ll bet you thought that all of the scribes and Pharisees were the bad guys in the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ ministry.  They seemed to be the targets of Jesus’ anger at times, and of His warnings at other times.  In the final days of His ministry here  on earth, it was the scribes and Pharisees who cried out for His crucifixion.  Yes, we had the basis for a pretty good stereotype.

But here, in the opening verses of our Gospel for today, it was some Pharisees who warned Jesus that King Herod wanted to kill Him.  Herod had already gotten rid of John the Baptist.  Now it was Jesus’ turn, because he appeared to be a threat to Herod’s power and authority.  So, some Pharisees alerted Jesus to the possibility of His death at the hands of the king.  Either that was out of character for the Pharisees, or maybe we have had a misunderstanding about them.  Maybe we just hadn’t been paying attention like we should have, because in doing some exploring, I find that there are other examples of Pharisees who certainly violated the stereotype. 

There was a man named Nicodemus who came to Jesus under cover of darkness, to find out more about Jesus and what His ministry was all about.  He was the one to whom Jesus spoke about being born again and who reacted so literally to the idea, questioning how one could re-enter his mother’s womb.  He was a Pharisee, a member of the Sanhedrin, the governing body for the Jewish community.    He was open, with a questioning mind.   He was not a bad guy.

There was a man named Gamaliel in the Book of Acts.  He too was a member of the Sanhedrin when that body decided to imprison Jesus’ disciples, because they were making too much headway with their preaching efforts.  Many of the Jews were flocking to hear these people speak.  You remember hearing how it was on Pentecost when Peter was preaching, and several thousand people responded so very positively to what he had to say about Jesus, and the fact that He had been badly mistreated and killed, but that Jesus had been raised from the dead.  Well, these leaders said “No more!”  But then Gamaliel asked for time with the Sanhedrin without the disciples being present, and he told those leaders about other people who had claimed certain things, but they didn’t materialize.  In fact, those others didn’t even survive.  So, Gamaliel said that they should leave the disciples alone, because if what they were doing had its genesis in humankind, it would fail.  But, he also said, “If this is of God, then we can’t stop it, so wait and see.”  Gamaliel was a Pharisee.  He was a good guy.

Jesus told the Pharisees to tell “that fox” (Herod) that He, Jesus had work to do, so Jesus knew the negative side of that Pharisee as well as the positive sides of Nicodemus and Gamaliel.  In other words, not all of the Pharisees were bad guys, and not all were good.

Maybe the problem is that we have been using stereotypes to begin with.  “Stereotype” is a more socially acceptable word than “prejudge,” which of course is a variation on “prejudice.”  Maybe we have been painting a whole group of people in the New Testament with a single brush and a single can of mental paint.  Maybe we don’t restrict it to the New Testament, but bring it into our everyday lives as well.

The obvious point of this little vignette is that prejudices don’t allow us to see the uniqueness of any individual.  Prejudices blind us to ideas that may differ from our own, even though the ideas may have merit.  Prejudices hurt those who hold them as much as the object of prejudice is hurt.     That is, until the object of prejudice becomes the object of violence, as has happened racially and in other social circumstances.  Then, the object is hurt much worse, even to the point of death.  That’s not what God expects of us.                              Vignette  Number 2.

Jerusalem was a major city, which is a surprise to no one.  I have never been there, and I really would like to go sometime.  The historic places that have been prominent through the centuries for the world’s major religions call out for being noticed and observed.  One of my Lutheran campus ministry colleagues was so moved by being in the sepulcher where tradition said that Jesus was laid when they took him down from the cross that he could not even speak when he shared a picture of the sepulcher.  But things happened before Jesus was crucified. 

Throughout the history of the city from David and Solomon on, it was a place of wars and confrontations between those prophets who spoke in behalf of God and the people who wanted to do things their own way.  It was a city where prophets were sometimes put to death.  That’s Christ’s reference in this 13^th chapter of Luke, and it brought a lament from the lips of our Master.  “Jerusalem!  Jerusalem!  The city that kills its prophets and stones those who are sent to it.”  And then there comes that loving touch that really shows what Christ was feeling.  “How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing.”  He loved the city and all its inhabitants.  In fact, He loved all who would ever be in a position to hear of His love, a love that carried Him to Calvary’s cross, for the whole world, including you and me. 

We have been given this message of love.  We have been given this promise of new life in Christ.  We have heard and we have believed.  So, now what?  To emphasize again, Bishop Curry is inviting and encouraging every parish in this diocese to engage in what he has called “radical hospitality.”  We have a message to share, and as it says in John’s Gospel, “the field is white unto the harvest.”  May we all become spiritual farmers and go out to do the harvesting, in the Name of our Lord Christ.                              Vignette Three.  Very short.

When Christ told the Pharisees to tell that fox, Herod, that He, Christ was casting out demons and performing healing today and tomorrow, He also added, “..and on the third day I finish my work.”  On the first day, the day we call “Good Friday,” hanging on the Cross, Christ’s last words were, “It is finished.”  But it was not really finished until the third day, the day of His resurrection, when the power of death was overcome, and the promise of new life was made so boldly to the world.  During Lent, our thoughts are pointed to both days, Good Friday and Easter Sunday.  Thanks be to God for both of them, for our sakes.

IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER AND OF THE SON, AND OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.   AMEN.