The Gospel lesson for today is a strange little text. In fact, when I first read it the other week, I was not sure how to approach it. Out of the gate, there is clear opposition to our Lord, His work, and His ministry. Some Pharisees come to Jesus and suddenly announce that He is in danger, His life is threatened; not by them, per se, but by Herod. Sure, the Pharisees have not exactly been His most prominent supporters, and as a group, they have been trying to silence Him for a while, but this is different. They say, “Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you.” Why? Well, no reason is given. Perhaps they are just using this as a scare tactic, a way to silence Jesus and turn followers away from Him. However, thinking Herod might want to destroy Him is not beyond the scope of reason. After all, another Herod, Herod the Great, slaughtered the children of Bethlehem in an attempt to stop the rise of a newborn king who might challenge his throne.
But this is no child wrapped in swaddling cloths, and Jesus’ response tells you all you need to know about His defiance in the face of such a threat. He says, “Go and tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and on the third day, I finish My course.’” He does not see Herod as a real threat. He is a fox, a sly and shrewd creature, to be sure, but one whose power pales in comparison to the work of the Son of God. Demons and illness flee before Him. What can Herod do? In addition, the Christ has a path to follow, and He will finish His course. He will see it through. And this path, this way forward, goes directly to Jerusalem.
He tells them, “I must go on My way today and tomorrow and the day following, for it cannot be that a prophet should perish away from Jerusalem.” He is the rejected prophet. He is the culmination of a long list of prophets who have not only been sent to the people of God but have been cast out and destroyed by them. This strange little text gives us an insight into the historical role Jesus is fulfilling. It is like the parable of the wicked tenants, where the servants are sent to collect the fruit of the vineyard, and they are run-off or beaten. Then, the lord of the vineyard sends his son, saying, “Surely they will respect my son.” But on seeing the son, they attack him and kill him. Jesus is the faithful Son, and His path goes through rejection and death.
But then we are given this beautiful image. Jesus says to them, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!” I do not know about you, but I am captivated by this word. In the midst of opposition and the prospect of the suffering and rejection which will come, He speaks words of longing, words of love for those who will cast Him out of the vineyard. He wants to gather them. He longs to keep them safe, to protect them, to care for them, but they will not have it.
I think many of us can relate to this in some way. Perhaps you have that family member or dear friend spiraling out of control. They need help, someone to give them a hand to get them back on a healthier path. You reach out, you try to intervene, but they push back every time. Christians see people they love rejecting the faith. Parents struggle with children caught up in a cycle of addiction. Friends watch as one continues to make decisions fraught with damaging consequences, and they cannot do anything about it. You long to help, perhaps even sacrifice for them, but they will not come. They will not change. They will not repent. How do you help those who do not want to help?
Yet, when you look in the dreadful mirror of your own actions, you see this same struggle in your life. You are the baptized children of God, yet you remain entangled in sin. Your God is ready and eager to forgive you, to set you again on the light of His path, but you hold so much back in the darkness. You keep your secret life in hiding, not wanting to expose it to your God, thinking you can find your own way out, in your own time, by your own effort. And you turn a deaf ear to the longing of your Lord. He is eager to gather you to Himself, to love, forgive, and embrace. But we try to push back, to keep Him at bay.
Our Lord then says something that is shocking and worth our time to consider. He says, “Behold, your house is forsaken.” A more literal translation of this would be: “Your house is left to you.” He releases them to themselves. This is the result of sin. This is the result of rejecting the mercy of God. He leaves them to themselves. It reminds me of Eve’s desire to eat the forbidden fruit because she would be like God, meaning she would be her own god, curved in on herself, lost within herself. Similar to what Saint Paul says to the church in Rome, that God gave the people up to their own desires, leaving them bound to their own will and choices. To be forsaken within yourself is to be without hope, without escape from your own sinful desire.
If this were the end of the story, a sad story it would be. But the longing of your Lord has not stopped. His desire to gather you under His wings continues. He does not take you by force but relentlessly calls you back to the light. He has established His gifts. His Word and Sacraments continue to go forth. They remind you of who you are. They declare His love. The Word is proclaimed into your ears and forgiveness flows out. He draws you out of the darkness and gathers you around His table to feed you the fruits of His sacrifice. His body and blood are freely given, and His promises are sure and true. His declaration is that you are not forsaken, you are not abandoned to yourself. Outside of Him, there is no hope, but in Him, in His mercy, there is life and salvation for all.
This little text ends with Jesus saying, “You will not see Me until you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.’” Some think He is speaking about His triumphal entry on Palm Sunday, where those gathered there speak these words. Others believe this is a reference to His second coming in power and might where every knee will bow. But perhaps this is all of that and more. It is a word of comfort to all who hear His call, a testimony to His relentless love. In fact, when you gather around the altar of the Lord, are these not appropriate words to say? As you receive His body and blood for the forgiveness of sins, as you repent and believe the good news, what more can we say than, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.”
