Sermon for February 28th

A quote from Martin Luther, "Thus and no other way it was to happen, and it always has gone thus, that the greatest harm and damage has been done to Christ, to His Word, and to His Church by those that have presumed to be the holiest and best."

Now, a quote from Jesus, “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, but you would not!”

In the second reading today, the apostle Paul tells us about the enemies of the cross of Christ. We can only assume that these are not Christians. That they do not believe in God and do not give him the glory and honor that he deserves. Paul tells us about these enemies, “Their end is destruction; their god is the belly; and their glory is in their shame; their minds are set on earthly things. But . . . our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.”

For those of you who have been baptized into Jesus Christ, you have died to this world and have been reborn a citizen of a new world, a world whose ruler is God alone. You are still to honor your Father and your Mother. You are still to respect the governing authorities. But your final loyalty lies with God alone more than with anything this world has to offer. Reminds me of another group of people, thousands of years ago who were called to be a people by God himself in much the same way that you have been. God was their king and they were his people. They were called out of the world to be sent back into it, blessed to be a blessing. These people were the Israelites and they worshipped God, their king, in the temple in Jerusalem. “Jerusalem, Jerusalem! The city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it!”

Jerusalem became a very important city when it became the home of King David, considered the best and most faithful king in Israelite history. David made Jerusalem the religious capital of the nation by bringing the sacred Ark of the Covenant into it and setting up a tent for it. For those who are not familiar with the Ark of the Covenant, except through Indiana Jones movies, the ark was considered to be the representation of God’s continued presence with his people, the Israelites. Not only that, but it was considered to be his throne as well as the container of the Ten Commandments. When David brought the ark to Jerusalem, in that moment, Jerusalem became the main place of worship for God’s people as well as the holiest location on the face of the planet. Later, David’s son, King Solomon would build a temple around the ark in Jerusalem which lasted until it was destroyed in 70 AD. This temple was considered to be “the house of the Lord” and it is the same temple that Jesus would have referred to in the sayings and stories throughout the gospel lesson we hear each week.

Because Jerusalem was the center of worship life for God’s people, it was also the center of work for many of God’s prophets as they were sent to call the Israelites back to faithfulness to God. When the kingdom was divided into North and South, after King Solomon had died, Jerusalem was a part of the Southern kingdom and God sent many prophets to preach to it: Obadiah, Joel, Zephaniah, Habakkuk, Micah, Isaiah and Jeremiah. But, from what we can tell, none of them were much liked by the people they were sent to. Probably because most people don’t like to hear bad news.

“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, but you would not!” I hope that you realize that the problem didn’t have anything to do with the stones that built up the city of Jerusalem, or the soil on which the city was set, or the architecture of the temple, but it was with the people, God’s people, who constantly turned from worshipping their Lord with all their heart, soul and strength and, instead, turned in on themselves or looked for hope in other places and from others gods. And while we do not live in Jerusalem now, the story is the same for us as it was for them.

The Christian church, in every age, including this one, right up to this very day, is being called to return to the Lord our God and yet we refuse! God calls us back to him again and again using prophets of all shapes, sizes, colors and types, but we do not return! I remember once going to a meeting with one of my professors at seminary when something was heavy on my heart. I do not remember what happened that had me feeling so guilty, but I was really bothered by it and stopped by this professor’s office for some counseling. We talked about it for awhile and by the end of the meeting I felt a lot better. He asked me, “Now, if after all of this you would like me to absolve you in the name of Jesus Christ, I would be happy to do so.” To which I answered, “No thanks! That’s alright.” and I proceeded to walk home.

It wasn’t until I was almost in the door to my apartment building that the following verse broke into my thoughts, “How often I desired to gather you as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you would not!” Had I really just refused to be forgiven with a simple, “No thanks!” God had sent me a preacher to forgive me and I felt like I was “good enough” without it! I had the urge to both throw up and run back to his office but, since I was near a phone, I called him up and explained to him that I wanted my absolution right then and there or else I was running back to get it. He explained that he’d rather that I was within arm’s distance, but that God’s Word would have to do with it purposed to do and he forgave me in the name of Jesus Christ.

How often does God wish to gather us in and we respond, “No thanks!” How often do we figure we’re doing alright without our forgiveness? We don’t need to pray, we don’t need to go to church, and we don’t need to read our Bibles. We are Christians already for goodness sake! THEY need it. THOSE people. Not US! And yet God continues to send preachers and teachers and moms and sons and friends to call us out for our sins and offer us forgives but we just won’t take him up on his offer. Some people, those who Paul calls the enemies of the cross, reject Jesus Christ outwardly. But we who believe that we have dotted our I’s and crossed our T’s when it comes to faith, well we reject Jesus just as much or more than anyone else. According to many surveys, being a Christian doesn’t seem to matter when it comes to making any better choices than atheists or agnostics. We aren’t being forced to make bad choices; we do them of our own volition and will. We must repent and return to God.

There is forgiveness with this God, but it will come from the cross and, so, we must gather there. Jesus said, “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.’” On Palm Sunday, Jesus entered Jerusalem with a King’s welcome, but within days he would be crucified. The Lord of All, the Savior of the Earth, is on his way to die on a cross for our sins. He came to die not just for the enemies of the cross, but to die for his very own people who have rejected him both in Jerusalem and, yes, here at Saint Peters in Cornwall. Thankfully, he has gathered us all here, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, so that we might confess our sins before Him and hear our forgiveness . . . whether we think we need it or not. Let us pray . . . . Amen.