|
|
|
Sermons
The Life
& Ministry of Jesus Christ, Part II: Jesus Laments
“Come
Under My Wing”
Philippians
Rev. Kenneth M. Locke
The Downtown Presbyterian Church
The Pharisees warn Jesus it’s time
for moving on, that fox Herod is after him.
Jesus replies, in his own sarcastic way, that he’s moving all
right but at his own speed, not Herod’s.
Then follows this beautiful lament for the city to which he’s
heading. “
How often we find ourselves standing by
the side of the road, shaking our heads over someone else’s stupidity,
over their refusal to listen to a little good advice. Don’t buy that car if you can’t afford
it. Don’t marry that man thinking
you’re going to change him.
Don’t drink that beer and drive, don’t lie on that report,
don’t stay at that dead-end job.
And still they go on and do it.
I used to have a co-worker who was being considered
for a promotion. He started telling
everyone about all the changes he was going to make and how things were going
to be different soon. The old timers
told him to be quiet and wait until it was official but he wouldn’t. Sure enough he was passed over and someone
else got the job. One of the old hands
said “That young man learned a valuable lesson today.” And they all stood there nodding, shaking
their heads.
That’s what we do. We shake our heads and marvel how some people
go through life. “Their end is
destruction; their god is the belly; and their glory is in their shame; their
minds are set on earthly things.”
There we are, standing next to Jesus, shaking our heads, until we
remember those times of running up the credit card so high we thought
we’d never get out from under it, those times of having one drink too
many and then driving home, hanging around those bad websites, that bad
crowd. Those times we were guilty of
mistreating someone so the
We look up and realize Jesus is shaking
his head all right. But he’s
shaking his head at us. How long he has
desired to gather us, a mother hen guiding her brood under her wings, but we
would not have it.
Where does a mother hen lead her
brood? Towards the snake in the grass,
the fox in the bush, the stray cat?
No! The mother hen leads her
brood away from danger and towards safety.
And this is where Jesus wants to lead us: away from those bad
relationships, away from the seductions of plastic money and workaholism and
instant gratification, away from the influences of office politics and one
upmanship and “go ahead, it won’t hurt. Everyone’s doing it.” I may have told you when I worked for the
freight company it seemed like half my coworkers were either stealing from the
company or they were committing adultery.
It was horrible. I’m
convinced one of the reasons I did not fall into that trap is because Elizabeth
and I were going to a local church that gave me strength to stay out of all
that. Jesus was leading me away from the
fox who was trying to get me.
Jesus wants to lead us away from danger
and into safety, so why don’t we let him?
Why are we are running from the outstretched wings? Because we live in a culture that celebrates
rugged individualism? We certainly
do. Celebrity CEOs, superstar athletes,
“the next big thing” singing sensations.
Or because we are selfish human
beings? Pride in our ability, making it
on our own, doing it “my way,” a la Frank Sinatra. It’s our nature to run from the wing
trying to shade us.
But the real problem is what Paul
recognizes. Our minds are set on earthly
things. Our god is the belly, the base
appetites constantly driving us. And so
we live as enemies of Christ, with nothing left to us, and Jesus standing by
the side of the road shaking his head.
Jesus wants to take us under his wings,
lead us away from danger, towards the safety of the
All you frustrated English majors will
remember John Donne’s Holy Sonnet XIV, where Donne says “Batter my
heart, three person’d God.
O’erthrow me, and bend your force to break, blow, burn and make me
new. Take me to you, imprison me, or I
shall never be free.”
Nice, perhaps, but it’s not the
Jesus of the Gospels. In the Gospels,
Jesus is not breaking the door down, forcing his way in. He’s standing at the door,
knocking. He’s not roping us and
dragging us to salvation whether we want it or not. He’s spreading his wings to enfold
us.
The season of Lent is a time for stepping
back, stopping on the road, looking to see if Jesus is shaking his head. Have we opened our door? Are we under his wings? Are we marching with Jesus towards
Easter is only 5 weeks away. By the time we get there may we know which
direction we’re headed. Amen.
© 2003 The Downtown Presbyterian Church All Rights Reserved