February 28, 2010 ~ Lent 2
Luke 13:31-35
“Getting Herod To Take Notice”
Franklin Circle Christian Church
Rev. Allen V. Harris
 

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One of the greatest lines from modern human history echoed across the nation and world just a few months after I was born. “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” President John F. Kennedy, speaking on radio and television in July of 1963 to promote a nuclear test ban treaty, quoted the 6th century B.C.E. Chinese philosopher, Lao-tzu. (1) The image of a journey is one of the archetypes for human existence, in part, because it captures each individual’s “journey” through life, as well as peoples and even humanity as a whole.

Jesus used journey imagery well, and the four gospel writers chronicled Jesus’ birth, life, death, and resurrection as a journey, both geographical as well as spiritual. Mostly, Jesus’ life was a spiritual journey. Biblical scholar, Ron Allen, reminds us that it is in Luke that the journey Jesus takes is to be the image of the life of discipleship for all of us who follow him. (2) Discipleship is a journey of a thousand miles.

Today’s scripture passage, from Luke 13, is a bit of a poetic transition, most appropriate as the Lenten Season progresses towards Holy Week. The first half is unique to Luke. Nowhere else in the gospels do we find this warning from “some Pharisees” about Herod’s plans, and Jesus’ stinging rebuke to “that fox.” The second half, Jesus’ mourning over Jerusalem, using the imagery of the mother hen caring for her chicks, is also found in Matthew 23. It moves us along in the journey, from day-to-day healings and teachings, to face toward Jerusalem.

Taking the first half of this poetic transition, one of the first questions we must ask, and not out of spite or ignorance, but honest historical confusion, is “Who is Herod?” There are several “Herods” mentioned in the Bible, and they don’t connect well in our minds – and understandably so.

First: This is not the Herod mentioned at Jesus’ birth. That’s Herod the Great, this Herod’s father, who died in 4 BCE. (Don’t ask about the dating… that’s entirely another sermon!) When Herod the Great died his territory was divided and given to four “tetrarchs,” one of whom was his son, Herod Antipas. This Herod’s territory was over Galilee and Perea. Prior to today’s scripture Herod has come into conflict with John the Baptist, who he eventually had beheaded because he posed a threat to Herod’s power by questioning his marriage to his brothers ex-wife, Herodias. You know, the now infamous scene in which Herod’s new daughter-in-law, traditionally called Salome, danced for the king and in exchange he promised anything she wanted, and she wanted nothing more than the head of John the Baptist, who had defamed her mother, on a silver platter. Wow, that ought to be made into a movie!

But more importantly, this will also be the Herod who will bounce Jesus back to Pontius Pilate during the painfully elongated trial of Jesus, in large part due to the politics of who should be responsible for the death of a very popular religious figure. Herod’s territory did not include Jerusalem, where Jesus’ trial and crucifixion took place, but Pilate was banking on the fact that Jesus did most of his ministry in Galilee, which is Herod Antipas’ territory. It doesn’t matter, in the end, because in 39 C.E. Herod will be sent into exile by the new Roman emperor, Caligula, where he will die.

Well, anyway, Jesus takes this opportunity to hear the unusually thoughtful warnings of the Pharisees that Herod wants to kill him, and then send his own message back to Herod. "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.’”

But lest we get too caught up in the specifics of who this Herod was, we should be asking who this Herod is! Who is it that is like a fox in our lives? You see, foxes are not terribly powerful. Herod wanted to be called a “lion,” with all the metaphors of strength, courage, and ferocity that we explored last Wednesday in our Mid-Week Bible Study series on Animals In The Bible. But no, no lion’s roar. Just a foxe’s whimper. Jesus chooses the fox, a sly, crafty, and cunning creature because, though not very big, can still cause terrible devastation. Ask any farmer who has a henhouse how much damage a fox can cause.

See, we tend to get sidetracked by the big bogeymen in our world. We see the folks the media and the marketers hold up in front of us, and we worship and adore or we rail and complain about them, all the while some fox is in our henhouse! Yes, Presidents and Governors, business executives and financial moguls, movie stars and sports giants make decisions that affect our lives… but we have little power to change their course of action. We have far more power over our family members, our neighbors, our co-workers, even other church members, where – dare I say it – foxes may lay waiting for us to be distracted?

>> Who are the Herods along your journey?

To make my point further, let’s look at the second half of the poetic transition, the “Lament Over Jerusalem.” For each of the gospel writers, Jerusalem represents something different. Luke’s Gospel begins and ends in the temple in Jerusalem, so the city is extremely important to this gospel. Zechariah learns in the temple that he and Elizabeth will have a child. Mary and Joseph bring their own child there when the time comes. Simeon and Anna deliver their prophecies there, and Jesus returns when he is 12 years old to take his place among the teachers of Israel. He will return there when the time comes, riding in on a donkey with the common people praising him.

All told, Luke mentions Jerusalem 90 times in his Gospel, while all the other New Testament writers combined mention the city only 49 times. Episcopal preacher and writer, Barbara Brown Taylor admits, “It is hard to avoid the conclusion that Luke loves the place -- so rich in history and symbol, so dense with expectation and fear. Jerusalem is the dwelling place of God, the place where God’s glory shall be revealed (Isa. 24:23). It is also the place where God is betrayed by those who hate the good and love what is evil (Mic. 3:2). Nothing that happens in Jerusalem is insignificant. When Jerusalem obeys God, the world spins peacefully on its axis. When Jerusalem ignores God, the whole planet wobbles.” (3)

But, again, as is so often the case, if we get stuck on the specifics of Jerusalem, we will miss the deeper meaning of the story for those of us who are on the journey of discipleship here in 2010 at Franklin Circle Christian Church. What does Jerusalem mean to Jesus as he weeps over it? Is it the place of enormous potential that gets caught up in petty conflicts and allows its promise to slip away? Is Jerusalem the place where God’s glory is both revealed and shattered? Is Jerusalem the place where the prophecies and teachings of God are ridiculed or ignored?

>>If so, then where is Jerusalem on your journey?

Imagine, this day, Jesus standing quietly over your bed at night. This gentle savior is able to see all that you have seen, know all that you know. Jesus has followed you on your journey and has been where you have been. He is in relationship with every single person with whom you have been in relationship, and is aware of every thought you have perceived.

Standing there, as if a mother hen over one of her beloved chicks, he suddenly tells the Herods of your life to “go take a hike!” Who is sent away? He begins to weep, and cries out “Jerusalem, Jerusalem!” Where have you been that causes him to weep so much?

A journey of a thousand miles does, indeed, begin with a single step. Take that step this day. Don’t be so distracted by Herod the Great to let Herod the Fox steal you away. Don’t be so enamored with Jerusalem the Capital to ignore Jerusalem the Hometown to decay. Today, put your journey back on track, and let us walk together, with Jesus, toward our destiny. Together, we will make it through the difficult times which surely lie ahead, to the resurrection glory which most certainly lies ahead.

Amen.

(1) http://usa.usembassy.de/etexts/speeches/rhetoric/jfkban.htm  and
http://www.quotationspage.com/quotes/Lao-tzu/

(2) Ron Allen, Preaching Luke-Acts, (St. Louis: Chalic Press, 2000) p. 45

(3) http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=638

As a Hen Gathers Her Brood, by Barbara Brown Taylor
Barbara Brown Taylor teaches at Piedmont College in Demorest, Ga. This article appeared in The Christian Century, February 25, 1986, page 201; copyright by the Christian Century Foundation and used by permission. Current articles and subscription information can be found at www.christiancentury.org. This material was prepared for Religion Online by Ted & Winnie Brock.


 

Rev. Allen V. Harris
Franklin Circle Christian Church
www.FranklinCircleChurch.org


 

Copyright 2010 -- The Rev. Allen V. Harris

Franklin Circle Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

1688 Fulton Rd., Cleveland, OH 44113-3096