In many parts of the world, Lent begins in the dead of winter, emphasizing our spiritual need for rebirth.  Just as the earth seems dead in winter, so our spirits may seem to be dead.  The earth is waiting for Spring, and our spirits await Easter.

          Being in Chicago last week reminded me of this.  Unlike the Pacific Northwest, where everything stays quite green in the winter, the Midwest winters really give you the feeling of a season of deadness.  The cold weather is truly cold.  While there are evergreen trees, they are few, and seem to be a very dark green.  Most of the trees are barren of all foliage.  The ground, if you can see it beneath the snow, is dark and muddy or dry.  If there is a shred of grass, it is brown and dead looking.  In spite of this rather dismal picture, there is a stark, quiet beauty in that cold, Midwest winter.

          I remember my first winter in Chicago.  It felt to me as if the snow would never melt and I would never be warm again.  My mom wrote to me that the tulips were coming up here in Washington, and that made me feel sorry for myself in that barren, cold place. 

          Winter reminds us that just as the earth needs the rebirth of Spring, so our souls need to be revitalized.  The season of Lent is a time to slow our pace, and look at ourselves.  It’s a time to ponder our relationship with God.  It’s a time to prepare our hearts for the joyful coming of Easter.

          However, Lent need not be a morose, negative, navel-gazing.  That can be counter-productive.  If we only dwell on our own sin and failure to measure up, we may just become discouraged.  So while we do take time to reflect on ourselves, we want to keep our focus on the cross.

          The cross, of course, involves tremendous pain on Jesus’ part.  Focusing on the cross can lead us to despair if we forget that Jesus’ death on the cross had a purpose.  But if we focus on the cross while understanding that the cross is a part of God’s plan for the redemption of humanity, we can learn something about the nature of God.

          The short passage for today is one that gives us a glimpse of God’s heart, as it is revealed in Jesus.  This is not a simple passage to understand, so it will help us to think about the background before I read it.

          First, at this point in Jesus’ ministry, he knows he must die soon, and that his death will take place in Jerusalem.  Earlier in Luke 9: 51, it says “Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem” which is more literally translated “He set his face to go to Jerusalem.”  There is a sense of determination in Jesus as he knows he is moving towards his death.  But in this passage, we see that he will neither be deterred from his journey to Jerusalem, nor will he be hurried.  He is very clear now in his mind.  He knows he is moving toward Jerusalem, and he will do it in his own way.

          Second, Jerusalem represents the Israelites, or the Jews.  The Jews were God’s chosen people; the ones to whom he particularly revealed himself.  They were the people God particularly loved.  So when Jesus speaks to the city saying “Jerusalem, Jerusalem,” he is addressing his own beloved people.

          Another thing that is helpful to our appreciation of this passage is that the images Jesus chooses to use to describe his feelings toward Jerusalem are not unique.  There are references in the Old Testament that use very similar images to help us understand God’s love.

          In this passage, Jesus will compare his desire to care for Jerusalem to the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings.  Notice the use of wings as a symbol of God’s protection.  In Deuteronomy 32:11, Moses describes God’s care for his people as “like an eagle that stirs up its nest and hovers over its young, that spreads its wings to catch them and carries them on its pinions.”  In Psalm 17:8, David prays to God, “Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings.”  In Psalm 36:7, he speaks of finding refuge in the shadow of God’s wings.  In Psalm 57:1 he says “Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me, for in you my soul finds refuge. I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings until the disaster has passed.”  And in Psalm 61:4 he says to God, “I long to dwell in your tent forever and take refuge in the shelter of your wings.”  The concept of God comforting and protecting his people as a mother bird protects her young was used repeatedly in the Old Testament to demonstrate God’s loving care for his people.  In this passage, Jesus expresses his great sorrow over the rejection he has experienced.  His love for his own people has been rejected—and it will be totally rejected when he is crucified.

          I am reading Luke 13:

³¹At that time some Pharisees came to Jesus and said to him, "Leave this place and go somewhere else. Herod wants to kill you."

 ³²He replied, "Go tell that fox, 'I will drive out demons and heal people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal.' ³³In any case, I must keep going today and tomorrow and the next day—for surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem!

 ³⁴"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! ³⁵Look, your house is left to you desolate. I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.'"

          In this passage, Jesus speaks first in the tones of a prophet.  The Pharisees tell him that he must leave because Herod wants to kill him.  Throughout the Gospels, the Pharisees are the people with whom Jesus is continually at odds.  But it’s possible these Pharisees are trying to warn Jesus for his protection.  Not all of the Pharisees were always against Jesus.  Some of them believed in him.      Jesus’ reply sounds like a prophet.  It’s somewhat ambiguous, and reveals an understanding of what is coming in the future.  He says that he will continue to drive out demons and heal people today and tomorrow, and on the third day he will reach his goal.  Further, he must keep going today and tomorrow and the next day.  Then he jumps to the subject of Jerusalem and makes this prophetic statement:  “for surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem!” 

          In this statement he alludes to his coming death in Jerusalem, asserting that he will continue his ministry until the time is right, but he will indeed go to Jerusalem to die as other prophets have died.

          Then, he pulls from the imagery of God’s love in the Old Testament and speaks these heart-wrenching words of great sadness over the rejection he has already received from his people.  The words are so expressive of God’s father-mother love for his people.  Listen as I read them again.

                ³⁴"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! ³⁵Look, your house is left to you desolate. I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.'"       

          It’s impossible to hear these words without feeling Jesus’ pain.  He compares himself to a parent who wants to gather his children together, like a hen, who gathers her chicks under her wings.  And he says, “but you were not willing.”  Not only has he been rejected, but he foresees the devastation that will come to the city of Jerusalem.

          Often we think of God as the unmovable.  We have this concept of God, which, by the way, comes, not from the Bible, but from Philosophy, that nothing touches him; that nothing we do impacts God.

          This is not the God of the Bible.  The God of the Bible is moved to sorrow over human suffering and pain and rebellion.  When we, like Jerusalem, refuse to respond to God, it caused him pain.

          In the same way, when we suffer, God suffers with us.  He cares very deeply about what happens to us.  That’s the kind of God we have.  He’s a lot like a parent, who is sad and even angry when his children go the wrong way.  When he wants to gather us, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but we are not willing, he suffers.  In the same way as Jesus foresaw the devastation that would come to the city of Jerusalem, he sees that when we turn away from him, we are also moving towards devastation in our lives.

          So this morning, as a part of our Lenten reflection, let us consider the question, “Are we willing?”  What is it that God is calling you to do?  Is there something in your life that causes God grief, as he sees your life moving towards devastation?  Or is your life simply going nowhere in particular?  What is God calling you to change?

          I think there are times when God allows us to simply drift through life.  But there are other times when God calls us to change or to do something different.  As we move through Lent, I want to encourage all of us to think about what God would have us to change.  As we listen for the voice of God’s Holy Spirit moving in our lives, we need to ask ourselves, “Are we willing?” 

          Much of the time, we keep ourselves so busy that it’s very difficult for us to hear God’s voice.  If we really want to hear God’s voice, we need to carve out some spaces of quiet.  It helps to open our Bibles and read God’s word, and to spend time in prayer.  So often when we pray, we simply read our list to God, hoping he will somehow reach into our lives and solve whatever needs solving.  There is nothing wrong with that, as far as it goes.  However, the kind of prayer that allows us to hear God’s voice takes more time.  It means seeking God, not simply for what he can do for us, but for the sake of knowing God and hearing his voice.

          This kind of prayer is not easy for most of us.  But it is worth making the effort.  Let me give you some suggestions that might be helpful.

          Begin with scripture.  It doesn’t have to be a long passage.  Read one of the Psalms, or read the scripture passages from this morning—either the sermon text or the scripture reading.  God speaks to us through scripture.  It’s always an amazing thing when you read a familiar passage of scripture and see or understand something you have never seen or understood before.  When that happens, it’s the Holy Spirit bringing life to the words of scripture.

          Another suggestion is to pray the scripture.  Put your name into the passage.  For example, let’s try it with our passage for this morning.  I’ll put my own name in, in place of Jerusalem.  Notice how personal the message becomes.  Imagine Jesus talking to you and to me:  “O Cathy, Cathy, …how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!”  And in response, I would ask, “Lord, please show me what area of my life I have been holding back from you.  Where do you want me to allow you to bring me under the shelter of your wings, if only I were willing?”

          Or perhaps we could think of this for our church.  What if we substituted Queen Anne Baptist Church for Jerusalem?  “O Queen Anne Baptist Church, Queen Anne Baptist Church, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!”  Then we as a church would ask, “Lord, show us where we have been unwilling to be sheltered under your wings and to follow you.”

          A third suggestion is that you write down the things you hear God saying to you.  Or write out your prayers.  This can really help you organize your thoughts and see where God is leading you.

          I really want to encourage you to try some of these things as your Lenten preparation of your heart.  In one sense, Lent is a time when we follow Jesus to the cross.  It’s difficult to follow Jesus if we don’t take the time to listen for his voice.  So let’s ask ourselves, as individuals and as a church, “Are we willing?”  Let’s seek to hear his voice this week, by carving out times of quiet, when we focus on God’s word and listen to his voice in prayer.

Prayer:

Lord, you ask each of us to be willing to follow you to the cross.  It is not an easy path.  Yet you promise to love us and to gather us under your wings as a mother hen gathers her chicks.  Your love for us is beyond our comprehension.

This morning, as we come forward to receive the Lord’s Supper, remind us of what it cost you.  Remind us that our salvation was bought with a high price—your body and your blood.  Forgive us for taking lightly your priceless gift to us.  Help us to seek you with all or our hearts and our minds.  Help us to be willing to follow you.

Amen