Citizens of Jerusalem

Luke 13:31-35
The gospel reading for today shows Jesus in a moment of great candor. Using the city of Jerusalem as a metaphor for the people of God, Jesus laments their failure to accept what God is doing in their midst. “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, and you were not willing!" (Luke 13:34).

I think singer/songwriter Paul Simon has done a masterful job of capturing Jesus’ obvious emotion with the song “Silent Eyes.”

Silent Eyes
Watching Jerusalem
Make her bed of stones

Silent Eyes
No one will comfort her
Jerusalem Weeps alone

Ultimately, however, the responsibility to recognize and accept Jesus for who he is rests on all of us, a message that Simon seems to convey in the final stanza of the song.

Silent Eyes
Burning In the desert sun
Halfway to Jerusalem
And we shall all be called as witnesses
Each and every one
To stand before the eyes of God
And speak what was done

Jesus wanted so desperately to comfort and to care for the people, yet he knew and accepted the role he was called to play. What about us? We should hear and share the good news of the gospel. We should gladly welcome Jesus as Lord and Savior. We should live as though the gospel really means something to us, really makes a difference. The tragedy is that all too often we are unwilling to take up our crosses and to follow Jesus. In this way we have become citizens of Jerusalem and witnesses of what has been done. The good news is that Jesus continues to challenge us to hear and to see. Now, how will we respond? 

Prayer: Lord, open our eyes to your grace that we may share the good news with others even as we reorder our lives to your will. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

One Thing

(Note: I seem to have gotten my weeks mixed up and referred to this week's passages last week. I apologize for the confusion.)

Galatians 1:18-2:10

Paul reports on the response he received from the leaders of the church on his first visit to Jerusalem after his conversion. “They asked only one thing,” he says by way of summation, “that we remember the poor, which was actually what I was eager to do” (Galatians 2:10).

Life is filled with things to remember: doctors appointments, bills to pay, soccer practice, pills to take, committee meetings, milk and eggs, oil changes, bank deposits, letting the cat out, and so forth. How often do we add remembering the poor to that list? And does thinking about those in need really rank as the one thing we should do?

From the very beginning of the church regard for others has been a high priority. The apostles constantly saw to the needs of others, healing those who were infirm and providing what they could. Stephen and the other deacons were selected specifically to wait tables (though they soon branched out significantly). Collecting money for believers in Jerusalem was an ongoing task of Paul’s. Frankly the church is closest to Christ’s ministry when its members look beyond their own needs, their own circumstances, and seek to help others. Look at our verse for today. The elders in Jerusalem challenge Paul to be mindful of the needs of others, but Paul was already eager to do so. There were controversies swirling around at the time, but this was not one of them. Maybe if we were to make remembering the poor “the one thing” in our lives we’d find ourselves more readily in agreement with one another.

Maybe it would give us common ground and draw us together. Maybe it would heal our divisions and our self-inflicted wounds. Maybe, just maybe it would save us from our own destructive tendencies. I think it’s worth a shot.

Payer: Lord help us to be mindful of those in need and to do what we can to help others. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

The Determined Walk

Mark 10:32-45

Our gospel reading for today presents a vivid scene filled with both determination and fear. "They were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them; they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid" (Mark 10:32a). Picture this: Jesus and his followers are walking toward what, for the disciples anyway, is an uncertain future in the city of Jerusalem. Jesus is out in front, like the point man in a war movie. He is not hesitant but his disciples are lagging behind.

I admit that my own journey of faith sometimes resembles this scene from Mark’s gospel. There are days when I am content to allow Jesus to walk far ahead as I find excuses to dillydally. It isn’t that I don’t believe, it’s just that I’m not entirely sure that I want to go where Jesus is leading me. I lack courage, perhaps, or confidence. I am clearly not as determined as I should be. And yet, Jesus continues to lead me on and to lead others with me. Together we take hesitant, unwilling steps. Together we travel the road that Jesus has chosen. Together we go to meet the future that God holds out to us.

Why is Jesus willing to lead such a procession? I don’t know, but I thank God for the grace that Jesus displays. Even when I pause on the road of discipleship Jesus urges me on. And I know in my heart that whatever happens I will be in the company of the one whose love saves me. I may not be as determined as I should be, but by God’s grace I keep walking.

Prayer: Lord, lead us on and take us with you. Amen.

My guest blogger for tomorrow will be the Rev. Dr. David R. Freeman.

With the Help Of Our God

Nehemiah 6:1-19

According to our reading from Nehemiah this morning there was reason to celebrate in Jerusalem. “So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty-two days. And when all our enemies heard of it, all the nations around us were afraid and fell greatly in their own esteem; for they perceived that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God” (Nehemiah 6:15-16). By God’s grace the restoration of Jerusalem’s defenses had been accomplished in very little time. This passage brings to mind other verses of significance. “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain” (Psalm 127:1). “The stone which the builders rejected has become the very head of the corner” (Psalm 118:22, 1 Peter 2:7). In each case scripture reminds us that God is at the very heart of our efforts. Whether we build with literal brick and mortar or strive for a spiritual structure we succeed only when we recognize God as the source of our strength.

What might we accomplish today “with the help of our God”? I don’t now about you, but this thought is both terrifying and invigorating to me. It scares me because I know that I have work to do, work that will be challenging and difficult at times. But it stirs my soul to think that with God’s help I can touch lives and offer God’s love to others. If we trust God to build the house, if we rely on the stone that the world has rejected, then we work with hope and confidence, with hearts open to possibilities that we might otherwise have missed.

Today is full of potential. May God bless it to our use and may we experience the success that comes “with the help of our God.”

Prayer: Lord, guide our living that your will be done, today and all days. In Jesus’ name. Amen.