St. John’s Lutheran Church, Toluca, IL – 2nd Sunday in Lent
Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18; Psalm 27; Philippians 3:17–4:1; Luke 13:31-35
Gospel
31At that very hour, some Pharisees came and said to [Jesus,] “Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you.” 32He said to them, “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. 33Yet 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.’ 34Jerusalem, 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! 35See, your house is left to you. 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.’ ”
NRSV
Foxes No More
Grace and peace to you, beloved of God, from our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ.
I am tired of foxes ruling the world in which we live. See, there was a time not long ago that I thought humanity was finally moving on from some of its persistent and pervasive evils. Global wars, the threat of nuclear weapons, misogyny, racism, and isolationism seem to become a thing of the past. The world seemed to become more collaborative, sustainable growth and global economic justice were a decent part of the mainstream future thinking. It was beginning to look like the Kingdom of God on earth was possible. Looking back, such hope for the world may even have had a role in pushing me to dedicate myself to the ministry of Jesus Christ. That is probably the reason I am so done with foxy rulers.
Biblical commentators seem to slightly disagree about what exactly Jesus means when he calls Herod Antipas, the tetrarch of Galilee, a fox. Some say people of that time would understand it as a reference to someone crafty but shady, conniving. Others would associate being called a fox with a lowlife lesser person. Either way, Jesus is not extending a compliment to Herod on our gospel today.
This is what the son of Herod the Great was doing. Herod’s father had initiated giving up God’s people to the occupying Roman forces. Upon dad’s death, fox Junior was assigned as the vassal ruler of the northern part of Judea, where Galilee was. He finished the squandering of the fair and sustainable agricultural and market practices that followed God’s economic laws of the Old Testament and helped install Rome’s predatory practices. Such practices created haves and have nots. The haves became a minority who worked to benefit themselves. The have nots were the ones who lost the land of their ancestors’ land and became servicemen or servants to larger landowners. When Jesus began his ministry, they were the majority of the population. They were hungry and sick. They were imprisoned or killed if they did not pay taxes. Skill workers like carpenters and fishermen could hope for something, after taxes, only if they could attend to the demand for services and goods coming for Sepphoris, the town which fox Junior made the largest in Gallilee to accommodate his palace, wealth, and pleasures.
So this is what foxes do. They deceive, they take, and they kill. If God in Jesus Christ is the mother hen, then foxes are part of the forces that oppose God.
I am tired of lying, despicable, killing foxes who pretend to be the kings of the world God created. I am tired of mothers and fathers seeing their children murdered in schools or in the streets. I am tired of children separated from their parents, never to see them again. I am tired of the dehumanization, abuse, and killing of God’s beloved children because they think, or worse, look different. I tired of people pushed away from the land of their ancestors. I am disgusted by the bombing of schools, hospitals, and maternities. I am gut-wrenched, and so are you.
Not long ago, I lost hope. I thought God was quitting. I was wrong. Thankfully for us, like God did to his Son, who taught us how to defy evil and was willing to sacrifice himself for his children, God still raises unlikely mother hens among us willing to stand up to the foxes of this word. They say I am not running. Tell that fox to come and get me. I am standing with and for my people. Foxes should go back to the holes they came from.
Stand in solidarity and prayer with the people of Ukraine.
Return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abiding in steadfast love. Amen
Bridging Faith 