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During Lent we are digging deeper into the “Parable of
the Prodigal Son.” Clearly God never gives up on anyone
but continues to reach out with love, longing for the
day when wayward children will return home. All people
matter to God and therefore matter to us as well. We
are the hands and feet of Jesus today engaging in the
activities that Jesus would participate in, caring for
the poor and loving those who feel unloved.
We
show love and concern for the poor and marginalized in
society. We make the extra effort providing food and
clothing. In the last month we have collected money for
the recovery effort in Haiti. We also collecting health
kits consisting of band aids, toothbrushes, combs, wash
cloths, and towels to help those who are suffering in
ways we find hard to comprehend. Whenever there is a
need anywhere in the world the church is among the first
to respond. As United Methodists we can feel a sense of
pride knowing that the United Methodist Committee on
Relief (UMCOR) is one of the first on the scene when
disasters strike anywhere in the world.
We
are the hands and feet of Jesus. Jesus reflected the
love and compassion of God as he cared for the people he
encountered. During the forty days in Lent we redouble
our efforts to follow in the footsteps of Jesus. We
strive to have the same heart as Jesus as he continually
showed compassion to all people. Everyone we meet is a
beloved child of God and should be treated as such.
When Jesus began his ministry not everyone demonstrated
the same level of enthusiasm, some of the religious
leaders opposed him. It is hard for us to comprehend
that there were people who could not recognize Jesus’
true identity. Throughout the gospels large crowds of
people were gathered to see and hear Jesus yet not
everyone would follow. Some turned away because what
Jesus expected of them was too great. Those vested with
power, the religious and political leaders, took a
particular dislike to Jesus. In the last weeks of
Jesus’ ministry and life those in power stepped up their
attacks wanting to silence Jesus forever.
Our lesson opens with some religious leaders warning
Jesus, “Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill
you.” While some of the religious leaders openly
opposed Jesus, others saw what he was trying to
accomplish. Perhaps secretly they applauded his
efforts. Jesus was able to do what they could not being
so blinded by their tradition. I believe the Pharisees
who warned Jesus did so out of adoration and genuine
concern for his safety. Herod was a dangerous ruler
responsible for the death of John the Baptist. Jesus
had every reason to be frightened of Herod.
In
striving to be like Jesus, to have the heart of Jesus,
we need to show the same resolve he did. Jesus was not
about to quit, or flee for his own personal safety. His
sense of mission was strong. We need to remember Jesus’
determination when he faced opposition from others. Our
first reaction is to back down, quit, give up, when in
fact we should stand up for what we believe. If we do
not ruffle some feathers from time to time then we
should question whether or not we are taking our faith
as seriously as we should.
Nothing or no one would stop Jesus, he replied, “Listen,
I am casting out demons and performing cures today and
tomorrow, and on the third day I finish my work.” When
we hear those words we understand them as referring to
the events of Holy Week and Easter. Jesus would not
become a victim of random violence—everything that would
happen would be in accordance with God’s will. He would
continue. Jesus teaches us to put our trust in God. No
matter what happens to us God will have the last word
for each of us. We live trusting in God for all of our
tomorrows. God is not finished with us yet. There is
still work for us to accomplish.
As
Jesus cries out in lament, “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the
city that kills the prophets and stones those who are
sent to it!” we glimpse the heart of Jesus. He grieved
that the people rejected him as they did the prophets of
old. God sent prophets in an effort to get the people
back on track—to return to God. However, the people
were not always kind to God’s emissaries.
We
have been studying the Old Testament prophet Isaiah and
later Jeremiah in our Monday evening study. Legend has
it that Isaiah met an untimely death. Poor Jeremiah was
thrown down a dry well and left for dead. Their only
offense was speaking the word of God to a people who did
not want to hear that they needed to change their ways.
If only the people would have taken the prophets
warnings to heart—but they did not. So they were
silenced.
There have been times when we too have failed Jesus.
There have been times when we know we should have
acted—but for whatever reason we did not. There have
been times when we too have walked by on the other side
of need. We cannot change the past but can seize
opportunities today to act in greater love. We have
been granted additional time to do what Jesus calls us
to do. It is not too late. We seek forgiveness and are
forgiven. We do not have to go too far to discover
human need.
How Jesus desired to love and protect all the people
like a hen gather her chicks, “under her wings, and you
were not willing!” If only the people would turn from
their sins, repent, and turn toward God.
We
too grieve when persons we love and care about seemingly
reject the faith or not take their faith as seriously as
they should. Over the years, I’ve had plenty of
discussions with persons brokenhearted over a son or
daughter or grandchild who did not claim the faith. We
do not give up but continue to pray for them, we keep on
showing our love and concern. We need to find new ways
to present the gospel message that the younger
generation can embrace.
We
share the heart of Jesus, longing for the day when
people will surrender their lives to Jesus and live for
him. The Parable of the Prodigal reminds us that we
never stop loving and waiting for the wayward daughter
or son to return. And when they do it is a cause for
celebration.
That day Jesus knew his earthly ministry was winding
down. The last verse of our lesson reminds us of Palm
Sunday, when the whole city of Jerusalem openly welcomed
Jesus, proclaiming, “Blessed is the one who comes in the
name of the Lord.”
One final thought this morning and that is to ask a
question, what breaks your heart? Jesus grieving, cried
out to Jerusalem. What is our Jerusalem today? What
causes us to grieve? Who or what is our Jerusalem?
Maybe it is the political sphere, the infighting and
gridlock in Washington that causes us to question
whether politicians have the best interest of all the
people. Maybe it is the religious leaders who we feel
have left us down. Maybe it’s additional causes.
In
answering those questions maybe we need to take action.
We need to step up to the plate—using the baseball
metaphor. There are people who are hurting, and
struggling who need Jesus as well as the love and
support of the church. There is much that each one of
us can do. Lent is the time for honesty and truth
telling.
Tom Henderson was home watching the
evening news in 1999 when he saw aid workers throwing
loaves of bread on the ground and people scrambling
after them. Tom could hardly believe what he saw. He
asked his wife, “Why can’t they hand the bread to the
people?” People list everything in a disaster, “Why
should they lose their self-respect too?” Tom pondered.
That evening was a turning point of sorts, a call to
action for Tom. Tom made a list of what people would
need after a natural disaster. He proposed his idea to
his Rotary Club who embraced the project. They began
packing sturdy boxes, each one filled with a ten person
tent, blankets, pans, utensils, even crayon and a
coloring book for children.
Since 2001, they raised enough money to send 75,000
boxes to more than 100 disaster zones in places like
India, Congo, and El Salvador. In January they sent
5000 boxes to Haiti.
“Our boxes don’t just create tent cities,” Tom explains,
“They build communities.” (1)
When we cry out to God, expressing
our sadness we do so confident that God hears our
prayers and has the power to turn our laments into
something good. God continues to love us and works to
redeem us, to bring us and all people back into God’s
fold.
Amen.
1. “Power of
One” Time Magazine, February 15, 2010, p. 56
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