SETTING THE CONTEXT

The psalm we are about to read is titled a “Triumphant Song of Confidence” and that title holds true for the first part of the song, but then it moves into a lament. Notice at verse 7 the change in tone. It moves into a prayer or a plea and ends with an affirmation of faith. I would say this psalm is an honest song of faith.

Read Psalm 27

Last week we read about Jesus’ preparation for his public ministry. Today’s reading takes place well after that, in fact, nine chapters later. Jesus has called his disciples, taught and healed throughout Galilee. He appointed 70 to go out and heal the sick, preach and teach. The chapter we are reading from starts with Jesus calling people to repentance. Remember that repentance means having a change of heart or direction. He taught that the kingdom of God is like a mustard seed and like yeast. Then he spent time teaching in the towns on his way to Jerusalem. He said the most shocking thing, “Indeed, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”

Read Luke 13:31-35

THE SERMON

Have you ever started out with something strong and then had it fizzle? I’ve had that happen to me on a number of things usually having to do with New Year’s resolutions, diets and exercise plans. One year, I was going to get into shape by running. It was summer time and I was off from college so I had time. I put on my trusty sneakers, very attractive sweat bands on head and wrists and took off around the neighborhood. I must confess I started off strong, but after the sore ankles and shins set in and my chest burned from struggling for air I gave it up after a few weeks. The same thing happened with my second boyfriend, our relationship started off strong. As it progressed though, he knew that I wanted the commitment of marriage, and when it began to get serious, he dumped me so fast. It was a good thing I suppose that it was a long distance relationship because it made it a lot easier for him to end it. And the good news is it created an opportunity for a certain Methodist minister who had the courage to make the commitment. Psalm 27 is kind of like that it starts off strong “The Lord is my light and my salvation… Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war rise up against me, yet I will be confident.” But by vs. 7 that confidence begins to waver, “Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud be gracious to me and answer me!” I love the psalms so much because they are an honest reflection of the human experience with God. As Biblical scholar Lindsay Armstrong says “Real fear lives alongside honest faith. Bona fide doubt holds hands with genuine trust. In this psalm, as in life, both are unavoidable.”ⁱ That is the way it is in real life, isn’t it? We want to trust but we’re too afraid to trust at the same time. The psalm ends with this statement of faith, this decision. I don’t know about you, but I can almost hear the deep gulp of air as the psalmist says, “I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!” It’s a decision to trust, to wait, to let go.

My parents have modeled for me a love that goes the distance. The day before my sister had surgery my parents flew in to stay with her. They stayed with her for a week and a half or so to care for her. My parents have always been there for all of us children. Whenever we have been sick they have come and cared for us and we have learned to do likewise. They have been wonderful role models and we have learned from them that that is what love does. We have also learned from them that sometimes love that goes the distance has to make tough decisions. My brother Bud was one of those birds who would have never left the nest if he hadn’t been pushed. With incredible anguish, my mother found a supervised home that had the structure he needed and then they made him become independent. It was one of the hardest and most painful things my mother ever did, but she did it because she loved him enough to go the distance to make him independent.

When I used to read this passage from Luke, I used to read it as Jesus being angry. Then I read the book by the man who portrayed Jesus in the movie Matthew.ⁱⁱ He wrote about trying to figure out how Jesus would have dealt with the Pharisees. As he was watching the men before shooting a scene he realized that Jesus would have loved the Pharisees. The actor wrote, “Certainly He [Jesus] despised their sin, but nonetheless He loved them. And in that love, His every action toward them would be no different from His every action toward anyone else.” I realized that when Jesus cried, “Jerusalem, Jerusalem the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it!” It was not a cry of anger, it was a cry of anguish.

How many of you have had a rebellious child? OK, you don’t have to raise your hands, but you can raise them in your minds. Those of you with young children look at the older folk around you, there is great wisdom around you, don’t be afraid to talk to some of them when your children get into their tweens and teens. We now have a tween parents group, too. I was in the YMCA women’s locker room one morning and the women started talking about their rebellious children. As each one opened up about her child, I quickly realized that just about every family has at least one rebellious child in it unless your family only has one child then you have a 50/50 chance of having one. If you’ve ever had a rebellious child, you don’t even have to imagine the pain of the one who rejects your love, the chick who runs from the hen. If you’ve never had that experience, imagine the mother hen with all her chicks safely clustered around her body hidden in her feathers except the one who is not willing who has run off into the distance into danger. “How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!” How many times has God known that anguish of rejection by a rebellious child! How often has God gone the distance with one who was not willing to receive God’s grace-filled life-giving love.

In his lament over Jerusalem, Jesus’ brooding journey we see his anguish over the rejection of his life-transforming message. In Jesus’ brooding journey we see his anguish over the chick that has wavered and has fallen or run away. My friends, I ask you, “is that wayward chick you?”

How far is he willing to go in his love for you? What distance is he willing to go? He is willing to go all the way to Jerusalem; all the way to the cross. Maybe you started strong but you’ve been wavering lately. Maybe you’ve just been going through the motions. Perhaps something’s happened and even though you want to trust, you really want to trust the Lord but you’re afraid. Like the psalmist doubt is holding hands with faith. I invite you to rededicate yourself to Jesus Christ. Pray to him and in your own words, the right words are your sincere, genuine words, ask forgiveness for what has drawn you away from him, open your heart to his saving love and then tell him you in your own words how you what him to be the Lord of your life. …

Sermon delivered by Rev. Nancy Cushman on February 28, 2010.