Gospel Reading for the Second Sunday in Lent: Year C
“Some Pharisees came and said to Jesus, “Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you.” (Luke 13:31)
With assistance of Fred B. Craddock writing for Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching; Luke; Craddock also shows that not all Pharisees should be grouped into a Hate-Jesus group. Craddock writes, “In fact, according to Luke, Paul himself acknowledged near the close of his ministry, not “I was a Pharisee” but, “I am a Pharisee” (Acts 23:6). (Craddock; Interpretation 1990; Luke; p. 173). Craddock goes on to say that some of the members of the early church were indeed Pharisees.
This is the idea I quickly came to as I read the opening of this passage. These particular Pharisee were not trying to trick Jesus. They were trying to warn him. Herod Antipas of Galilee had already beheaded John the Baptist and there was talk that Jesus was a reconstituted John. Herod now wanted to be done with this once and for all. But Jesus knew that in spite of Herod’s yearning, prophets are killed in Jerusalem and nowhere else. Jesus even taunts him sending the message that he will be in his territory for three more days and then on to Jerusalem. So there, Herod.
This lesson about the Pharisees is like the one about “The Jews” as written especially in the Gospel according to John where the term is used as if to say that all Jews were instrumental in the death of Jesus. The term “The Jews” actually points to the Temple authorities only. And, perhaps, not even all of them. This leads to the focus of my pondering. We need to own the deep level of understanding God has given us in order to look deep into the heart of people, and the groups to which they belong.
Today we tend to be as divisive as we can be. Sometimes this happens only for the sake of being against the other group or team. We do this most effectively with labels. We label the others, progressive, conservative, liberal, literal, fundamentalist, democrat, and republican; Baptist, Episcopalian, Catholic, Muslim and back to Jew again.
Jesus calls Herod a fox even as he himself identifies as a hen wanting to protect her brood. We are all familiar with the disaster of the fox in the henhouse. Jesus uses a term that labels Herod as one who harms, and himself, as one who protects. One can be a fox within any of the labels mentioned above; progressives, conservatives, liberals, literalists, fundamentalists, democrats and republicans, can all be a harmful fox as well as Baptists, Episcopalians, Catholics, Muslim and Jews. To copy Jesus is to become the hen who protects the innocent, even at the costs of one’s own life. I think it’s ok to wear the exterior label, even Pharisee, if we are hens on the inside. After all, these Pharisee were trying to protect Jesus, God Incarnate. Perhaps the hen in us becomes a hawk when fighting a fox. We’ll never know if we don’t spread our wings of protection over the helpless.
As we listen to what the Spirit of God is saying to us, let us live to love and to serve, and to teach others to love and to serve, while pondering anew what the Almighty can do. John
Let us pray: BCP p. 218
O God, whose glory it is always to have mercy: Be gracious to all who have gone astray from your ways, and bring them again with penitent hearts and steadfast faith to embrace and hold fast the unchangeable truth of your Word, Jesus Christ your Son; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
onewhoponders 