Shelter Offered Under His Wings

Text:   Luke 13:34 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not!    INTRODUCTION:  My dear friends in Christ, In the dramatic movie, Ulee's Gold, Peter Fonda plays a tired man who is a beekeeper. He runs the family business of collecting and selling the golden honey. It is exhausting work for a man now past middle age. Ulee does most of it by himself because he cannot afford to hire someone to help him. He maintains and moves the hives, gathers and separates the honey from the wax, spins the final product into jars, and ships it off to market. He worries about the flow of money offered in the business and doesn't sleep well at night. You can almost watch the spirit drain out of Ulee as the movie progresses.     But what really causes Ulee to worry is his daughter-in-law and her children. His daughter-in-law is a drug addict and long ago left three children with Ulee. In one scene where the oldest girl, around sixteen, is about to leave on a date with her older boyfriend.  Ulee has worried about her for weeks, not knowing exactly what to do.  A car is honking in the background. Ulee is exhausted from a fourteen-hour day. [Video: Before she steps through the screen door, Ulee says, "Remember -- curfew is 11:30." His granddaughter stops at the far end of the kitchen, turns, and says with a face that is half sneer, half smile, "I'd like to see you make me get home by then."] The screen door slams behind her and Ulee knows she is right. He is powerless to make her do much of anything anymore.  But he loves her anyway.
I.  One of the popular images of Jesus in many religious circles is that he is a man who can do anything. Walk on water. Turn a couple fish and a few loaves into a feast for thousands. Even raise the dead. "That's our Jesus, he can do anything."
	A.  Today's Gospel lesson seems to refute that claim. Jesus does do many impressive things. I'll not argue that.
			1.  But one thing he does not do is make us love him. He does not legislate love nor force Himself on a person.
					a. "How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing."  He has tried to gather this particular flock many times. "Often," he says. You see Jesus doesn’t force Himself on the people of Jerusalem.   b. He'll walk out of a tomb after a few days, but he won’t walk into our hearts.
			2.   I suspect Ulee knows exactly how Jesus feels.
					a. I suspect anyone who has loved someone deeply and knows they can't shelter them from harm's way understands the pain in Jesus' lament over the city.   b. Jesus can do a lot of amazing things.  But he watches sadly as his sons and daughters go through the screen door saying, "I'd like to see you make me." He does not overpower our wills. He is off the chart with a lot of things. But Jesus does not apply His power to make us love Him.
	B.  Unrequited love is tough enough one time around. Jesus was about this love "often." I daresay he still is about it. It's tough to put any type of love on the line and have that love rejected.
			1. I remember a scene from the movie “Hitch” that gives us a glimpse of this. [Hitch]  Unrequited love for a young person is as close to the end of the world as one may ever come.     2. Jesus' desire for us, no doubt, is a bit different than Hitch’s desire for that young woman. But it is similar in this regard: Jesus is willing to make a fool of himself to get our attention. Similarly, it seems foolish that He likens himself to a hen.
					a. To a chicken. Out of all the animals that Jesus could have chosen, a veritable Noah's ark of biblical metaphors, he chooses a chicken.  He could have chosen the powerful eagle of the book of Exodus (19:4). "I bore you on eagles' wings."   b. God is likened to a lion elsewhere. But a chicken? Really now, what kind of confidence does a chicken instill? When we send our children out the screen door to face the perils of this world, wouldn't you prefer "God the ravening lion" at your child's side rather than Jesus "the mother hen"?
II.     And to make matters worse there are a lot of foxes, like Herod, out there. And what kind of chance is this hen going to have against the likes of a fox such as Herod?
	A.  Some seemingly friendly Pharisees warn Jesus that Herod wants to kill him. No surprise there.
				1. Herod has already chopped off the head of John the Baptist at a wild party where anything went.   2. A chicken's head won't matter much. Put it on the chopping block and be done with all this squawking about the Kingdom of God. How annoying.
	B.   But this is the world we live in. Foxes have always had a certain allure over God's children, in this or any century.
			1.  They may not be quite as bizarre and murderous as Herod, but foxes still slyly woo away the hearts of God's brood.   And in our sinful blindness we all have a strong compulsion to follow them rather than a lowly hen.   2. And this is the thing: Jesus does not stop it. He can walk on water and raise the dead, but he will not make us love him. He desires such love, but he does not force it.
					a. He does not keep us from slamming the screen door in his face, while we are defenseless against the many Herods waiting in the shadows.   b. One of the hardest things in life is loving someone you know you won’t allow your love to surround them.
III. So what is Jesus' plan? What's he going to do now?
		A.  Herod, the Pharisees and even the loveless people of Jerusalem don't make Him go away. He sets his path toward Jerusalem and the cross. He still goes forth in love.
				1. And He does not die on that cross because of Herod's strength or the plottings of the Pharisees. Nor is He scourged and crucified because of the power of the Romans. He goes to that cross willingly, because this is His plan for your salvation. This is the all-powerful Son of God, and He will not be denied your redemption.  His love put Him on that cross and His love is more relentless than that of any hen. 2. This is our comfort and hope: Our Savior is not a weak man who is overpowered by evil. No matter the hatred of His enemies, He goes to Jerusalem for us.
					a. No matter the plots and plans of man, nothing keeps Him from suffering the full judgment for our sin.  He looks weak on that cross, but there He shows His greatest strength, His greatest love.   b. In Mission, British Columbia, a fellow by the name of Ike tells the story about his Grandpa's hen house which burned to the ground one day. Ike arrived just in time to help put out the last of the fire. As he and his grandfather sorted through the wreckage, they came upon one hen lying dead near what had been the door of the hen house. Her top feathers were singed brown by the fire's heat, her neck limp. Ike bent down to pick up the dead hen. As he did the hen's four chicks came scurrying out from beneath her burnt body. The chicks survived because they were insulated by the shelter of the hen’s wings. We survive under the shelter of His love.
		B.  Strangely, his plan is also to keep offering the love of a mother hen. Keep spreading his wings.
				1. He will offer his life to Herod on our behalf. He will follow us into the darkness we have chosen for ourselves, over and over again. He will place himself between that darkness and us.
					a. And if you look closely at this man hanging on the cross, his arms eternally outstretched, the span of his reach on that wood will begin to resemble the loving wings of a mother hen, gathering up her chicks in a love that doesn't make sense but breaks our hearts if we look long enough.     b. Jesus does not count on the world ever seeing or understanding such love. And even as he hangs there with wings nailed to a tree, he does not make us love him. He does not make us accept his love.  But his desire for us is there. Always, eternally there. "How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings,…." He said that 2,000 years ago. He says that today.    c. Jesus showed tenacity – no Pharisee, No ruler like Herod could deter him as He moved toward the cross.  He shows tenacity in spreading arms in love for us.  And yes, many did not listen, but for some the love broke through.  It is the same today.  His word of love goes out today.  He spreads out his wings like a mother hen through His Word, through Baptism, through the Lord’s Supper to gather his chicks in.  And for some His love breaks through.  Some are brought to receive His love.  You and I have been brought to see His love.
				2. But in spite of receiving His love we are still not out of danger.
					a. There are still foxes in our day too seeking to steal us away.  Today one fox that threatens us is our distracted lives.  We multi-task and we celebrate it. We eat and watch TV. We drive and talk on the phone. We go to class and text message. We go to church and write a grocery list.   b. But so often Multi-tasking makes for shallow living. You can do a lot, but none of it goes very deep. There's a cost.  Moments of grace, epiphany, insight, are lost to us because we are in such a hurry. Jesus Christ, savior of the world, savior of your life, the peace that we pray for, can stand right in front of you and you will never even notice.   c. And in a greater way than Ulee continued to love and reach out to his granddaughter, Jesus continues to spread out His arms in love – showering us with his love to get our attention.  It’s there in Word and Sacrament – not forced, but relentlessly offered over and over.  His love is there for us continuously, relentlessly.
CONCLUSION:   In our sin we slam the door on Jesus’ love.   He does not force us to love Him.  But Jesus’ love comes after us relentlessly and sacrificially.  Like a mother hen He spreads out His wings on a cross, showing a love unlike any other.  And that love is powerful – in Word and Sacrament it breaks though our resistance – not forcing us but winning us.  And He makes us His.  And then He keeps us His chicks forever.  Amen.

Don’t Take Yourself Out of the Fight.

Text:  Text: Luke 4:12-13  12 And Jesus answered him, "It is said, 'You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.'"  13 And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time.     INTRODUCTION: My dear friends in Christ, a classic film for Christmas is “It’s a Wonderful Life.” But in this movie there is a scene that speaks to our theme for today.  You remember the Movie.  Throughout his life, George Bailey is the only one who stands up to the rich Mr. Potter.  Toward the middle of the movie there is a clip where Mr. Potter tries to remove George from the fight by tempting him like this: [Video: It’s a Wonderful Life”]  Mr. Potter is trying to remove George from the fight and that’s precisely what the devil is doing in our text, trying to remove Jesus from the fight by this tempting.
I. In this clip Mr. Potter is tempting George with money much the same way Satan does with bread in our text.
	A. Satan knows how to push the right buttons when it comes to temptation. He came to Jesus when he was starving after he has been fasting for forty days.
			1. Changing stones to bread sounds like a reasonable response to Jesus’ hunger.
					a. With his power as God Jesus could have taken a stone and turn it into a roll of whole wheat, baked to perfection, hot out of the oven, moist, fragrant, sweet, covered with melting butter.   b. He had power over nature. Why not use it?
			2.  But what would be the cost? To do this Jesus would have been brought to doubt His Father’s love and to doubt His identity.
					a. Just days before, the Father said from heaven, “You are My beloved Son.” The devil immediately calls that Word into question: “If you are the Son of God.” In other words, “Are You really the Son of God? Then why are You so hungry?”  This would bring about a doubting of God’s provision, a doubting of His identity as God’s Son.   b. And even more dangerous this would have taken him out of the fight.  Making bread would also turn him from his mission to save mankind.  Physical needs have urgency, but spiritual needs are of eternal importance.
	B. Does Satan still do this today? You better believe it.
			1. Feeling down, how about a nice fresh, warm and toasty pity party for yourself, where you can give vent to your feelings and emotions, instead of turning to the Lord for help? How about a trip to the Mall where you can satisfy your craving and emptiness by indulging yourself with some material pleasure? How about beating up somebody in your family, kick the dog, say nasty things to your mom. That will make you feel better. Pour another glass. Pop another pill.   2. All this takes us out of the fight. All this moves us to turn from who we are.  All this brings us to doubt our Father’s care.  All this brings us to focus on the short term gratification rather than long term fulfillment.
II.    [All the Kingdoms of the World.]  Next, the devil tempts Jesus to think He deserves more.  Potter did the same to George, by offering a $20,000 salary – a lot for that time. He is saying “George, you deserve more.”
	A. The devil says to Jesus, “Ok, so let’s say You’re the Son of God. Don’t you deserve better than this?
				1. Shouldn’t you be King of the world, not a weak and hungry man alone in the wilderness?  You and I both know that His ways only takes You to a cross. Or, You can opt out and worship me, and I will give You all the kingdoms of the world—all the wealth, none of the suffering. You deserve better than God’s way.”   2.  Satan says to Jesus he has a better plan.  Think of what you could do with your power as God to make this world a better place to live. No drugs. No guns. No divorces. No nursing homes. All the glory, all the power, all the people will be praising you without the pain and suffering. Think of it Jesus. The glory without the gall, the crown without the cross, the throne of victory without the throes of death.
					a. But this path turns you from being who you are and dooms you in the long run.   George would have been doomed and would have had to give up being a Bailey, likewise Jesus would have been doomed and had to give up being the Son of God.    b. Jesus turns from the temptation even quicker than George Bailey did.  A king without a cross would have doomed all mankind to hell even Jesus.
	B.  Really this was a temptation to take the easy way – and we see this one too.  So often we are tempted to take the easy way – to go along to get along.  To go ahead because everyone else is doing it.  If it feels good do it.  You deserve a break today.  “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.”  All this denies our identity as God’s Child.
III. Well, Satan is 0 for 2, so he tempts Jesus by taking Jesus to Jerusalem and sets Him on the pinnacle of the temple; and this time, the devil even quotes Scripture as part of the temptation.
		A. Satan quotes Psalm 91:12-13, but he leaves off one verse: “Because He holds fast to Me in love, I will deliver Him; I will protect Him, because He knows My name.” – a verse that clarifies the aid God offers.
				1. But Satan really isn’t concerned about whether or not the angels catch Jesus. He wants Jesus to doubt His Father’s Word again.   2. He wants Jesus to ask “Is God really with Me or not?” to the point that He throws Himself off the temple to make His Father prove it. He wants Jesus to demand a sign rather than trust in the Word He has heard.
		B. We see this one too.  You can call this the “What are you, a chicken?” temptation  [Video: Back to the Future]
				1. “What are you chicken” The kids yelled to the young man as he stood high on the rocks along the river, and then plunged into the water below, snapping his neck. Satan sees us sitting on the ledge, shivering, afraid, looking for help, and then he yells, “Are you afraid to jump, you chicken?” We plunge ourselves into sin, justifying it with the thought, “God will protect me.”   2. We surround ourselves with bad company and fill ourselves with bad thoughts, tempting God, not wanting to climb down from the perch and get back into this Word. With Frank Sinatra we love to croon, “I’ll do it my way” and we think we are so smart doing it our way.
IV. But ultimately we need to remember that the devil lost the battle when making these temptations, but he also loses the war on Calvary.
		A. The devil wanted Jesus dead, but the Lord dies of His own will.  He dies paying for our sin of falling for the temptations of the devil.  He dies so we don’t have to. At the climactic battle of Calvary, your Savior Jesus Christ is the clear winner, and His victory is demonstrated three days later when He rises from the dead. For His death and resurrection, we give thanks, acknowledging that He has defeated the devil for us.
				1. Hear this Good News from the Temptation in the Wilderness: Jesus perfectly resisted temptation, and He did so for you.   2. He did this so that, along with the forgiveness of sins, He could give you the credit for His perfect resistance to temptation. He gives you these gifts and many more through Word and sacrament.
		B. But even with this Good News, we must recognize that in this life You’ll be tempted, don’t doubt it.
				1. You’ll be tempted to believe you deserve better than God provides. Whether it’s better health, better education, better food, more abundance and wealth, the devil will find your weakness and say, “If you are a child of God, shouldn’t your life show that? Shouldn’t you be more happy, healthy, wealthy and wise?” The devil always wants you discontented and wishing God would give more.
						a. When the devil tempts you to believe that you deserve better as God’s child, you know better from God’s Word. . By your confession of your sin, you declare that you deserve nothing good at all from the hand of God; and by the absolution you receive, you know that God will work all things for your good in His time, according to His will.  b. And when the devil tempts you to ask, “Is the Lord among us or not?”, you hear the Lord speak the truth in His Supper: “This is My body…this is My blood…for the forgiveness of sins.” Oh, yes: the Lord is with you, with grace and salvation, even to the end of the age. So when you are tempted, God’s Word is your refuge.
				2. Even though we have forgiveness – even though we have this perfect obedience, we must recognize that every temptation is an attempt by the devil to remove you from the fight by destroying your faith.
						a. If you just go ahead and willingly give into that temptation, then you're getting hooked by a sin that apparently you find attractive. The more attracted you are to a sin, the less you want to confess it and be forgiven. Eventually, yielding to temptation enough, the sin becomes so important or seductive that you're willing to abandon faith and forgiveness to keep it.  It happens gradually, slowly over time, so that the next temptation never seems worse than the one before, and the next sin doesn't seem all that bad. Therefore, when temptation comes, resist the sin; it is at work to destroy you.   b. And always remember: Christ has endured all temptation for you. He resisted the devil in the wilderness with all the temptations that were thrown at Him there. He resisted the cries to come down from the cross and save Himself so that He might remain there to save you. And with the forgiveness of sins, He gives you the credit for His perfect obedience.   c. He has washed away your iniquity in the waters of Holy Baptism. Where the devil seeks to accuse you, the Lord absolves you, declaring that you are not guilty for His sake.
CONCLUSION:  In all this probably the best advice when facing temptation is to follow the lead of the dog in this story: Leslie Dunkin once told about a dog he had when he was a boy. This was an unusually obedient dog. Periodically his father would test the dog’s obedience. He would place a tempting piece of meat on the floor. Then he would turn toward the dog and give the command, “No!” The dog, which must have had a strong urge to go for the meat, was placed in a most difficult situation to obey or disobey his master’s command. Dunkin said, “The dog never looked at the meat. He seemed to feel that if he did, the temptation to disobey would be too great. So he looked steadily at my father’s face.” Dunkin then made this spiritual application: “There is a lesson for us all. Always look up to the Master’s face.” As we face temptation always look into the Master’s face – His victory is ours – His obedience is ours.  Amen by Pastor Lohn Johnson (Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Lexington KY)