“Jerusalem, Jerusalem!”

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Meditation on Luke 13:31-35

Feb. 24, 2013

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       “At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to him, ‘Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you.’ Jesus 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. Yet today, tomorrow, and the next day I must be on my way, because it is impossible for a prophet to be killed away from Jerusalem.”

      ‘Jerusalem, 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! See, 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.” ’   Luke 13:31-35

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      It is good to be back!  Although I only missed one Sunday in the pulpit, it still felt like a long time away from my church.

      Being sick is a humbling experience, isn’t it? Illness is a reminder that we are not as strong and independent as we think we are or would like to be. It reminds us that we are weak and vulnerable and need one another. It reminds us that we need the Lord—and that’s a good thing—and that in our weakness, He is strong. 

   When I was away taking my seminary course, I was asked questions about my church.  Where it is located, what it looks like, how many attend.  I showed them pictures I had posted on Facebook before we left—pictures as the sun was going down and the drifted snow glowed orange and looked like sand dunes on a beach.

    Everyone said it was beautiful.  And it is.

    Then they talked about their churches. One of the men attended a Presbyterian mega church— we actually have a few of those in our denomination—where thousands of people attend a variety of services.

     Those with large churches described wonderful live music, and a multi media stage with large screens and video playing in the background.  The multi-staff churches offer more luxurious facilities, and programs and groups for all ages.  Some have coffee shops, gift shops, bookstores and so on.

     I felt at a loss to describe my church—or any church—in this kind of language.  Don’t get me wrong – when I was in my 20s I attended a large, suburban nondenominational church for a few years, and I enjoyed it, but it was during college and I saw it as temporary. I planned to find a smaller church that would be my worship home after I graduated. I had no lasting relationships from my time there and no one I stayed in contact with after I left. 

   To me, one does not describe a church in terms of what it offers.  A church doesn’t need to have a parking lot the size of a shopping mall to be a good church.  It doesn’t need a live rock band to have good music and a rich worship experience. 

     But I couldn’t put my feelings—my convictions—into words without criticizing mega churches, which are obviously successful if success in a church is measured by membership, programs, and dollars generated.  How can I criticize mega churches when so many smaller churches have had to close their doors in the last 20 years as their aging membership dwindles and young people don’t crowd in to fill the pews? When the finances have declined with its membership?

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       In today’s gospel, some Pharisees approach Jesus from behind and make threats. In Luke and Acts, whenever we read about scribes and Pharisees, they are always wicked and enemies of Christ. “Go away,” they say. “Leave this place! Herod wants to kill you.” 

     The Pharisee are really expressing their own desires and not speaking for Herod. For when Jesus is brought before the king in Luke 23:11, he doesn’t kill him; he returns him to Pontius Pilate.

     Jesus responds by calling Herod a “fox,” an animal that was associated with craftiness and slyness. And this is where we learn our function as a church, both the people of God and the gathering of the people of God.

    “Tell that fox” he says, “that I am busy today, tomorrow, and the next healing the sick and casting out demons.  And on the third day, my work is finished.” 

    Jesus knows he has 3 days left to live on earth and he’s going to spend them doing the most important things that God has sent him to do. He is going to love, heal and forgive all those who seek His help. One person at a time.  He isn’t going to stand up in a crowd and declare everyone in that town healed and saved. He could have done that, but that isn’t His way.  When Jesus heals, it is an intimate, one-on-one experience that usually involves conversation and confession, a physical touch, and a declaration of faith, forgiveness and healing.

     What Jesus did in those last 3 days on earth is our job as a church, along with our call to love our enemies, as Jesus reaffirms with his lament for the holy city that would soon cry out for his crucifixion. ‘Jerusalem, 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!”

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     On the plane ride back to Minnesota, I finally found the words that I had been looking for--a theological defense of the small church-- in a book I had bought from the seminary bookstore.  You see, I believe the small church that is Christ-centered and Spirit-led can better embody the life and teachings of Jesus Christ.

     In Imagining the Small Church, Celebrating the Simpler Path, pastor Steve Willis says there is something compelling about what small churches seem to lack.  These churches may lack state of the art, even “updated” facilities and a “critical mass of people.”  They may lack skilled musicians or even a full time pastor.  They may lack comfortable pews and attractive pew covers.  They may lack contemporary music offerings and video screens; they may still use well-worn hymnals.  They may even lack “a sound system that actually helps one hear the sermon,” Willis says.  “Yet what is not here tends to highlight what is here. Small-church life strips away many nonessentials of being church… The lack becomes the opportunity to put on center stage people caring for one another and the experience of Sunday morning worship (p. 18).” 

      I have a feeling that ministers in mega churches don’t know many of the members and their children by name; nor have they been to their homes. They don’t know when someone is sick or has cancer. They may have other staff for hospital and nursing home visitation and weddings and funerals.  They don’t offer counseling.  They don’t have time. Some large church pastors do little else but preach and manage their executive staff.

    When I think of my church, I think of the individuals and families. I remember not just names and faces, but conversations, stories, and prayer needs. I think of the love we have for one another and how intimate we are with one another.  

   Some pastors would never let their parishioners know they were sick.  You would just come one Sunday and another member of staff would be preaching and you would think nothing of it because there would be a rotation in the pulpit.

    I received cards, phone calls, emails and notes on Facebook when I was sick.

    “Are you feeling better, Pastor Karen? We’ve been thinking of you.”

    They lifted my spirits and made me feel loved and whole.

    So, my question is again, what is “church”?  My answer is look around.

    We are a place to worship and serve the Lord.

     A place where the broken are made whole.

     

      Look around.

     We are vessels of God’s grace and forgiveness.

    

      We are instruments of God’s healing love.

      

      Look around.

      

      We are Jerusalem, Jerusalem!

      

      Gathered underneath Christ’s wings.

Will you pray with me?

      Heavenly Father, thank you for your self-giving love that led you to make the sacrifice for our sins so we could be reconciled with you and one another.  Thank you for never turning away from us, though we have turned away from you and forgotten, at times, just how much we need you.  Thank you for calling us to be your church and calling us by name, your Jerusalem, Jerusalem! For gathering us to yourself.  Forgive us when we have focused too much on the things we don’t have as a church—things that really don’t help us worship you better or love one another any more.  Forgive us when we have worried about being small—when we should have been worried only about reaching out with your healing love to a great big world that needs your salvation and healing desperately.  Empower us by your Spirit to hear Your voice and courageously do Your Will.  In Christ we pray.  Amen.