i'll endure the night...

for the promise of light

 

The Holy Gospel according to St.Luke the 13th Chapter!

 

By now you've all probably gotten the point that Proverbs 29 is very important to me.

"Without a vision the people perish" ~Proverbs 29:18 (KJV)

In my own life, and as I've observed the life of the church, it has always seemed that having a vision is necessary for the not only the health of the individual or church, but even for those around them.

Without a vision the people perish...

 

How do we cultivate a vision, though?

We can all agree that studying history is important. I remember in second grade, learning about the Holocaust and hearing that famous adage for the first time, "We study history, because if we don't study history we're doomed to repeat it."

Reading about the horror of the extermination camps, even at that young age, I became convinced that studying history is indeed important - lest we repeat those tragedies of the past.

As important as learning from our mistakes is, it does seem history only helps us avoid past mistakes.

So empowered to learn from our mistakes, how are we supposed to cultivate a vision for where we are heading, a vision for the life of the world?

Without a vision the people parish.

 

As so often is the case, it seems the example we find in Jesus is a helpful one.

In fact, in today's Gospel we find Jesus teaching as he journeys to Jerusalem. As he goes along, however, some pharisees come and try to get Jesus to leave.

"Get away from here," they say. "Herod wants to kill you," they warn Jesus.

 

Now, I don't know about you, but if some folks came to warn me that I was under personal threat of death. I'd heed those warnings, I'd put my head down, and like those pharisees suggested, I'd get out of there...

 

But what does Jesus do?

What Jesus does is remarkable.

Jesus looks those pharisees in the eye and sends them back to Herod, with a message, or better put a challenge, or even insult...

Jesus tells those pharisees that they can tell Herod, that fox, that Jesus is healing, that he is casting out demons, and the threat of death will not deter him from this work, his mission.

Jesus ups the ante, so to speak...

Wow.

 

So the question we should be asking is, 'why?'

How could Jesus be so resolute when he hears the man who beheaded John is now coming for him?

Could Jesus be unafraid because he is the child of God, and he knows it?

No - that doesn't seem to be the reason Jesus isn't intimidated. Yes, Jesus knows who and whose he is, but being the child of God is no promise that tragedy cannot befall you.

Well then, perhaps Jesus was so unshakable because he knows he can't die outside of Jerusalem. He says as much after he sends those pharisees back to Herod with his retort.

Yes, Jesus seems to know that his fate is sealed in Jerusalem, where he already set his face to some time ago. The problem with saying he isn't fearful because he isn't in Jerusalem is that a same fate waits for him in Jerusalem that Herod is threatening - social, disgraceful, public execution...

We have to ask then, why was Jesus so unflappable in the face of death.

It is an question for anyone who is committed to following Jesus must ask...

 

The answer, it seems is that Jesus is so unafraid of Herod's threat, is the very same reason Jesus is committed to going to Jerusalem, although a gruesome fate awaits him there too...

Jesus will not be deterred by Herod's threats because Jesus is clear about his mission, and he will follow that vision wherever it leads because he is committed to it.

 

Jesus is clear about what God has called him to do.

Jesus said as much in his inaugural address that we heard not so long ago. "The Spirit of The Lord is upon me," Jesus proclaimed. "Because God has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. God has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the sightless, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." Luke 4:18 & 19.

 

Yes, Jesus is committed to that vision, that mission. He said as much in his rebuke to Herod.

"Listen," Jesus commands. "I am casting out demons and performing cures."

Yes, Jesus sends those pharisees back to Herod to let Herod know that Jesus is still about what he has always been about, and nothing will deter him. Jesus is locked in a battle with the devil to free the oppressed, that is why he is casting out demons. Jesus is giving sight to those who don't have it, physically or spiritually, that is why he is performing cures.

 

In Jesus' retort to Herod, Jesus is telling Herod, and so also us, that the work he began so long ago is still underway and nothing will keep him from that work.

And that, that fellow followers of Jesus, is why Herod's threat or the threat of the cross, will not stop Jesus.

Jesus has a vision. Jesus is clear about his mission. Jesus knows where he is going, and that is why he will not be shaken as journeys to Jerusalem, that is why no threat will stop Jesus...

 

And the same is true for us, fellow disciples.

We have our challenges, don't we?

There is the decline we've had in attendance.

There is this old building that there is always something we need to deal with.

There are the statistics that keep reminding us Christianity is getting smaller and smaller, that fewer and fewer people are going to church.

 

And there are others, we all know the threats we face - I don't need to innumerate them all.

 

So the question for us is, when he hear whispers of these threats of death coming our way, what do we do?

 

Do we take the advice of the pharisees and run?

Do we decide we're going to worry about number one and forget about those folks who need healing, forget about a world that longs for Jesus' vision to become a reality?

 

Is that what we do, take the advice to those telling us to high-tail it?

 

Or do we do something more incredible?

Do we follow Jesus' example? Do we look in the face of that threat and say, "We must be on Jesus' way, we have cures to work, demons to cast out?

 

Obvious the choice to how we will respond to these threats is up to no one else, but ourselves. Just as obviously, however, it seems out lord and savior would rather us follow his example.

 

In the face of threats, Jesus would have us have a clarity and commitment to our vision, to our mission and to stay on his way.

 

So let us recall our mission:

We are to be loving, to be forgiving and centered in Christ.

We are to worship God, and grow in our faith. Continually grow, never stop. Our mission statement dictates that we keep changing.

We're to witness and to serve ALL people. We're to serve not merely in word, but also in deed.

Not only that, we're also to be good stewards, good stewards in our personal lives, good stewards as a congregation and good stewards of all of God's creation.

 

That is a tall order, but it is who we're committed to being, it is who God calls us to be.

 

Here is the million dollar question, then: Where do those commitments lead us today, now?

And even more importantly, when those commitments lead us into places where we face threats, how will we react - what will we do?

 

I have some examples of where our commitments have already lead us:

To adopt a family, a family that has recently lost income due to being laid off...

It has lead us to offer words, to offer music, to offer support and encouragement to those affected by domestic violence.

 

And the list could go on, but the more interesting list, we can all agree, is what else.

Where else is our statement leading us?

Soon the Stewardship committee is going to be sponsoring a four-week book-study about world hunger.

This book-study is not merely a study, it is a connection to the upcoming synod assembly and it is a challenge to think about how we can address world hunger ourselves.

 

Soon we will be forming a visioning committee to consider where our mission leads us, how we can be clear and committed to our vision now.

I should add, we're also on the synod's short-list. They are excited about Trinity, what we've done in the past and what we're up to now, and they want to be our ally.

 

The question is never, 'why us - why are we facing these threats.' The example Jesus gives us is not one that ask 'why us,' but instead:

 

So, what now?

What's next?

Where are we being called?

Let us follow Jesus' example, let us be clear about our vision, our mission and let's let that mission give us confidence in the face of any challenge.

Yes, there are threats, but no God does not abandon us to those threats. God calls us to journey with Jesus through those threats of death, yes even through death itself, to life within God's larger vision.

Amen