Luke 13:31-35
After being warned of Herod's desire to kill him by the Pharisees for questionable reasons (Are they really concerned? Some Pharisees did follow Jesus, other represented the same religious authorities who wanted him gone.), Jesus laments over Jerusalem and uses the imagery of a mother hen gathering her chicks to describe his desire to engage the people who have rejected him and his message. Some commentators suggest he is speaking to and of the religious authorities who feel threatened by his popularity and populous message. I guess some things never change. The church (religious authorities) today can be an enormous stumbling block for those intrigued by the message of Jesus.
Undeterred by these warnings, Jesus relates his intention to continue his journey (both physically and metaphorically) to Jerusalem "...the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it." (Luke 13:34a) Doing what he did and saying what he said, surely Jesus knew the danger he faced (even encouraged?).
A story in the "National Geographic" gives an example of what verse 34a might mean. " After a forest fire in Yellowstone Park, rangers found an ashy, ossified bird at the foot of a tree. Sickened, they gently prodded with a stick and three little chicks scrambled from under the mother bird's wings. They hypothesized that the mother had carried her offspring to the base of the tree, gathering them under her wings, instinctively aware that toxic smoke would rise. She could have flown away, but would not abandon her chicks for safety. Even as she burned, she protected them, unwaveringly. She was willing to die, so that the chicks under the cover of her wings would live."
The writer of Luke's Gospel had the advantage of hindsight in presenting today's story. The literary devise employed begins to build the tension which will culminate in the events of the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus. I confess I find the image of Jesus as "Mother Hen" helpful in advancing my Lenten journey. Perhaps a good goal for the week ahead is to try to be a bit more like a Mother Hen. Have no doubt, you'll encounter many chicks needing the protection of your wings.
In today's gospel (Luke 4:1-13), Jesus is tempted by the devil after fasting in the desert. While an oversimplification, it seems that these temptations are suggesting Jesus assume identities other than his own. Whatever our understanding of the "mission" of Jesus, seeking power, wealth and self satisfaction are at extreme odds with the person we see in the gospels. In these temptations, Jesus is in effect asked to be someone he knows he is not.
While reflecting on today's readings, I wondered about the person I've become. Am I being true to myself? If I'm honest, I have to admit the face I see reflected in my mirror is not always the face I present to the world. The pressures of modern life have persuaded me to become (at least at times) someone I would rather not be. My job and relationships have shaped me into a man not wholly of my own making. Honestly, I have to admit I find this situation disturbing but not immutable.
Lent seems a good time to reflect upon this self imposed dichotomy. I have to believe I can start to make small changes and adopt new ways of seeing and acting to become a truer reflection of the man I desire to be. I can resist at least some of the myriad of temptations to compromise my integrity in order to have an easier path to tread. Being truer to my own understanding of self may indeed mean by Easter I will be a bit closer to (or at the very least better understand) who I really am.
So...... please remind me next year not to stop by the grocery store on SVD! The place was swamped with men trying to put together an acceptable gift before being expected home at 6pm. One guy was standing in front of the cards which were 97% gone mumbling to himself "Oh man....oh man.....oh man......" It was brutal to watch! ♥
......to pause, think, ponder, pray, rest, evolve, become....
........the departure of the current pontiff (he who will not be named) doesn't mean an improvement in favor of those things important to progressive people. The last two popes have appointed nothing but conservative men as cardinals. The current bunch eligible for election offer various shades of near and real ultra-conservatism. While I don't discount the action of the Holy Spirit in the selection process, I fear we are in store for much of the same. Not to be depressing, but the next pope could be around for 20+ years....Veni Sancte Spiritu!
It seems to me, to be a person of faith is to struggle with the nagging doubts that plague any fairly well informed and educated modern person. I love the crazy dance of I believe, but is anybody up there? It helps that I'm neither a fundamentalist nor biblical literalist. Science is wonderful and exciting and does more to reinforce my faith than cast doubt upon it, but I would be dishonest if I said I never doubted. On the whole (don't catch me after a bad day at work or after being stuck in I 85 traffic), I have no problem saying the I believe that Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ, the Son of God. The wonderful dance with the Divine is set to the tunes running through my head "But what does that mean?" and "Is that all there is?" (really showing my age here may Peggy Lee forgive me!).
I like the way St. Paul puts it in today's Epistle: "And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed (transfigured) into the same image from one degree of glory to another..."
2 Corinthians 3:18A
In other words, we are the oft described "works in progress". Faith is an ongoing dance with surety and doubt which seems a pretty good definition of personal/spiritual growth as well. So bring on Lent; I'm ready to keep working on my own "transfiguration".
Painting: "The Transfiguration by Giovanni Battista Moroni
.....I wanted to share some thoughts. This Wednesday is Ash Wednesday and the Lenten season is once again upon us after too short a time since Christmas. Lent always means Spring to me. I've always said that "If I can make it till Lent, I can make it through the rest of the year." After a restless winter, the dawn of Lent means hope to me and I hope to you as well. While some will wear ashes on their foreheads, I hope for the sign of a deeper truth within. Lent is about transformation-doesn't have to be earth shaking, but I always find plenty in need of change. The lethargy of winter is passing away and Lent means the dawn of a new hope that comes to fruition at Easter. Resurrection is the fruit of a lifetime lived in transformational hope. During Lent, I don't want to be "calm"!
