“Jerusalem, Jerusalem,
you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you,
how many times I yearned to gather your children together
as a hen gathers her brood under her wings,
but you were unwilling!
We sinners often prefer to sidestep or defer the truth, and this story of the Lord's grief as he approached Jerusalem is a case in point. Christians can miss the point entirely as they speculate about what God might "think" about the Jews -- as if God thinks in some kind of remotely recognizable human fashion.
If we recognize Jesus's sadness and allow it to creep into our own souls we must recognize its origin in our own behavior. The Bible means nothing to us if we do not hear our own history -- our sinful attitudes and behaviors as well as our blessed compliance with God's sovereignty -- in the Old and New Testaments.
Luke 4 describes the popular response to Jesus's inaugural address to the synagogue in Capernaum:
All spoke highly of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth. They also asked, “Isn’t this the son of Joseph?”
But they could not stop and remain in their initial amazement at his gracious words; they had to go beyond amazement and begin questioning him. "Isn't this the son of Joseph? Who does he think he is? Coming in here all high and mighty, and telling us what to do and what's wrong with us!"
The sinful mind is unwilling to stay in Eden but wants to ask irrelevant questions about the inexplicably, inexhaustibly beautiful. We are like "the woman [who] saw that the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eyes, and the tree was desirable for gaining wisdom." She did not remain in that wonderful state of wonder, but "took some of its fruit and ate it; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it."
Saint Luke describes several people who model the right response to God's great works,
All who heard it were amazed by what had been told them by the shepherds. And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart. Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, just as it had been told to them. (Luke 2:18-20)
Those three groups -- all who heard it, Mary, and the shepherds -- stilled their brains for a while. They let themselves be amazed and, "Let God be God." We call that contemplation.
The invitation remains for us as we approach Jerusalem with the Lord, and as we feel his sadness. We remember the city's history of sin and our part in it. And then we are astonished by the promise of a New Jerusalem coming down out of heaven as beautiful as a bride prepared to meet her husband.
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.