13 March 2022 - Lent 2

Luke 13: 31-35

Some Pharisees came and said to Jesus, "Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you." He 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 outside of 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.'"

One of the things I find so striking about living and working on Kapahulu Avenue is watching how the world goes by in such busyness. There are the people racing into Waikiki for work. There are the tourists in the stereotypical Mustangs or Jeeps partying in their cars, sometimes playing their music loudly. There are the homeless trying to scrap together some money by collecting recyclable cans. There are the preschool parents rushing in and rushing out. Some parents come twice in the morning because they forgot to bring a necessary item for their child, and for some reason, it always seems to be the same parents who come twice. There are the endless deliveries of food and alcohol to our neighborhood restaurants. It is not uncommon to see three or four liquor trucks lined up in front of St. Mark’s, especially on Friday afternoons. It is a rare moment when Kapahulu is quiet.

In the midst of so much chaos and frenetic activity this church is an oasis of Jesus Christ. We have our own busyness no doubt. Mass is said here daily, Evensong is chanted on weeknights, and multiple volunteers come and go each day. Weeknights are especially busy here with study groups, EfM, ministry teams, weekly choir practice, and outreach activities, and now during Lent, Stations of the Cross on Fridays. It takes a lot of people volunteering their time to make St. Mark’s function smoothly.

With all this busyness in the neighborhood, and with so much ministry within the parish, Jesus looks at our modern reality as he looked at Jerusalem. Jesus looks to gather us as a mother hen gathers her brood so that we might be nurtured in God. Jesus looks to gather us so that we might grow in faith.

Jesus is looking over Jerusalem, and we hear this reading today as we look to Holy Week and Easter. Jesus knows the events that are to come – his crucifixion and resurrection. He also knows that most of Jerusalem will reject his death and rising, and he knows that most of Jerusalem will be so consumed in their own world, that they will refuse his overture of love. Nevertheless, God in Jesus continues with the mission.

The reality is that when Jesus is crucified, most will not notice, and only a few disciples will remain to keep vigil with him at his death. Like other criminals that were executed by the Roman occupiers of Jerusalem, Jesus will simply be another death on another day outside of the city walls. Hearing Jesus speak in today’s Gospel, we could say that his motherhood of humanity will mostly be rejected.

In last Sunday’s sermon, I mentioned the theme of intention regarding our Lenten disciplines of fasting and self-denial, study and service. For instance, when we fast, we do not fast to lose weight, although that might be a pleasant side effect, but rather, we fast so that we can develop our hearts and minds to be more focused on Christ – to deepen our intention to keep Christ at the center of our hunger. Our disciplines this Lent are meant to deepen our intention of keeping Christ at the center of all things. In today’s Gospel, we could say that as we try to deepen our intention for Christ, we are working to ensure that we heed our Lord’s invitation when it comes to us. Our hope is that when Christ makes the call, inviting us as a mother to be nurtured by him, we are in a state where we can heed the invitation – a state where we allow ourselves to be gathered into Christ as a mother hen gathers in her brood.

This is difficult to do when we allow ourselves to be controlled by the world rather than nurtured by our faith. It is difficult for us to be gathered into our Mother Christ’s brood when we allow ourselves to be controlled by the world rather than nurtured by our faith.

One of the realities of the human experience is that we often reject that which can help us, and this often happens with our faith. The church has so many riches available to us, and yet we rarely take advantage of those riches. There are the saving waters of Baptism, the feast of the Eucharist, the healing grace of the confessional, the saving word of the Scriptures, the blessings of serving the neighbor in need – these countless riches of Christ are offered to us by Christ so that we might have peace in a world that is chaotic.

One of the blessings of living in this oasis of Saint Mark’s, in the middle of the busyness of Kapahulu, is that each day while the traffic races by, many people come here to be refreshed in God’s presence – many people accept Christ’s invitation to be gathered into our Mother Christ’s brood. I have been especially struck this first week of Lent by how many people are attending evensong and mass on weekday evenings. Sometimes we have had more people at our weeknight mass than we do at 8:30 am on Sunday morning! There is obviously a hunger for Christ and the Sacraments, and you all have been so faithful in coming to church for prayer with God.

It has been a reminder that while so many reject Jesus due to the busyness of their lives, there will always be those who heed the invitation of our Lord. There are always those who do wish to be gathered into Jesus’ arms of embrace and to be nourished by his food of the Eucharist and strengthened by his message as contained in the holy Scriptures.

And if you find that your life prevents you from embracing the invitation of Christ – if you find that your work keeps you too busy, or if you find that your family has unreasonable expectations placed upon you that keep you from living the faith you wish to live, Lent is an excellent time to name honestly that your work and family life may be toxic. I hear time and time again from parishioners how the local emphasis on “family first” can be so oppressive. No one ever wants to admit it, but I do hear time and time again how family obligations are consistently one of the challenges of life to endure. Whether it is work or family, Lent can be a good time to reflect upon whether such obligations are life-giving.

The world can be like a merry-go-round. One thinks the goal is to jump on and have fun, endlessly spinning round and round and round. Before you know it, you have become trapped in an endless cycle of busyness that keeps you whipping around again and again and again, while the system keeps telling you that you are happy – that you are supposed to be having fun – when you really are suffering from dizziness and nausea.

In contrast to that endless commotion and dizziness, Christ calls to each one of us, as he called to Jerusalem, to come and be gathered into his wings of healing. Christ calls to us to embrace the life of the cross – a life of sacrifice – a life of service – a life that is whole. Christ calls to us to reject the false striving of the world so that we can enjoy something much better – the true joy and life of Easter Day.

Father Paul Lillie +