Luke 13:31-35 (NRSV)
Read Luke 13:31-35 on biblegateway.com
Verse 31At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to him, "Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you." Verse 32He 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. Verse 33Yet 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.' Verse 34Jerusalem, 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! Verse 35See, 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.'"
Devotion
How often have we heard parents say to their children, "Don't talk back to me!" Talking back: It's a trait God seems to admire. Moses talks back to God in mediation between divine wrath and a feckless people (Exodus 32:11). God seems to appreciate protest, responding positively ... but never quite the way we expect. We talk back, and God's unexpected response is Jesus. And the people rejected him. He wasn't what they expected. Are we so different? If we look at the bookstore shelves, we want words that help us heal ourselves, and we get the Word made flesh. We seek out self-help gurus, and we get a God who shares in our suffering. Maybe it's important to talk back to God, for God can receive even our frustrations. But finally, God's ways are not our ways.
Prayer
Gracious God, You laid the foundations of the earth — and suffered the infamy of crucifixion. You became one of us to share everything we might experience, joy as well as sorrow. For all this we bless you. Help us to bless others. Amen.