Embracing Vulnerability: The True Strength of Jesus

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"At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to him 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 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 may we hear and understand what the scriptures are teaching us today" [00:12:26] (66 seconds)


"So on this second Sunday of Lent our reading hits that fox that's Herod against a hen wanting to protect her chicks several years ago I gave a sermon about the hen and chicks and it seems we're back there again this particular story is a favorite story of gospel feminist scholars it's often preached at ordinations of clergywomen the rendering of Jesus as a mother hen is astounding and it opens our imagination to a lot of tender images that the church has often ignored. Tender. Beautiful word." [00:13:48] (57 seconds)


"Are you going to surrender to the fox, to Herod, the strong man? Or are you willing to be embraced and vulnerable by Jesus, the mother hen? That's it. That's the whole story. Last week, Jesus himself was offered a similar choice. The devil showed him all the kingdoms of earth, promising that he would have all of them in the palm of his hand if he would just worship the devil. And Jesus said, no. No way. It is written, you shall worship God only and serve only God." [00:15:54] (39 seconds)


"Jesus was not willing to give in to a satanic temptation to become some sort of a... ancient world strong man. He was not willing to be a sort of Jewish Caesar in lieu of the Roman one. That wasn't his calling. Jesus embraced humility and humanity and compassion and chose God instead." [00:16:42] (20 seconds)


"To be afraid of Herod was the same as worshipping him. Believing Herod's power to be greater than God's. So no matter what Herod's threats were. No matter how imperial authorities raged against him. He would continue on with God's work until later. When he would eventually face down his accusers in Jerusalem. No matter the threats. Carrying on God's work. Of course we can learn from that." [00:19:51] (33 seconds)


"That's a key part of that sentence. You were not willing to be gathered under my wings. That's the contrast. Between King Herod. Imperial strong man. And Jesus. The prophet who understands himself to be a mother hen to her chicks. Strong man versus mother hen. Violence versus vulnerability. Empire versus empathy. You're not willing to be." [00:20:49] (29 seconds)


"Throughout history, Christians have often traded vulnerability for power. The Crusades was an example of that. They haven't believed in their own lamenting Jesus, preferring instead to opt to establish worldly empires. Right now, a lot of Christians in my own country are not willing to be embraced by a vulnerable God." [00:23:00] (31 seconds)


"Christian nationalism, the religion supporting this dictatorial imperialistic arm, is espoused by those who clearly are not willing to give themselves to a vulnerable profit. And those who think that glorifying this type of violent, intolerant Jesus is the answer. They think that that is standing up for right. It is not." [00:24:30] (34 seconds)


"Jesus explicitly spurned the temptation of imperialism, whether it came from the devil or from his own friends, because at the core, imperialism is a deception. The promise of a politics of strength, superiority, and control that is at odds with humanity itself, because everyone is vulnerable." [00:28:27] (22 seconds)


"In the face of Herod's threats, Jesus chose instead to do brave, courageous, humane, compassionate work to liberate the enslaved and to heal the sick, to be with others instead of withdrawing in fear. He insisted that God's commonwealth is not going to arrive by surrendering to Roman Empire, but would come instead with the wing of a sacred embrace." [00:29:45] (30 seconds)


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