This devotion was initially created for publication in Eternity for Today, a devotional resource from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, for the week of March 12, 2022
Read: Luke 13:31-35
At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to him, “Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you.” (Luke 13:31)
Reflect: As Jesus approaches Jerusalem, tension and antagonism are rising. Those intent on disrupting his message are getting louder. Power structures and systems seeking to control him are organizing against him. There is plenty of reason for Jesus to take the easy way out by toning down his message, appeasing those with authority, or changing his mission altogether and choosing a path that guarantees safety and security.
But Jesus knows that God’s call—the mission that he is committed to—leads directly into pain and suffering. While he calls out the deception and destruction in the systems around him, he does not avoid personal pain and sacrifice. Instead, he turns his face towards Jerusalem, crying out a prayer that the city see itself wrapped safely in the wings of Mother Hen rather than continuing patterns of division and destruction (v. 34). Jesus knows that in order to invite people into a different future, he cannot avoid the threats of death today. Instead, he walks to and through death so that others might experience life eternal.
Dear God,
Give us courage to face the darkness and destruction in our world, so that we—with the One who destroyed the power of death—can participate in newness of life. Amen.