Jerusalem

Luke 13:31-35 (NIV)

³¹At that time some Pharisees came to Jesus and said to him, "Leave this place and go somewhere else. Herod wants to kill you."

³²He replied, "Go tell that fox, 'I will drive out demons and heal people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal.'

³³In any case, I must keep going today and tomorrow and the next day—for surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem!

³⁴"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!

³⁵Look, your house is left to you desolate. I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.'

Holly and I had the incredible privilege just about one year ago, of going to see the very city that Jesus talks about in today's passage.

Jerusalem.

If someone said, "describe Jerusalem" to me, some words would spring immediately to mind. So would many, many images, sounds and smells.

Holy...overwhelming...mysterious...desperate...tormented...tense...spiritual...diverse...ecclectic...historical...powerful.

Jerusalem was an incredible experience.

It seems that the world truly does converge on this small city.

At its heart, the ancient temple mount comprises the most contested few acres in the world.

Jerusalem is crushingly beautiful. It is middle eastern and European crusader, it is Jewish and Muslim and Christian (though in the extreme minority).

It is guns and walls and fences. It is checkpoints and security. It is places of peaceful prayer, and the ever-present reality of terror and violence.

I will always remember our wonderful tour guide saying, as we stood on the Mount of Olives, outside of the city, "Until his arrest, Jesus never spent the night in Jerusalem. He wouldn't do it. If you read the gospels closely, you'll see that he always came back here, or he went to Bethany. It's as though he just wasn't comfortable in that city."

Notice "comfortable" didn't make my list of Jerusalem descriptors.

There is a deep, deep sense of brokenness in that place.

Though Jesus surely seemed to have that sense as well, he would not give up on this place that he loved so much.

He gives us the image of messiah-as-mother-hen as he tries to describe how much he longs to care for those in danger in that place.

Like a mother hen, he fights to the death, laying down his life for the ones he loves.

Jerusalem, of course, is also a metaphor for all of us. "You were not willing" must be some of the saddest words Jesus speaks in all of the gospels.

No matter how broken we are...no matter how beautiful or dangerous or mysterious or tension-filled our souls may be...the invitation stands from the mother hen who seeks to give us peace.

Grace & Peace,

Adam

Note: the pic today is one I took in Jerusalem. There was a class of new Israeli army recruits, and we were told that they were on a "field trip" for an Israeli heritage/history component of their training. These girls are probably 18 years old and will do 2 years of compulsory military service. All Israeli men serve 3 years between the ages of 18 and 21. Yes, they were all carrying automatic weapons like this, and it's safe to assume they were loaded and ready to roll.

Jerusalem (Steve Earle)

I woke up this mornin' and none of the news was good
And death machines were rumblin' 'cross the ground where Jesus stood
And the man on my TV told me that it had always been that way
And there was nothin' anyone could do or say

And I almost listened to him
Yeah, I almost lost my mind
Then I regained my senses again
And looked into my heart to find

That I believe that one fine day all the children of Abraham
Will lay down their swords forever in Jerusalem

Well maybe I'm only dreamin' and maybe I'm just a fool
But I don't remember learnin' how to hate in Sunday school
But somewhere along the way I strayed and I never looked back again
But I still find some comfort now and then

Then the storm comes rumblin' in
And I can't lay me down
And the drums are drummin' again
And I can't stand the sound

But I believe there'll come a day when the lion and the lamb
Will lie down in peace together in Jerusalem

And there'll be no barricades then
There'll be no wire or walls
And we can wash all this blood from our hands
And all this hatred from our souls

And I believe that on that day all the children of Abraham

Will lay down their swords forever in Jerusalem