Author: Advyon Summerville

Luke 13:31-35

“Behold, your house is forsaken.”
Vs. 35

Jesus laments over Jerusalem. The high holy city of Israel and Judah has by its own actions become the death of prophets and the executioner of those who were sent to it.  Jerusalem, the city of the Temple, enjoyed the presence of Yahweh, Adonai, El Shaddai, and Elohim—all names by which the Most High God of the Israelites and the Judeans was known. Within the Temple, this Most High God sat on his mercy seat in the Temple’s Holiest of Holies. The glory of his presence, the “Shekinah,” filled the chamber and emanated outward to bless the city. Even as Jews extolled the city and wrote psalms of praise to it, its institutions turned aside God’s gathering (vs. 34) and put to death the messengers God sent to it. Jesus laments over Jerusalem because it cannot help itself: it will be the death of him.

Jesus does not stop with lament. He continues to bring a prophetic judgment upon this city which holds the heights of Jewish religious piety… which holds the might of the occupying Roman military… which holds the site of the governing powers… Jerusalem, home to the religious, military, and political institutions of the day, had become corrupt… corrupted by sin… corrupted by the need for self-preservation that resides in all sinners and their institutions. Jesus announces a prophetic judgment upon all this sin… upon all these sinners… upon all their sinful institutions… upon this city, killer of prophets and executioner of messengers. The judgment?  “Behold, your house is forsaken!” The Lord’s Shekinah, the glory of his presence, will depart from the city.

The Shekinah “brooded” over the people and their activities in the same way that the Spirit of God “brooded” over the waters of chaos at the very beginning (Ge. 1:2). The Shekinah protected the people and blessed them in a manner like the hen’s wings stood over her brood of chicks. The people had heard words similar to Jesus’ prophetic judgment before: Jeremiah had pronounced it, too. “If you will not heed these words, I swear by myself, says the Lord, that this house shall become a desolation.…” (Jer. 22:5-6).  Liturgically, the Shekinah, otherwise hidden behind the masks of creation, cross, and faith, is seen… is received at the pulpit, the font, and the altar—where our Lord is clothed in his Word and Sacrament… where we sing together, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.”

Table Talk: Discuss why sinners need a hidden Shekinah.
Pray: Father, grant me to heed your Word and enjoy your presence. Amen

Table Talk

Luke 13:31-35

31 At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to him, Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you. 32 And he said to them, Go and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I finish my course. 33 Nevertheless, I must go on my way today and tomorrow and the day following, for it cannot be that a prophet should perish away from Jerusalem. 34 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not! 35 Behold, your house is forsaken. And I tell you, you will not see me until you say, Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!

Luke 4:1-13
“If you are the Son of God…”
Vs. 3 & 9

Twice the devil challenges Jesus’ identity. The first time comes as the devil takes advantage of Jesus’ hunger. The deceiver-in-chief sets before Jesus a satisfying temptation: His hunger would be solved if he simply used his divine authority to make bread out of the ever-present stones (vs 3). The second time comes as the devil takes advantage of Jesus’ promised protections as the Son of God: Surely the angels would not let any harm come to him (vs 10-11)? Jesus turns aside both challenges to his identity as the Son of God by quoting Scripture itself back at the devil (Dt. 8:3 & Dt. 6:16)

The devil lays a third temptation before Jesus: the kingdoms of the world and all their authority in exchange for Jesus’ worship of him. This temptation does not issue a challenge to Jesus’ divine Sonship. The challenge comes against his human identity. Rather than teasing him into exercising his divine authority, the devil puts before the very human possibility of glory and authority in this sinful world (vs 6). The price, worship the lord of this world, the devil himself—that is, the Father of Lies. Jesus turns this challenge aside with another quotation from scripture (Dt. 6:13).

The lectionary connects Jesus’ time in the wilderness to his teaching in the Sermon on the Mount. On Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent, Jesus admonished against public displays of piety and against the accumulation of worldly wealth. On this, the First Sunday in Lent, Jesus is tempted to display the piety of his divine Sonship or to claim earthly authority and glory. Both sets of texts address the hiddenness of the divine life for Jesus and for the Christian. Both sets of texts caution against the rewards available in this world in favor of the treasure of the world to come.

In like manner, challenges come against your identity, your identity as a Christian. “If you are a Christian, you would love me… If you are a Christian, you’d support my charity… If you were a better Christian…” The challenges come and, like Jesus, you turn them aside with the promises received from the Word of God handed over at the pulpit, the font, and the altar.

Table Talk:  Discuss the various challenges against your identity as a Christian.
Pray: Father, hold me secure in the promise of your Word. Amen

Table Talk

Luke 4:1-13 

And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness 2 for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, he was hungry. 3 The devil said to him, If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread. 4 And Jesus answered him, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone. 5 And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, 6 and said to him, To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. 7 If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours. 8 And Jesus answered him, It is written, You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.

9 And he took him to Jerusalem and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, 10 for it is written, He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you,

11 and On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.

12 And Jesus answered him, It is said, You shall not put the Lord your God to the test. 13 And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time.

Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21
“…for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.”
Vs.1

Hypocrites! Jesus addresses issues of hypocrisy. Hypocrisy, a word originating in the Greek word for “actor,” receives an earthly reward rather than a heavenly reward. Hypocrites “act” pious but have no piety in their heart. Jesus reveals three sorts of hypocrisy: the giving of alms (vs. 2-4), the practice of prayer (vs. 5-6), and the practice of fasting (vs. 16-18). Hypocrites, when they practice these pieties, seek the attention and admiration of others. That attention and admiration are their reward, not a reward in heaven. After admonishing the crowd to reject this earthly treasure of human adulation and admiration, Jesus turns his attention to the accumulation of other earthly treasures such as fine garments, rugs, and other weavings (all subject to moths), such as filigreed and decorative panels (subject to rust), and such as coins and other items of gold and silver (subject to thieves).  Store not these vulnerable treasures says Jesus, but the invulnerable things of heaven.

An early biblical story exemplifies Jesus’ teaching here. In the story (Ge. 25:29-34) Esau so desires the food Jacob has prepared that he “sells” his birthright for a bowl of stew. Esau willingly trades away the blessing his father has in store for him, coveting instead the immediate reward of receiving satisfaction for his hunger.

So, too, you… you who trade away the birthright of your baptism into the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, your adoption into the family of God. Your Father in Heaven, the Father of our brother, Jesus Christ, now claims you as a daughter… claims you as a son. Yet, the allure of earthly treasure, whether it be the acclaim of your neighbors or whether it be the accumulation of earthly wealth, looms before you and its immediacy—like the immediacy of Esau’s hunger—brings out the coveting always present among sinners… a coveting immediate, strong, and overwhelming.  It overwhelms you with desire and, before you know it, you’re spooning up that delicious stew, delighting in the immediate satisfaction of your hunger, and not giving a thought to the birthright you just traded away.

Table Talk:

Discuss “delayed gratification” vs. “immediate gratification”
Pray: Heavenly Father, grant me to trust your Word that my life is hidden away with Christ, in you so that I do not need to force it into visibility by my public piety. Amen 

Table Talk

Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21 English Standard Version

6 Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. 

2 Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

5 And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you…

16 And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 17 But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18 that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

19 Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Jesus most often prayed alone, in solitude among the rocks or hills. But at least twice he prayed in the presence of his disciples. We are told that their entire company was with him when he prayed at Gethsemane. We have in our text today, Jesus accompanied in his prayer time by Peter, John, and James. On both occasions, something unusual occurred, something that might be called miraculous. There, in the Garden of Gethsemane (which, at the time of our current text, still lies ahead in Jesus’ future), Jesus sweats great drops like blood and an angel comes to strengthen him (Lk. 22:43-44). Now, here, on the Mount of Transfiguration, Jesus’ entire appearance changes: his face altered… his clothes become dazzling white… and his conversation partners are Moses and Elijah—men long dead.

This reference to blood and the occasion of dazzling whiteness anticipate the scene depicted in Rev. 7:9-17. There, a multitude too numerous to count, comes wearing white robes and praising God. They are identified by one of the elders as those who “have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (Rev. 7:14). They have the dwelling place of God spread over them. They will no longer endure hunger, thirst, blazing sun, or debilitating heat. But, because the Lamb will be their shepherd, they will enjoy springs of living water and God himself will wipe away their tears (Rev. 7:16-17). These blessings anticipate those of the New Creation as depicted in Rev. 21:1-6.

Now to us, you and me, we don’t hear a voice from the cloud, but we do have our preacher. Our prayers are not accompanied by wonders and miracles, but we do have their fulfillment in faith through Jesus Christ. While we must contend with the impossibility of any clothing made white by being washed in blood, the dazzling purity of our righteousness in Christ already exists because he shed his blood for us.

Table Talk: Discuss the connection between blood & righteousness and blood & forgiveness.
Pray: Heavenly Father, for the sake of Jesus’ blood shed for me, forgive my sins, and make me righteous. Amen

Luke 9:28-36 ESV

28 Now about eight days after these sayings he took with him Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray. 29 And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was altered, and his clothing became dazzling white. 30 And behold, two men were talking with him, Moses and Elijah, 31 who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. 32 Now Peter and those who were with him were heavy with sleep, but when they became fully awake they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. 33 And as the men were parting from him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah”—not knowing what he said. 34 As he was saying these things, a cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. 35 And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him!” 36 And when the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and told no one in those days anything of what they had seen.