WILLING DISCIPLES?
How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! – Luke 13:34b
I just can’t help it. Even though Jesus has many long passages and parables in this section of Luke pointing us to condemnation and judgement, I’ll pull out one of the few words of comfort and compassion in their midst. I think it’s maybe just how God made me. I am constantly looking for the bright side, the word of hope, the assurance of love. So even though our lesson from Sunday had so many tough statements about the how sin is pervasive and suffering is unavoidable, yes I will point us to Jesus’ desire to gather us in safety and protection like a hen gathers her chicks.
The truth is, like so many parts of being a disciple of Jesus, even talking about love isn’t easy and simple. What Jesus tells us is that he wants to gather us, but we’re not willing. Jesus is ready to offer love and care, but we’re not willing to admit we need it. Even when we talk about God’s desire to grant mercy, we end up talking about our own brokenness. Here, our sin manifests as our denial. We don’t need comfort. We don’t need compassion. We don’t need forgiveness. We can make our own way. We’ll do it ourselves. We’re fine, it’s fine, don’t worry about it.
Do you catch yourself in those lies? The lies that tell you that you have to do it alone, that you should be expected to maintain perfection, that admitting you need forgiveness means revealing your failure, that you’re the only one who messes up? Because those are lies. You’re not alone. None of us can ever be perfect. Yes, asking forgiveness means admitting you messed up – but that’s not unique to you. Each of us falls short. We can hide from it or we can tell the truth about it. Jesus is calling it to our attention. He wants to comfort us, but first, we have to admit that we need his comfort.
When we tell the truth about sin, failure, and selfishness, we don’t just live in radical honesty. We also answer Jesus’ lament that we won’t let him comfort us. When we ask for forgiveness, when we admit how tired and broken down we are, when we turn to Jesus and love and hope, Jesus will always, always gather us in. I’ll always point to that truth, especially in the midst of tough warnings about sin and its effects. We always need reminding and God will always keep offering.
Let us pray:
Jesus, you are our comfort and peace. Grant us the forgiveness we so desperately need, draw us close to your side, and let us live in your guidance and protection. We turn to you. We trust in you. We need you. Amen.