Go and tell that Fox – 13 March 2022 – Second Sunday in Lent

Luke 13:31–35

At the Lenten journey midpoint, the Gospel text turns attention toward the journey’s goal, anticipating Holy Week and the great mystery of Christ’s passion and resurrection. The reading, placed by Luke within Jesus’ long final journey to Jerusalem, is composed of two parts. The first is an oblique passion prediction that appears only in Luke. Having been warned that Herod intends to kill him, Jesus replies that he must continue his work and that it is impossible for a prophet to be killed outside of Jerusalem. The capital city, home of the powerful priestly elites and the Roman governor, is the center of opposition to Jesus’ work.

The second section is a lament over Jerusalem. . . Because Luke does not place this narrative within the tense setting of Holy Week, it is easier to hear the longing and sadness Jesus expresses. The beautiful image of the mother hen shielding her chicks under her wing offers a profound and powerful way of visualizing the gentle, protective care that Jesus wishes to provide for his people . . . The enigmatic closing line suggests that the people of God are impoverished by their refusal to recognize the one God has sent to them. Only when they bless Jesus as “the One who comes in the name of the Lord” will they have truly recognized him. –– Aaron Couch

Genesis 15:1–12, 17–18

Before the patriarch Abram received the fulfillment of God’s promises, he experienced the stripping away of every substitute he tried to provide. God intended to provide a future with blessing for Abraham and Sarah, not through a child born to a concubine, but through a child born to the elderly couple in advanced age. The text pictures Abraham’s reception of God’s promise as a vision (v 1) or a dream (v 12), yet the actions seem to be acted out in real life. God takes Abraham outside to see the stars, and Abraham cuts the sacrificial animals in half to prepare for a covenant ritual.

. . . The ritual represents a kind of oath formula. By passing between the halves of the dead animals, the one making the oath invites the same sort of death as happened to the dead animals, should the oath maker fail to fulfill the promise. In this case, the smoking fire pot and the flaming torch represent the LORD as oath maker, also seen in the pillars of fire and cloud of the Exodus, or torches and pots of burning incense in the temple. Such an oath emphasizes the reliability of God’s promise. –– Aaron Couch

Philippians 3:17––4:1

Paul reminds his readers that their true life is not tied to physical things, using the beautiful image of “citizenship from heaven.” The Christian belongs and gives ultimate allegiance, not to Rome or nations, or any other political entity, but to the reign of God. Jesus as Lord, however, is not a rival to Caesar. Christ holds a different sort of authority entirely. Through the power of his resurrection, Jesus’ authority will be unveiled in a transformed world and humanity. Paul’s concluding thoughts are full of the warmth he feels for the Philippian congregation as he encourages them to stand firm in Christ. –– Aaron Couch

Aaron Couch is a co-pastor of First Immanuel Lutheran Church in Portland, Oregon.

Homily Service 43, no. 2 (2009): 19–27.