“Woes, warnings, and whoa”

By Rev. Michael Stonhouse

Meditation – Wednesday, July 10, 2024

Matthew 23: 27-39 (Forward, p. 73) CEV p. 1014

Bruce Marchiano, the actor who played Jesus in the acclaimed movie ‘The Gospel According to Matthew’, uncovered, for me at least, one rather essential truth, namely that everything that Jesus said and did, He said or did out of love, love for all of us, for all of humankind. Yes, even the so-called ‘Cleansing of the Temple’ (see Matthew 21: 12-17; Mark 11L 15-19; Luke 19:45-48).

So, seen in this light, Jesus’ words to the Pharisees and teachers of the Law take on an entirely different complexion. Yes, they are warnings. Woe to you hypocrites, He says. But His pronouncements can also be seen as calls to stop what they’re doing, to say ‘whoa’, make an about face, and go in the right direction. This could, ideally, be seen in several aspects of their lives:

-in their inner lives, and in the integrity and consistency of those lives.

They pretend to be good, righteous, wholesome, but inside are any

thing but. They need to change the inside.

-in their deeds. They claim to be different, to not be part of the evil

deeds of their ancestors when they persecuted the righteous, and

yet, Jesus claims they are actually continuing steadfastly in the

same evil direction. Only a change of direction, of life orientation,

will save them from punishment and hell.

-in their rebuff of His love. To Jesus they have been like timid chicks

bereft of proper care and protection, far from a mother hen’s

brooding wings. Jesus, in His love and care, has yearned to gather

them to Himself and care for them but they would not let Him. They

desperately need a change of heart.

Change of their inner beings, change of direction, change of heart: none of these are impossible. And Jesus yearns to give them, provide for them, if only we will let Him. The offer is for each person on earth, just was it was for those folk back then.

Forward notes: How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings?” (verse 37b)

“Several years ago, my family attempted to raise backyard chickens. We were particularly attached to one hen named Beaky, a wiry black Shamo with a big, eccentric personality. When my mother-in-law was diagnosed with terminal cancer, we relocated our little flock to a local farm.

“The farmer texted me sometime later to let me know Beaky had ‘gone broody’ and was ready to sit on a clutch of eggs and hatch them. The only problem was that the eggs were under a blue plastic kiddie pool. When the farmer tried to relocate the eggs, Beaky stubbornly screamed, pecked, and refused to move. So, the eggs and the newborn chicks had to stay under the kiddie pool. Beaky has since managed to hatch chicks in the nesting box. But I think of Beaky when I read this passage. God is a broody hen who gently meets us wherever we are. But God also patiently and fiercely defends us from harm.”

MOVING FORWARD: “In moments of distress, imagine God’s protection around you as soft and warm but also ferocious.”