Starter:
[In pairs] Describe a time when you carried on doing something that other people told you was unwise.
Worship:
Reading: Luke 13. 31-35
Read aloud, then allow time for everyone to re-read it for themselves along with the commentary and the questions – and reflect alone.
Commentary:
The sense that Jesus is in trouble is heightening. He is a hated man, a man Herod wants to get rid of. The Pharisees try to warn Jesus; but he heads for Jerusalem (note the favourable picture of the Pharisees). He is driven on by his desire to walk the path God has called him to [v 32]. He knew Jerusalem was a place that did not always welcome God's messengers and sometimes killed prophets and stoned others. Yet Jerusalem has a crucial place in the divine scheme of things [v.33]. Jesus mourns and laments over the city (v.34) like a hen over her endangered chicks. But the decision as to how they respond to Jesus is left to the people of Jerusalem . (CCH)
Prophetic preaching deals with the hearts of the covenant people; its goal is to awaken faith and trust. Prophetic preaching consists not in exhortation alone but in proclamation of God's gracious love and invites the people to respond to that love in reciprocal love. Luke is saying here that there is yet time to repent, yet time to receive the Christ, yet time to avoid the final catastrophe. With repentance comes forgiveness- for all the world beginning with Jerusalem (Fred Craddock)
Personal Focus Questions:
- Which verse speaks to you?
What is God saying to you?
- Does the picture of Jesus as being like a mother-hen surprise you?
If so in what way?
- Who are the prophets of our time?
How do we know we have really listened to what they are saying [v.34]?
- What do you need to repent of this Lent, confident that there is forgiveness?
Share together in threes the results of your individual reflection. Return together as a group and share any insights.
Now together discuss these questions.
Life Focus :
- How can we make Lent a kind of “journey to Jerusalem”?
- How can we provide better opportunities for people to respond to God’s love?
Prayer Times:
Pray for those who live in fear and danger; especially for the vulnerable ones like little children. Pray for those who feel threatened for speaking out about what they perceive to be the truth.
