Daily Devotion – March 15, 2022 – Elizabeth Schoenknecht

Luke 13:31–35

At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to him, “Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you.” He said to them, “Go and tell that fox for me, ‘Listen, I am casting out demons and performing cures today and tomorrow, and on the third day I finish my work. Yet today, tomorrow, and the next day I must be on my way, because it is impossible for a prophet to be killed outside of Jerusalem.’ Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! See, your house is left to you. And I tell you, you will not see me until the time comes when you say, ‘Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.'”

Devotion

We see a variety of emotions in Jesus in these few verses of this gospel reading. As he journeys to the cross, Jesus expresses his sadness at the betrayal of the city of Jerusalem and all that the city represents. Later, in Luke 19, Jesus reiterates his lament over a fallen city, just prior to his return to the temple where he turns over tables in anger and frustration. The season of Lent is a journey through the life and emotions of Jesus. We are reminded that God, in the form of Jesus, makes this pilgrimage while facing and fully embodying all the emotions that we feel. As we continue to follow Jesus through the days of Lent, we are reminded of God’s empathetic love. Our God chose to become human, and so we can know that our God knows and feels all of what it means to be human.

Prayer

Jesus of all emotion, thank you for giving us the ability to feel. Help us to use our empathy to listen and love one another. Amen.