“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!”  Matthew 23: 37-38

It is such a poignant scene –  Jesus is standing on the hillside overlooking Jerusalem and weeping.  He laments people’s hard-heartedness and their unwillingness to be touched or changed by God’s love.  He has traveled the countryside sharing glimpses of God’s transforming love, yet so much of the world seems untouched and remains uncaring.

As he prepares for his crucifixion, I imagine Jesus being filled with “if only’s…”

If only

• The people would listen
• They would recognize the gifts God was offering
• They would accept God’s forgiveness and then share it
• They could view one another with God’s eyes
• They could celebrate unity instead of division, distrust, and prejudice
• They didn’t love power more than compassion
• Their fear wasn’t greater than their trust

The flawed disciples show us reflections of ourselves:

• People who jockey for position and want to be put above others
• People who are afraid to defend what is right
• People who, when left on their own, hesitate to speak their faith or live their convictions
• People who are afraid of those who are “other” than themselves
• People who are quick to judge
• People who betray
• People who deny
• People who run away

Jesus is lamenting what is true about us – that we sin and fall short of the glory of God. Jesus mourns our failure to accept God’s love, healing and new life, but that will not stop his determination to continue to offer God’s gifts. He will go to death – he will go to hell and back – so these undeserving, oblivious people – people like us – can receive God’s unending love.