​Who is to blame? That is often the question when something goes wrong. Who is to blame? What did they do to deserve whatever bad thing happened to them? We begin our reading today with a politically motivated disaster and some people wondering if the people who suffered and died due to the disaster were at fault. If only they had planned better... if only they had deferred to Rome more... if only they’d annoyed God less. Who is to blame for what happened to them? Did they bring it upon themselves?

     Today’s reading backtracks a little from last week’s hens and foxes. Remember, Jesus is on the way to Jerusalem.  The journey to Jerusalem takes from chapter 9 to almost the end of chapter 19 in Luke. Along the way, he’s doing a lot of teaching and he’s also trying to give people warnings. This part of the Gospel shows the rise in tension around Jesus’ work. It is clear that Jesus knows that equipping the saints isn’t just about teaching them how to do stuff or how to follow him. It is also about preparing them for challenging times ahead. Jesus doesn’t want them to be surprised if and when something bad happens. They need to be prepared. If they are going to keep doing the work, they can’t be stopped by a surprise disaster. But, they have kept the disaster in perspective. Not everything that happens to them is something they deserve. But, they still have the responsibility to create good conditions for growth, even in the midst of threats and danger.

     In the first part of our reading, we and the original hearers are invited to interpret the meanings of two disasters, one political and one infrastructural. Debra Mumford points out in her commentary on this text that we aren’t given many details about the political disaster that befell some group of Galileans. Scholars have been trying to figure out what Pilate did to these Galileans since at least the time of the historian Josephus, who lived between 37 CE and 100 CE. That being said, Mumford notes that while scholars differ on what precisely happened, they generally agree that some group of Galileans was killed by the Roman government, likely because they were involved in some kind of revolutionary activity against Roman oppression. People stood up to a repressive empire and were punished for it.

     We don’t know exactly how people who were not targeted are talking about this political disaster. I bet we can imagine some things that people might say. They were fools to go against Roman, who was so powerful. Or, that this was obviously not the right time to try to fight back. Or, maybe someone would say they planned poorly. Maybe some would even say that they shouldn’t have tried to fight Rome at all. Remember, in plenty of parts of the Bible, losing a battle was interpreted as God making you lose. If you were crushed by a more powerful force, God must have wanted you to lose. Mumford points out that Pilates’ action of mixing the blood of the dead Galileans with the blood of animals sacrificed for religious reasons would have just compounded the spiritual pain of this battle. Not only did Pilate kill people, he made a mockery of their religious rituals with their own remains. How angry must the Galileans have made God for that to happen?

     Jesus quickly says that any interpretation of that battle that concludes that God ordained the Galileans’ death as punishment for their sins was a bad one. He did not blame Rome’s victims for Rome’s violence and blasphemy. We would do well to learn this skill from Jesus. He points to a second disaster, this one an apparent accident, to make is point further. Eighteen people died when a tower fell on them in a place called Siloam. Those people were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. They were not particularly sinful and therefore deserving of punishment at that time.

     It’s not that Jesus doesn’t want to talk about sin. He’s talked a lot about sin, which is separation from God, in this reading. He firmly believed it’s a thing that all people did and do! But, in this moment, as Mumford notes in her commentary, Jesus says that a person or people’s suffering is not a sign that they are sinful. We do not have to believe that either the harm intentionally done to us by the powerful or that accidentally happens to us through a tragedy is a chastisement from God. That doesn’t mean we won’t be held accountable for our actions and for the ways we disconnected ourselves from our promises to God. It just means that we can stand on the outside of someone else’s suffering and assume that they did something to deserve it. And, we shouldn’t assume that our own suffering is retribution from God.

     With that in mind, how then should we think about our actions and responsibilities as Christians? Jesus understood human action to have consequences and taught his followers that certain behavior was expected of them. And, when they/we fall short of those expectations, Jesus expects his followers to repent, that is, reorient themselves back towards God’s covenant of love and justice. But, Jesus knows that you have to build up the conditions to make repentance possible. You have to tend the soil, as it were, to let repentance and renewed life flourish. He told a story about a man and a tree to make his point.

     There is a man who is wealthy enough to own a vineyard, where he plants a tree. After three years and multiple checks-ins, the man grows angry that the tree has not produced a fig. He is so angry, he is ready to chop it down because it is wasting space. He is the one who sees destruction as a necessary response to unmet expectations. And, he is in the wrong in this story. His employee, a gardener, knows that you must do more than plant a tree if you hope to have a harvest. He asks for a measure of grace in the form of time... time to tend the soil, to make the conditions for growth more favorable. As Quinn Caldwell notes his entry on this text in the Into the Deep devotional, fruit production is about more than just the tree. It’s about all the things the tree needs to thrive: water, light, pollinators, and good soil.

     As Jesus’ followers felt the mounting tension around him, it is interesting that Jesus is telling them that, despite the risk of danger, despite their shortcomings, despite the fact that they still have more to learn from him, there is still time to tend to their growth so that they can produce good fruit. Fred Craddock calls this “God’s mercy” still being “in serious conversation with God’s judgement.” I like to think of it as an encouragement to work on what is pulling you away from that which Christ is calling you. It is clear what can happen to an untended tree: no fruit. Jesus says, you have the power to tend to this tree and grow in love and justice. You have the power to live and grow differently if you want.

     In her commentary on this text, Cheryl Lindsay points out that fig trees are pretty robust trees. They can withstand a lot of harsh treatment and are pretty hardy, growing in places where other fruits might not flourish. They can even survive fire, coming back lively and prolific from something that would destroy many trees. They need fewer nutrients and water than many other species as well.  And, importantly, they can be heavily pruned and still produce fruit. In comparing them to a fig tree, it sure seems like Jesus actually had a lot of faith in his followers. Jesus understands them to be capable of producing a harvest of love and justice, even in harsh conditions. How much more could they do with all the soil, water, bugs, and light that they need!

     In this time of uncertainty and looming destruction, let us remember these resilient fig trees. May we find the nutrients we need to grow in love. May the light of God’s justice help us thrive. And, may we convert the sustenance we receive into fruit that benefits those around us. The conditions may not be ripe for flourishing. Suffering is all around. Let us tend this soil. May we bear fruit for the good of the world. Or, barring that, open up space for those who can.

Resources consulted while writing this sermon:

Cheryl Lindsay: https://www.ucc.org/sermon-seeds/sermon-seeds-cut-down/

Debra Mumford: https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/third-sunday-in-lent-3/commentary-on-luke-131-9-6

Quinn Caldwell's devotional entry called "Soil" in the Into the Deep devotional from Pilgrim Press: https://thepilgrimpress.com/products/into-the-deep-2025-lent-devotional
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Fred. B. Craddock, Luke (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009)

Luke 13:31-35 The Lament over Jerusalem
​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 away from 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.” ’

     A fox got our last two hens to years ago on the Sunday after Easter when I was taking the day off. She was a little thing and pretty skinny. It was kit season, so she may have had hungry babies to feed. She was pretty practiced in her craft and brazen, taking the birds from just outside the living room window in the early morning sun. You all were probably starting worship when she got the first one. I thought I heard normal chicken squabbling. It turned out to be something else. She watched and waited for the other hen to slip out to the safety of her enclosure and took her, too, though I ran out when I heard the squabbling this time. I wasn’t fast enough to save her though. When I last preached on this scripture, in 2019, I talked about being worried that a fox or other predator might one day decide they were too easy to go after. I was right to worry.

     Agricultural images are all over the Gospels. Jesus lived among farmers and people who fished for a living. Foxes and hens weren’t distant metaphors for him or for the people who listened to him preach. While I can afford a measure of grace for a hungry little fox, largely because I wasn’t relying on my birds as my primary food source or source of income, Jesus’ first audience probably treated them a little differently. If you are a sustenance farmer, the stakes are much higher when predators come around. Because his first audience understood the high stakes of raising food while also protecting it from predators, they probably understood just what Jesus was saying when he called Herod a fox and when he said he himself wished he could offer care and protection like that of a hen.

     It’s worthwhile to take a moment to recognize that it’s the Pharisees who warn Jesus that Herod want to kill him. In some parts of scripture, the Pharisees are Jesus’ greatest antagonists. Centuries of Christian antagonism towards Judaism is rooted in seeing the Pharisees as a force always out to do Jesus harm. The scholar Fred Craddock has a useful commentary on Luke. In that commentary, he points out other places where the Pharisees who are open to Jesus in chapters 7, 11, and 14. He also notes that in the book of Acts, the sequel to Luke, Pharisees were both willing to listen to members of the early church and do actually join early churches. It is clear that even the ones who argued regularly with Jesus did not all want him dead. It makes sense that they would warn him of danger. Interestingly, Jesus is not afraid of foxes, or at least unafraid of kings who acted like predators.

     Craddock also points out that in the Hebrew Bible, foxes are usually a force for destruction. In Greek literature, they are clever. Both of those meanings would have come to mind for the Pharisees when Jesus said, “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 away from Jerusalem.’” Even as Jesus admits that Herod is both destructive and clever, Jesus makes it clear that he is not afraid of him. Jesus is not about to let this threat stop him from his work.

     Last week, when I talked about the temptations in the wilderness, I noted that Jesus’ ultimate priority is not his own safety. His priority is following God’s direction, even if it meant going towards danger. The scholar David Jacobsen puts it this way, “God is setting the travel agenda.” Jesus is driven by a force greater than Herod. And, Herod is not destructive enough or wily enough to outwit God.

     It is always interesting to me that Jesus compares his ministry to that of a very vulnerable mother, a mother hen. While I’ve met some pretty spunky chickens before, they aren’t the most strong and powerful animals in the world. In a commentary on this text, the scholar David Lose points out that, in the Hebrew Bible, God is portrayed as a fierce and powerful mother a couple different times. In Deuteronomy, God is a mother eagle. In Hosea, a mother bear. In Isaiah, a human mother who has given birth and is nursing her child. So, the mothering image seems to be following that pattern. But, isn’t it interesting that, instead of one of the more imposing animals or even a human, Jesus picked a hen to describe his mission?

     Craddock points out that there is one place where God is compared to a mother hen, a book in the Apocrypha called II Esdras. Most Protestants are not familiar with this book. In II Esdras, God says to Israel, “I was to you as a father to sons, as a mother to daughters, as a hen gathering her brood under her wings.” It seems like Jesus was quoting this scripture in his lament over the city of Jerusalem. I wonder if he was drawn to the this vulnerable but still deeply devoted image of a nurturing mother because he was well aware of the danger around him. He knew the power of God to direct him. He also knew his own very human limits and understood that, while he was not afraid of Herod, Herod could still do him harm. And, in a city that often disregarded prophets, he knew that his task of gathering in the ones he was called to protect would be challenging. Like baby chicks, the people whom Jesus served could get themselves in all manner of trouble. And yet, he will keep trying to gather them in.

     We are in an era when chickens are on lots of people’s minds. Not only are farmers worried about foxes, they are also worried about bird flu, which has infected literally millions of chickens in this country alone. That’s not even counting other kinds of wild and domestic birds, cattle, and cats that have been harmed. As governmental agencies tasked with caring for these birds and the humans that steward them are being hamstrung by political maneuvering and corporate greed hiding behind anti-vaccine misinformation, I’m worried about a different kind of fox being in the henhouse. And, yet, a real-life story about chickens and foxes might offer us some guidance.

     This happened this literal week before the last time I preached on this passage in 2019. It is a story worth repeating.  In northwestern France, a fox went into a chicken pen at an agricultural school. The pen was big enough to hold 6,000 chickens. And, had a door that closed each night and was supposed to be secure enough to keep out critters that weren’t supposed to be there. But, foxes had gotten in before, picking off many hens in one fell swoop. In 2019, a fox got in the pen. That fox did not, however, make it out of the pen.
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      There doesn’t seem to have been video footage of what happened. But, it was clear from the remains of the fox that the chickens banded together. I don’t want to fool with one mean chicken. I can’t imagine taking on 6,000 of them. I even feel a little bad for the fox. But, I feel more proud of the chickens than sad for the fox. I think it is good to be reminded that those who are vulnerable when fighting alone can become extraordinarily powerful when fighting together. The destructive and sneaky don’t have to win just because they have sharper teeth. May we, like Christ, be inspired by the hens that use every bit of power they have to protect themselves and the ones they care about.  The foxes don’t have to win. Let us gather under Christ’s wing and by his side. This is where we will find the strength to survive.

Resources consulted while writing this sermon:

David Schnasa Jacobsen: http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=3990

Fred. B. Craddock, Luke (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009)
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David Lose: http://www.davidlose.net/2016/02/lent-2-c-courage-and-vulnerability/
Story about the fox and chickens in France: https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/13/europe/france-fox-killed-chickens-intl-scli/index.html
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Luke 9:28-36 The TransfigurationNow about eight days after these sayings Jesus took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly they saw two men, Moses and Elijah, talking to him. They appeared in glory and were speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. Now Peter and his companions were weighed down with sleep; but since they had stayed awake, they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. Just as they were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, ‘Master, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah’—not knowing what he said. While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were terrified as they entered the cloud. Then from the cloud came a voice that said, ‘This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!’ When the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and in those days told no one any of the things they had seen.

     Today is a special Sunday called Transfiguration Sunday. It is the last Sunday before the season of Lent and kind of a final hurrah for a season of epiphanies that follow Christmas. Can anyone remind me what an “epiphany” is?... That’s right! All good answers! Epiphanies are sudden realizations. They can feel like you see something clearly for the first time or, after a long of time of trying, you finally figure something out. From January 6th, which is a church celebration called Epiphany, until today, which is called Transfiguration Sunday, we read stories that helped us learn something about Jesus or allow us to watch the people in the story learn something new about Jesus. Revelation is another good word for what is happening in these stories. The stories reveal something to us and to the people in the stories. As we go into the season of Lent, if we’re gonna follow Jesus, we better know something about who he is.

     These last several weeks have revealed to us a vision of Jesus who loves people, who receives support to understand his mission and to accomplish it, who helps the vulnerable, who tells people who have more than they need to share it, and who is not afraid to tell powerful people that they are doing something wrong. That is that kind of Epiphanies I need to want to go to someone for help if I was sick or to follow them into dangerous and important work. And, these are the kinds of Epiphanies Peter, James, and John had gotten that made it easy for them to say yes when Jesus asked them to go up a mountain and pray. They are going to have another epiphany up on the mountain. They just don’t know it yet.

     I have a list of words I want to show you. Can you tell me what these words have in common:  Transmit, transfer, transpose, transcontinental, translate, transatlantic, transform. Yes. They all have the pre-fix “trans” in them. Sometimes, when we say “trans,” we’re using it as a shortened form of a longer word. Sometimes people who are transgender will say “I’m trans.” When “trans” is a part of another word, it is there to tell us something about that word. Trans, when it is a prefix can tell us that a word has something to do with going across, going over, or going beyond. One definition I read said that when we see the pre-fix trans, we can understand that the word we’re looking at has something to do with movement or change. If something is transcontinental, it goes across a content, like the transcontinental railroad. If a song is transposed, that means that a musician has changed the notation of a song so that they might sound higher or lower than the original version. This makes the music easier for different instruments to play and for people with different voices to sing. 

     Today is Transfiguration Sunday. What do you think the word “transfigure” means? ... Yeah! To change shape or change form! Today’s reading is about Jesus’ body and clothes changing form. Does anyone remember how Jesus looked different when he changed? It sounds like he glowed! His clothes got all shiny and so did his face! That’s why I shared so many shiny, glowy, and sparkly things with you today, so you can remember this story of Jesus on the mountain, glowing and confusing his friends.

     He wasn’t just glowing all by himself though. Peter, John, and James saw him glowing and talking to two other people. Does anyone remember who? Moses and Elijah. Who was Moses? Yes! God helped him and his brother lead their people out of slavery in Egypt. God gave Moses the Ten Commandments to share with the people.  Do you remember that his body changed in his story, too? His face shone like the sun when he talked with God. People got kind of scared of it though, and he ended up covering his face so they would be less afraid. Sometimes people are afraid of changes, even if they represent something very important in your life.

     Elijah was a prophet. God sent him to tell two different kings that they had to change how they were being kings and how they were worshiping God. He got in a big fight with a bunch of other prophets and won. He also argued with a queen named Jezebel and helped three more prophets begin their work returning the nation to right worship. He wasn’t afraid to tell the truth to powerful people and he worked hard to teach people how to follow God. It makes sense that Jesus would want to talk to him and Moses has continued in his mission. It is good to ask people who have done things before you have for advice.

     James, John, and Peter were so amazed at what they saw, but also confused. Who here would be confused if you saw your friend and teacher glowing and talking to people who might ghosts. They are excited, though, and want to do the right thing. They offer to build a special little house that would serve as a memorial to the important thing that they were seeing in the moment. But, this wasn’t the time for building monuments. The story shares that a big cloud settled over them. That happened a lot in Moses’ story, too. Then, a God’s voice says, “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!” When else have we heard something like that? That’s right! Jesus’ baptism. It was the beginning of the first part of his mission. And, now, we have a story that begins the next part. It is clear that in everything that comes next, it will be important to make sure to do one thing first. What is that? Listen to Jesus.

     As we shift into Lent, I hope you’ll keep this instruction from God in mind: Listen to Jesus. How do we treat our neighbors? Listen to Jesus. Who is our neighbor? Listen to Jesus. What do we do with our wealth? Listen to Jesus. Who deserves healing? Listen to Jesus. How shall I treat my enemies? Listen to Jesus. What happens if I make a mistake? Listen to Jesus. There are many voices competing for our attention today. And, we may not be totally sure of the next best step. But, we know that we can start with this one: Listen to Jesus. May we follow him up the mountain, into the cloud, and towards the crowds of people who need him most.

Resources consulted while writing this sermon:

Carolyn C. Brown: https://worshipingwithchildren.blogspot.com/2016/01/year-c-transfiguration-of-lord-february.html?m=1
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A whole long list of words with the prefix "trans": https://word-lists.com/word-lists/list-of-words-with-the-prefix-trans/