Advent Lutheran Church

"Today, Tomorrow and the Next Day"

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.’”

Today, tomorrow and the next day
In this passage Jesus mourns for Jerusalem and how they have rejected him.  But as he mourns, Jesus states in his bold yet somewhat cryptic manner that “I’ll be back”.  The persistence that Jesus has for the people of Jerusalem is the same persistence that he has for us.  His response to the threat of death is that he must keep going, today tomorrow and the next day.  Are we so passionate about anything that even with the threat of death hanging over our head that we are ready to do it today, tomorrow and the next day?    Are we passionate enough about anything that we will continue to pursue it even in the face of constant rejection?  Jesus’ passion for us is manifested in his persistence.  He persistently pursues relationships with us even when we are unwilling or uninterested.  Jesus is not waiting for us to engage our relationship with him, he is following us and all we have to do is allow it.
What can we do today tomorrow and the next day to respond to Jesus’ persistent love for us?