March 16, 2025
Last week we were introduced to this year’s theme for Lent, which comes from the world of track and field: hurdles. Hurdles are perfect symbols for Lent because in order to make it to the finish line on Easter there are things that will get in our way, trip us up if we are not careful, and lead to our downfall. Last week’s hurdle was temptations. This week’s hurdle is trusting in God. We call ourselves children of God, but do we really trust God asa child trusts a parent?
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The Season of Lent is about our journey to Jerusalem as it mirrors Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem. As he is heading there, doing ministry along the way, some friendly Pharisees warn him that Herod, the king of the Jews, wants to kill him. (Yes, some of the Pharisees seem to have warmed up to Jesus.) He acknowledges that he is safer anywhere but Jerusalem.
As long as he is doing his Messiah thing in the countryside and the small villages and fishing towns, he will be okay. He acknowledges that Jerusalem, the political and religious center of power for the Jewish people, has a history of violence against those who come to “speak truth to power,” namely the prophets.
No one likes to be criticized, especially those who are in power. And let’s face it, the Jewish political and religious elites have a fairly good thing going with the Roman Empire. As long as they keep their noses clean and their people under control, they have very little to worry about.
They certainly don’t want some young upstart Messiah walking through the gates of Jerusalem and stirring things up . . . which is what Jesus does when he finally arrives in Jerusalem. We know the story. We know how it ends.
But let’s back up. Why do the prophets feel the need to come to Jerusalem time and time again, century after century, to speak truth to power? I’ll tell you why: The political and religious leaders in Jerusalem did not always trust in God. They had a history of trusting in other gods, their own power, or even other foreign powers.
Lacking in trust in God is as common as dirt. And there are consequences. From a spiritual perspective, everything that is wrong about us starts with a lack of trust in God. Sin, fear, doubt, anger—you name it, at the base of every spiritual hurdleis a lack of trust. The less trust we have in God, the higher the hurdles are set and the more we stumble and fall.
Jesus didn’t know anything about track and field events, so he illustrates a lack of trust in God with the image of a hen wanting to protect her chicks, but the chicks scatter. They are not willing to trust the mother hen.
Jesus says, “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!” That is, they were not willing to trust in God.
Because of the recent bird flu epidemic, maybe that illustration doesn’t work for us at the moment, so let’s try a different analogy. I’m sure many of you have read Michael Lewis’ book, The Blind Side, or watched the movie with the same title, starring Sandra Bullock. (I’m a football mom, by the way, so I know a thing or two about the game.)
The Blind Side is a story about Michael Oher, a homeless black boy adopted by a wealthy white family. With a supportive family, he eventually becomes one of the most highly paid players in the NFL. Why? Because he was an offensive left tackle, the position that is most responsible for protecting the quarterback from his blind side.
(This is true for right-handed quarterbacks, of course. If your quarterback is left-handed, then you want your best lineman to be the right tackle.)
After watching the movie, The Blind Side, I concluded that we can trust God to be our left tackle. We can trust God to be the One who protects us and shields us from life’s overwhelmingchallenges and adversities, the One who provides support and strength when we need it most.
Of course, the reality is that sometimes life blitzes us. A “blitz” in football refers to the linebackers joining the defensive linemen in attacking the quarterback. When this happens, about all the quarterback can do is run for his life or throw the ball quickly, hopefully finding an open receiver.
Still, even as life is blitzing us, we should trust in God to be our left tackle. We should trust God to block for us and protect our blind side. To use a classic religious term, we should be willing to have a little “blind faith” in God.
I realize that “blind faith” is often criticized for being naïve. But faith, by definition, is blind. The writer of Hebrews tells us thatfaith is “the conviction of things not seen.” Faith means trusting in the One who has our backs, or rather, our blind side.
If we struggle with trusting in God—if we have, as therapists call it, “trust issues”—just know that we are not alone. Humanity has a tendency to put their trust in earthly power, wealth, status, and other things we can see.
The problem with trusting only the things we can see is that we can’t see everything. We will always have a blind side or blind spots, spiritually speaking. In fact, one of the most difficult and dangerous parts of our journey to Jerusalem is that there are hurdles we don’t see.
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So, on this second Sunday in the season of Lent, let us continue our journey to Jerusalem. And as we make our way to the cross and then to the empty tomb, let us be aware of our blind side, but more importantly, let us trust God to throw a block or two along the way. Amen.
