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[ Silence ] [MUSIC] ♪ Come let us worship the Lord ♪ ♪ Come let us worship the Lord ♪

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♪ Come let us worship the Lord ♪ ♪ Come let us worship the Lord ♪ ♪ Come let us worship the Lord ♪ ♪ Let's give Him our praise ♪

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[applause] Amen. Amen. Let's all say amen. Amen. I don't see anyone on the TV ministry.

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Who's supposed to be on the TV ministry today, Sister Hurst? [inaudible] All right. We certainly need to see if we can get some substitutes

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so that we can keep this ministry alive and well. There is a passage of scripture which is the basis of our text, a basis of our message rather,

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that is found in the 13th chapter of the gospel according to Saint Luke, and the 34th verses following. Oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem,

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city that murders the prophets and stones the messengers sent to her, How often have I longed to gather your children as a hen gathers her brood under her wings.

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But you would not let me. Look, there is your temple, forsaken by God. I tell you, you will not see me until the time comes when you say blessings on him who comes in the name of God.

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in the name of the Lord. And in the same book, Luke, the 19th chapter, beginning with the 41st verse, Luke 19, beginning with verse 41,

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when he came in sight of the city, he wept over it and said, If only you had known this day the way that leads to peace. But no, it is hidden from your sight.

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For a time will come upon you when your enemies will set up siege, works against you. They will encircle you and hem you in at every point. They will bring you to the ground, you and your children within your walls, and not leave

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you one stone standing on another because you did not recognize the time of God's visitation. the subject, Jesus weeps over Jerusalem. Jesus is on the passion journey. It's a journey of sorrow and suffering.

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A journey that leads to Jerusalem. where he will die on the cross. As his disciples, let us go with him. Let us walk in his steps.

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Let us observe the landscape. Let us experience his allegiance to the divine design for his life. Let us express commitment to the prophetic purpose.

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Let us feel his pain. Let us experience his triumph through tragedy. Jesus set his face steadfastly to go to Jerusalem. He was fully aware of the danger that awaited him there.

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Nevertheless, he was determined to go on. Well, there are some things that we ought to make up our minds to do anyhow, regardless of conditions, regardless of circumstances.

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So in the 13th chapter of Luke, There is a record of a committee of the Pharisees who come to Jesus in Galilee and tell him that he ought to leave the country or Herod will kill him.

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Now that's enough to scare one to death. Herod has already killed John the Baptist at the request of Herodias. John the Baptist's head was brought to the throne

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on a silver platter. Now the king who has the power at his disposal of the police, the sheriff, the FBI, the CIA, all of the agencies of the criminal justice system, when the king has decided to kill you, I said that is enough to scare one to death.

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Many would say it's time to go, it's time to give up, time to run away, time to hide. It is said that cowards die many times before their death. But Jesus is not a coward. He confronts the threats.

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He confronts the most trying circumstances with brave confidence. Notice that the message is brought by a committee of the Pharisees. Now this committee means Jesus no good. They want to frighten him.

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They want him to run for his life. They want him to leave Galilee where he is popular, where he's among friends, where he is in home territory, where he enjoys the support of the multitudes. They want him to leave Galilee and go to Jerusalem.

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Now in Jerusalem, Jesus would be in hostile territory under the influence of Pharisees and ecclesiastical leaders of the nation who were bent on his destruction. the Pharisees are members of a group that have devised a political and religious plot designed for the destruction of our Lord. Now Jesus has no intention of running away.

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He does not flee because of threats. Listen to his response to this committee of Pharisees. He says, "Go and tell that fox, "behold, I cast out devils,

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"and I do cures today, tomorrow, and the day after." Tomorrow and the third day I shall be perfected The report of the Pharisees I said is designed to get Jesus to change To change his mind

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To change his heart To change his course of action but Jesus expresses his determination to continue his work.

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There is no change in his plans. The work will continue as planned. He's not going out of business. The sign over his ministry reads,

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business as usual. Threats from the murderer of John the Baptist will not deter the master. He will not be diverted from his course.

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He will not take the detour arranged by the Pharisees. Rather, he says to them, go tell that fox. I will not be delayed or deterred by the machinations of men. My work is of God and I am following God's schedule.

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Not a map made by crafty religionists. They come under the guise of wanting the help, of being concerned about the master's safety. But Jesus' word to them is,

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"Don't worry about me. "Abandon your plans concerning my personal safety. "Don't worry about me. Don't cry for me.

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Herod's threat and his power don't scare me. Don't worry about me. Weep rather for yourselves and for your children. Cry for Jerusalem.

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Some years ago, Alan Payton wrote a book, "Cry My Beloved Country," which was based on life in South Africa. It gave a very vivid description

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of the terrible system of apartheid. And it was a very appropriate title, "Cry, My Beloved Country." Sometimes we cry because we're sad.

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Sometimes we cry because we're glad. But so as we follow Jesus on this passion journey, Luke has him in this last scripture in the vicinity of Jerusalem.

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And he weeps over the city. His action is a manifestation of the sorrow of God. Now there are two occasions in the scripture where Jesus weeps.

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He weeps at the grave of Lazarus and he weeps over the city of Jerusalem. Now there are some people who think that weeping is a sign of weakness,

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particularly if a man weeps. I remember some time ago, I believe it was Senator Edmund Muskie who was a candidate for the presidency

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and he wept publicly on one occasion and the news reporters said, this is awful for a man to be out weeping in the public. Said that's a sign of weakness.

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He has no right to be our leader, not to lead this great nation if he weeps. Well now, I would suggest to you that weeping may be a sign of strength.

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Jesus himself, well, the very Son of God wrapped up in human flesh, weeps at the grave of Lazarus. He weeps over the city of Jerusalem. I remember some in this congregation

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remember him, Brother B.T. Wilson. He was a high school principal and he served many years in another generation as principal of Moore High School in Waco. And the stories are told regarding when he was principal, you know, those were days when you used a paddle. And the strap, I belonged to that period myself. The principal would take you

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to his office and administer a little discipline, you know, in the seat of your pants, so to speak. And it was said that Professor Wilson would use the strap for a while and he would sit down and talk for a while. After quipping a little bit, he would talk a while, give a little sermon about why you know this hurts me more than it hurts you and then

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he would cry with the person he'd do all of that. Well this isn't because a man was just enjoying using a strap it was because he was deeply interested in those pupils. So Jesus cared enough to cry. One lady was said to, been approached by another and said, "Aren't you and so-and-so friends?" She said, "Oh no, no, we're not

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friends so we never cried together we never cried together. So to cry shows concern. I was in a conference back in 1963 celebrating 100 years of the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation and that was one who appeared on the program named William Stringfellow, a lawyer who had spent, who was spending his time working

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with poor people in the ghetto in New York City. And when he spoke in the conference he said, "We ought to all go home. We ought to go home and weep." And he was speaking about the racial situation. We ought all go home and weep. Now weeping is connected in the scripture also with repentance, a feeling sorry, sorry enough

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for what you have done to weep, caring enough to pour out your soul in grief. And brothers and sisters that's good grief. We often use the words good grief in another way but that's really good grief when we care enough to pour out our hearts in grief. Jesus laments over Jerusalem. Oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem you

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stone the prophets. You kill those who speak for God. You would destroy those who speak for life. Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you have shut the door to divine visitation. Oh Jerusalem, your palaces are dried up, your strongholds are destroyed. Oh Jerusalem, your solemn feasts and holy Sabbaths are forgotten. Oh Jerusalem,

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your altar is cast off, your sanctuary is abhorred, your gates are sunk, your bars are broken. Oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem, where is your beauty? Where is your joy? Oh Jerusalem. Jesus cared enough to weep over the city. We had a professor when I was in college who taught chemistry and most students were afraid of chemistry

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and many of us avoided it who could, but he was regarded as one of the most brilliant teachers because he had what was considered by the students as one of the most difficult subjects. But one day I remember we were able to corner him after the evening meal and we said, "Prof, to what do you attribute your success as a

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teacher? How did you get to know so much?" He said, "Well, let me tell you boys." He said, "I was very dumb. I was very dumb. I just couldn't get it. The teacher tried and tried and tried and I was just dumb. I was the dumbest in the class. He said my mother tried and one day she tried and tried and I didn't seem to respond and she

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broke down and cried and he said it that touched me and I decided I decided from that moment on that I was going to learn. It was because she cared enough to cry that touched his heart and Jesus cared enough for us to cry to we over the city. Cry for those who are hurting.

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We care enough to cry. Oh, and we think of Austin, Austin! We talk about the city, the city. Right now we're talking about providing for the homeless.

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And you watch, you watch the papers, the homeless people. I don't want these homeless people near me. I remember when I was on the school board and we were trying to provide a school

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where they would have the mentally retarded parents came down, "We don't want the mentally retarded down here next to us. That will depreciate our property." We need to cry. When they were locating the Salvation Army, you remember the trouble they had? Nobody wanted the Salvation Army.

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But those are people. They are God's children. They are made in the image of God. And when we have people when we have a city that is not genuinely concerned about people. James Baldwin makes this statement in one of his books that the city is like a whore, indifferent as to who comes there.

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indifference. Jesus wept over Jerusalem because there was an indifference. They didn't care who came to Jerusalem. Son of God came. They didn't care. They didn't recognized who he was, they really did not care. So, Jesus faces the contradictions of human existence,

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faces the troubles that are in his path, and that's what really did. as we celebrate this Lenten season, whatever contradictions are in your life,

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whatever may be the influence of those who come and would have you run away from the issues of life, issues that you ought to face. Or it's so easy to stay at home

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when there's some issue before the council. And it's so easy to say, well, that may get me into trouble. Now, I want everything to go smoothly with me. Well, if Jesus had been like that,

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he never would have gone to Jerusalem. But he set his faith steadfastly to go to Jerusalem. So we're on this journey. It's a passion journey for every one of us.

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We're on this journey from Galilee to Jerusalem, where we are accepted, where things are going well, where things are smooth, to go to Jerusalem, where there's hostility,

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where there are obstacles to be faced. That's what we face. So, but one thing is sure. Jesus wept and the scripture says weeping, weeping.

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Weeping may endure for the night, but joy, joy, joy comes in the morning. So when he gets in Jerusalem, he has a hostile committee down here in Galilee,

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But oh boy, in Jerusalem, he weeps with the city and he is greeted by a very warm welcome. And we're all looking forward to that day when we get to the new Jerusalem

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and we receive that warm welcome for those who wait for us there. Thanks be to God that weeping may endure for the night but joy joy unspeakable joy comes in the moment. Does Jesus care?

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If you really know he cares I want all of us to join in with the choir and singing that. Oh yes he cares, I know he cares. His heart, his touch is my grace. Door of the church is open. It's an open door he sets before us. An invitation to church membership to

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unite with the people of God by letter by Christian experience or candidate for baptism. ♪ When my heart is prayed to ♪ ♪ King of earth and sun ♪

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♪ As the feathers press ♪ ♪ And the gilded strands ♪ ♪ And the wave of weary and calm ♪ Oh, yes, he cares, I know he cares.

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His heart is touched when I breathe. When the bays are weary, the long nights dreary, I know my Savior cares. 'Cause He's a care, and my way is dark

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when the nameless bread appears. As the day I've been, ♪ In the deep night's shade ♪ ♪ Does he care enough to be near ♪

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♪ Oh yes he cares ♪ ♪ I know he cares ♪ ♪ His love is as well my ring ♪ ♪ When the day is all weary ♪

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♪ The long night's dreary ♪ ♪ I know my Savior cares ♪ ♪ For Jesus cares ♪ ♪ When I'm bright and fair ♪

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♪ Your resistance in faith shines strong ♪ ♪ With my mind he grieved ♪ ♪ But I know, really ♪ ♪ Though my tears flow over, I'm calm ♪

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♪ Oh yes, he cares ♪ ♪ I know he cares ♪ ♪ His love is fresh when I'm free ♪ When the days are weary, the long night's dreary,

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I know my Savior cares. Oh, yes, He cares. I know He cares. His heart is touched with my grief.

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When the days are weary, alone, and dreary, I know my Savior cares. Amen. [BLANK_AUDIO] [ Silence ]