Sermon for the Way Home
Where Are You Hiding?
Matthew 23:29–39
We were not willing, but Jesus was willing to the very end. Having borne on the cross the judgement we deserved, and having left his own tomb empty, the risen Jesus still gathers his people under his wings today.
Three things to remember this week
- The decorated tomb
- The unanswered call
- The outstretched wings
Married couples
What are we hiding behind in front of each other?
Where we are
"I'm fine." "I've just been busy." The longer we live together, the better we get at hiding from each other. After an argument we put our conversations on mute, and we cover our hurts with a polished smile.
From the passage
God came looking for the hiding Adam first and asked, "Where are you?" (Gen 3:9). And Jesus gathers us together under his wings (v. 37). A husband and wife are not there to decorate each other, but to shelter under the same wings.
Confession
"Instead of pretending I'm fine, I will be the first to open my heart. We both live under the same wings."
Prayer points
- For courage to stop hiding and to open our hearts to each other
- That our home would be a place of rest under the Lord's wings
Those whose spouse does not share their faith
Does my faith come across to my spouse as "I'm different"?
Where we are
Without meaning to, we can let it show in our words and faces: I go to church and live rightly, and my spouse does not yet understand. That attitude can feel like a high wall to them.
From the passage
They excused themselves from sin by saying, "If we had lived then, we would not have taken part" (v. 30). True repentance says, "We have sinned, even as our ancestors did" (Ps 106:6). And the one who calls again and again is not me, but the Lord (v. 37).
Confession
"I will not be the one trying to change you, but the one beside you who needed grace before you did."
Prayer points
- To live before my spouse with humility rather than superiority
- To wait in faith for the time when the Lord calls my spouse
Parents of primary-age and younger children
Is ours a home where children hide, or a home where they run to be held?
Where we are
A child who has broken a cup or told a lie hides behind the curtain or in a corner. When children hide for fear of being told off, it is easy for us to start with the scolding.
From the passage
When humanity first sinned, they hid too. Yet God came looking for them first (Gen 3:9). Jesus longed to gather even those he had called vipers under his wings, like chicks (v. 37).
Confession
"Even when you get it wrong, you don't have to hide. Come to Mum and Dad. That's how God came looking for us first."
Prayer points
- To be parents who hold our children first when they make mistakes
- That our children would grow up learning they are safe under God's wings
Parents of secondary-age and older children
When my child doesn't answer, how many times am I willing to call again?
Where we are
Messages read and left unanswered, a bedroom door that stays shut. When we call and call and get no reply, we grow weary and quietly put our hearts towards our child on mute.
From the passage
God kept calling, again and again, though no one picked up (v. 34). Jesus remembered every unanswered call: "How often I have longed..." (v. 37). We were once children like that before God.
Confession
"Even if you don't answer, I'll keep calling. I was once a child who didn't answer God for a long time."
Prayer points
- To keep calling our children without growing weary
- That one day our children would answer the Lord's call for themselves
Single members of our church family
When no one is watching, where do I hide?
Where we are
Coming home late to an empty flat, scrolling endlessly on the phone, saying "I've just been busy". We seem fine in front of others, but alone we want to hide somewhere.
From the passage
Ruth came alone from another country, yet she came to take refuge under the wings of the Lord (Ruth 2:12). Jesus gathers us not on our own but together under his wings (v. 37).
Confession
"Even when I am alone, I will not hide. I belong under the Lord's wings, among the people he has gathered."
Prayer points
- That my time alone would become honest time before the Lord
- For friends in the church family with whom I can give and receive a place