Listen to Sermon
Pastor Tom Johnson, March 17, 2019
The Pharisees tell Jesus to get lost because Herod wants to kill him. We know from all the other interactions that the Pharisees would love to see Jesus get into trouble. They are also not big fans of King Herod. Herod is a fox threatening to devour the lives of God’s people in Jerusalem—just like his father before him who tried to kill all the infants and toddlers to prevent Messiah from challenging his throne. The Pharisees are just trying to stir things up. In fact, they eventually will want to kill Jesus themselves. Herod and the Pharisees will form an alliance and will soon get their opportunity.
Jesus makes a profound comparison between himself and a mother hen. “How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing.” Jesus reminds us of the history of prophets that he sent to God’s people to protect and nurture them. He is more than just another prophet sent to draw his people underneath God’s protective wings. He is the true and living God who sent the prophets. And now he has come in the flesh.
Sometimes I think we are at a disadvantage if we did not grow up on a farm or in a more rural context. Even urban areas in other parts of the world still have chickens running around. So I talked with people who live or grew up on a farm. There are tons of YouTube videos of hens protecting their chicks. I learned that hens are fierce in their passion to protect their brood. It’s a scary thing seeing a hawk rocket down toward helpless chicks—or a cat crouching down, stalking, and lungeing—or a dog charging with its jaws open and teeth bearing...or a fox like Herod who schemes and plans his next kill... When I watch these videos, I cheer for the little chicks scattering around. They are even more vulnerable when they do not immediately get behind their angry momma. Jesus says that God’s people are out of their minds when they are unwilling—unwilling to gather under God the hen’s wings.
That is our nature as human beings—and even as the people of God—to not acknowledge how vulnerable we are. It’s why Peter says, “Be vigilant, be sober minded, for your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour.” We little, fuzzy younglings are no match for predators. There are so many threats to our living out our fragile lives in the joy and peace of the Gospel. There is false teaching. Evil is palpable and formidable just as we hear of mass shootings in schools, churches, synagogues, and mosques throughout the world. And then there is our stubborn sin.
We are held captive and lured away from Mother Hen by our pursuit of pleasure. We wander away in thoughtless, unreflective living—doing harm to others—and harm to ourselves in our thoughts, words, and deeds. We lose sight of Momma Bird as she scans earth and sky for predators. We forget that she stands firm at her station for our good, for the preservation of our lives, and to give us a place of refuge and peace. “All we like sheep have gone astray”—like chicks wandering away from our towering Mother—“but the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on him.” Mother Hen is there to defend us with her vigilance and her own body.
These hens that defend their young are bad to the bone. They get right into the face of foxes, dogs, cats, hawks, and eagles. They do not wait until the predator comes to them—they lead the charge with their wings, chests, loud squawks, raised claws, and sharp beaks highlight their strength of character and determination. They absolutely will give their lives for the chicks. Their love for their little ones is displayed in their warrior spirits. Their love is also beautifully displayed as their wings seem to swallow up their chicks as they disappear into their warm embrace. This past Wednesday, the BBC reported that a fox infiltrated a free range chicken coop in north-western France. The next day they found the fox dead with multiple beak blows to its neck. The chickens banded together and killed the fox.
And so Jesus says, “How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing.” Jesus, the eternal Son of God—the second Person of the Trinity sent prophet after prophet—to generation after generation to gather, protect, and nurture his people. His is a stubborn love—a relentless love—a courageous love for you and for me. We know that “we cannot by our own reason or strength come to him” (Luther’s Catechism). Only by the Holy Spirit and the power of God do we draw near Mother Hen and her bold and uncompromising determination to deliver us from evil, temptation, and sin. Jesus goes to the cross in the spirit and power of Mother Hen who meets evil, sin, and death itself face to face. He raises his chest and spreads his wings on the Cross of Calvary. And he cries out in fierce and resolute love, “It is finished!” And so we gather this morning under the shelter of his wings. His Word assuring us that we are his beloved brood—his holy and royal children. He feeds us his own Body and Blood with the bread and the wine. And we are assured that we are in a safe, loving, and nurturing place now and forever.
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