Description
Most of us are familiar with chickens. We might know more about eating them, tough, than knowing their laying and brooding habits. It takes 20-21 days for a chicken to hatch. Most of the chickens we eat are hatched under lights in incubators. But in the backyard or the farmyard, a hen broods, fluffing herself up to incubate her eggs for 21 days. While she is brooding, the hen’s maternal instinct is strong. She will not eat or get up except to move the eggs around with her beak every couple of hours. All her attention is focused on her eggs. A good human helper will put a bowl of water close to help her keep hydrated!
But once she’s finished hatching the eggs, she emerges from her nest, and her brood (newly hatched chicks) will hide under her wings and tuck in her feathers. The mother hen will focus on keeping them safe, teaching chicks how to peck and scratch for food. She will also supervise the chicks moving out into their environment. When danger comes close, she calls and they come running to hide in the safety of her feathers.
On this second Sunday in Lent, in the reading from Luke 13:31-35, Jesus tells us that God is like a mother hen, totally committed to her children – that’s us – and that God will protect us, teach us and help us to move out into the community.
Jesus, in this reading as in the whole Gospel, is focused on saving people through healing, forgiveness, restoration to community, rescuing from poverty, and ultimately bringing into the messianic age, even as his life – according to the Pharisees – is in danger.
How do we respond to such focused caring and compassion? The Season of Lent calls us to examine our relationship with Jesus. Part of this time is confession and acknowledging that we don’t always live and follow Jesus’ way. Sometimes it’s difficult for us to even admit it. Sometimes we may choose to give up because it is too hard to face ourselves. Today’s reading from Luke 13:31-35 reminds us that there is another option. We can call out to God, with our concerns, our hurts and even our failures and confessions, and trust in God’s strong and compassionate care.
