"As a hen gathers her brood under her wings”
Luke 13:31-35
Lent 2C, March 4, 2007
A Sermon by Fr. James Haney V
The fox and the hen. No, I’m not talking about some children’s story. I’m not talking about some Disney movie. Instead, I’m talking about the two animals mentioned in our Gospel lesson. Both are mentioned by Jesus.
The fox and the hen. Two very different animals. And Jesus uses these images to refer to two very different people.
I’d invite you to turn to Luke ch13 p951. At this point in Luke, Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem. And Jesus knows what awaits him in Jerusalem: suffering and death.
And on the way, v31, some Pharisees come up to Jesus and warn him that Herod is out to get him, that Herod wants to kill him. Now, you may find it surprising that the Pharisees are apparently being helpful to Jesus. We often think of the Pharisees as the bad guys in the Bible. This is a gross oversimplification. Jesus had much in common with the Pharisees. And there were many different types of Pharisees. A few of them were even followers of Jesus. So, for whatever reason, these particular Pharisees warn Jesus to watch out for Herod.
Jesus replies, v32, “Go and tell that fox for me, ‘Listen, I am casting out demons and performing cures today and tomorrow, and on the third day I finish my work.” What’s Jesus saying? What does he mean when he calls Herod a fox?
In our culture, calling someone a fox might imply that they were sly or cunning. Or it might refer to an attractive female. Being called a fox might even be taken as a compliment.
But in Jesus’ culture, there’s nothing complimentary about being called a fox. In Jesus’ time, fox is a strong insult. The lion is the king of the beasts. In Jewish thought, a fox is the opposite of a lion. A fox is a little wimpy animal that thinks it’s important but really isn’t. They had a saying: ‘It is better to be a tail among the lions than a head among the foxes.’ It is better to be the last place lion than the first place fox.
When Jesus calls Herod a fox, what he’s saying is that Herod thinks that he’s a big powerful king. But in reality, Jesus is saying that , Herod is really a little, wimpy, cream puff, weasel, insignificant, weak, impotent, peon who’s just pretending to be king. Jesus is giving Herod the verbal equivalent of a slap in the face. It’s derogatory language of the highest order.
“Herod wants to kill you.”
‘Oh yeah?’ Jesus is saying, ‘Well tell that fox, tell that pip-squeak that I’ve still got work to do. I’ve got to heal the sick. I’ve got to fight the forces of evil. I’ll do it until my work is accomplished. I’ll do it today and tomorrow, and on the third day I’ll have done what I’ve been sent here to do.’
Now, you don’t have to be a Rhodes scholar to catch the significance of that reference to the third day. Jesus is referring ahead to what awaits him in Jerusalem, the work that he will complete upon the cross. And on the third day it will all be accomplished in the resurrection.
He’s telling Herod, ‘You have no power over me. You’re just an insignificant bully. I’m doing God’s work. And besides, (v 33) I’m going to die in Jerusalem.’
And then, at the mention of Jerusalem, Jesus’ focus shifts. He’s no longer concerned about Herod. The fox is no problem. Instead, Jesus engages in a very poignant lament over Jerusalem.
v34 “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it!” In other words, God keeps trying to help you, but you keep resisting. He sends his prophets, and you reject and kill them. And it breaks God’s heart.
Then Jesus continues, with a heartrending image that reveals the depths of his love. Middle of 34:
“How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!”
This is one of those rare yet wonderful feminine images of God’s love in the Bible. God is usually portrayed in masculine terms. But in about a dozen place in scripture, we have images and analogies pointing to God’s feminine side, his motherly as well as his fatherly love for his children.
In these instances, God is compared to a nursing mother, or to a mother bird wanting to shelter her babies. To just wrap her wings around them and keep them safe. We see this deep mother love of God reflected in Jesus. From the very depths of his heart, he wishes to gather his children together and keep them safe. But they are not willing.
Jesus stands there with his arms outstretched (stretch arms), but no one is willing to be embraced. The hen’s wings will be empty. In Jerusalem, even Jesus’ disciples will turn away and flee from him. A mother hen who wants to embrace everyone. Jesus longs to gather them up and protect them. And yet no one is willing to be embraced.
One writer says,
“If you have ever loved someone you could not protect, then you understand the depth of Jesus’ lament. All you can do is open your arms. You cannot make anyone walk into them. Meanwhile, this is the most vulnerable posture in the world --wings spread, breast exposed.”1
After all, there are many, many foxes in our world. They might think that they’re lions. And we might mistake them for lions. But they’re really nothing but insignificant foxes. Foxes come in many guises. Some of them are human: from the petty dictator of a third world nation to the bully in the school yard. Some of them are forces that try to enslave us: drugs, alcohol, pornography, casual sex, violence, greed, fear, disease, and even death itself. These foxes are out to devour the baby chicks.
But we have mother hen who stands with outstretched wings and a heart of total love. Jesus longs to sweep us up and embrace us in his arms. Sadly we resist his embrace over and over.
So Jesus goes a step further. He opens his arms even wider. He embraces the worst that this life could offer: torture, suffering, agony, and finally death on a cross. The mother hen absorbs the full fury that the foxes could dish out. He embraces it all on our behalf. And he frees us from the clutches of decay and disease and death.
Yes, all of us will still die. The mortality rate on this planet is still 100%. But because of the cross, death no longer is the final curtain. Death is only the intermission.
And on the other side of death, God awaits us with an eternal embrace. Our mother hen waits to wrap us in her wings for all eternity. Jesus longs to throw his nail scarred arms around us and embrace us forever. We need not fear the foxes anymore. We only need to heed our savior’s voice and accept his incalculable love.
In Jerusalem, on the cross, our mother hen opens wide her wings.
By his blood, we are freed.
By his wounds, we are healed.
By his death, we gain everlasting life.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The Rev. James P. Haney V
Good Shepherd Episcopal Church
Wichita, Kansas
