Hen

Luke 13:31-35
The Lament over Jerusalem 
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%2013%3A31-35&version=NRSVUE
 
Was Jesus a chicken? A cowardly person, that is. One who allows fear to keep from action. The Pharisees were hoping that he was. They tried to scare him into leaving Jerusalem by telling him that Herod wanted to kill him. Jesus steered clear from Herod Antipas, but it wasn’t out of fear. He knew the real fox, a known predator to chickens, was not Rome.
 
In fact, Rome ruled by force and violence. Perhaps those two things could describe a fox’s actions during attack, but foxes are more known for being sly, cunning, and clever. We don’t see Herod Antipas being those things in this passage, but we do see the Pharisees trying to trick Jesus into leaving.
 
After many very convicting sermons about the kingdom of God, the Pharisees tried a different tactic to get rid of their Jesus problem. Jesus was courageous and did not show signs of backing down from preaching his message of inclusivity and equity. In fact, right before this passage he said in God’s kingdom, “the first would be last and the last would be first” and that “people will come from east and west, from north and south, and take their places at the banquet in the kingdom of God” (Luke 13:29-30). The Pharisees had heard enough of this message. After all, they did not want to give up their place in the “first” position.
 
After many challenging conversations with Jesus and even trying to throw him off a cliff, the Pharisees knew they had to up their game. Jesus knew it too. He knew his movement within the Jewish faith would fall on deaf ears in Jerusalem. Jerusalem was the center of their faith, where the Temple was, the actual dwelling place of God. The Pharisees controlled the Temple and the priesthood, and debated other religious groups there. The Pharisees were very influential in their faith, so Jesus realized that the group in general would not join his movement. In fact, they would be the ones who would cleverly concoct a plan to have Rome crucify him.
 
This realization grieved Jesus, and he did not hide his grief. In his lament over Jerusalem, he grieves that they will never be willing to listen to this new thing that God was doing in their religion. He wasn’t afraid of expressing his grief to the very ones who caused it. He was brave enough to show his vulnerability: “How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings” (v.34). In his mourning, he compares himself to a chicken. Not a rooster, but a mother hen.
 
A hen gathers up her chicks under her wings. Hens are fierce protectors who use her own body to thwart enemies. When a hen’s brood is most vulnerable and unable to protect themselves, there is power in gathering together. The brood comes together and functions as one, one family sheltering together under the wing’s protection. It is as if the chicks are so close they become part of the hen’s body. They are so near their protector, that they function as one. This is Jesus’ desire for Jerusalem, for the world, and for us. This is the perfect image to illustrate Jesus’ message of inclusivity and equity.
 
During Jesus’ ministry, he encountered many things, but fear was not one of them. Threats would not keep him from accomplishing his work. As he told the Pharisees, “I’m busy clearing out the demons and healing the sick; the third day I’m wrapping things up” (v.32, MSG). There’s no time to waste on being afraid of idle threats. He’s got work to do and very little time to do it. Jesus would not coward away from the Pharisees nor his message. Jesus knows the end to this story. Jesus knows the fox will be outsmarted, and the hen will gather her chicks together under her wing.
 
Reflection Questions:
Have you ever felt like you were under the wings of Jesus when you were vulnerable? Do you feel like you are under his wings (outstretched arms) now? 
Have you ever been unwilling to accept Jesus’ message of inclusivity and equity? 
What grieves you about people’s unwillingness? 
Where in your life do you need to be more willing?
 
Pray: Jesus, show us where we need to be more willing and open to listen to you. Draw us closer to you and shelter us under your protective wings.  
 
Act: Express your grief in a vulnerable way like Jesus did.
 
*New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America.