2^nd Sunday in Lent

Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18, Psalm 27; Philippians 3:17—4:1; Luke 13:31-35

Luke 13:31-35

³¹ At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to [Jesus], “Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you.” ³² He said to them, “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. ³³ Yet today, tomorrow, and the next day I must be on my way, because it is impossible for a prophet to be killed outside of Jerusalem.’ ³⁴ Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! ³⁵ See, your house is left to you. And I tell you, you will not see me until the time comes when you say, ‘Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.’ ”

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Beloved Chickens of God

And he believed the Lord, and the Lord reckoned it to him as righteousness (Genesis 15:6).

Grace to you, beloved of God, and peace from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

A friend once told me one of the things that made Christianity weird to him was to be compared to sheep. They are not too smart, he said. They don’t know where to go. They don’t know what to do. They are not predators like lions and tigers. They are docile, easy prey. They are food for those on the top of the chain. They need a shepherd to watch over them and guide them. I told him, exactly! At the same time, we have our Lord Jesus Christ, our good shepherd and the lamb of God who went to the cross for our sins. Isn’t that awesome? Not for me, he said. I was like, suit yourself. We are still friends, though.

Today, we are compared to the broad of a mother hen. I would pay to see my friend’s face because you know what this means, right? It means we are …  Yes, it means we are little chickens. We are beloved, fragile, afraid little chickens of God. May would be outraged. He is the owner of his destiny, the maker of his own luck, the proclaimer of his own righteousness, and the Lord of his own happiness. He knows everything and sees everyone. However, he often forgets that God, the mother hen, knows and sees him too. 

I feel for him. He doesn’t need to be terrified. We don’t need to be terrified. The mother hen has our six. We may not be willing. We may trust too much in our wisdom, power, and capacity to intimidate and terrorize others. We may choose to become bullies and make fun of their sleepless nights and unjust imprisonment as a way to masquerade our fear of the knowledge that God sees every single one of God’s beloved chicks just like any mother hen does. 

We may not be willing, but God is. God does not care for our fragility, insecurity, and fear. God does not care if we use our freedom to take away the freedom of our neighbors. God does not care even if we show no empathy to the sick, the poor, the lame, and the oppressed and become adversaries by making sure we secure what is ours and what is not. God does not care for any of it. Even if we try hard to destroy everything our Savior helped us to build,  the mother hen still loves us so much that she is still willing to go to the cross and die for us, because the sneak little fox is not enough predator for the power of her wings. She will stand for us, as many times as necessary, until we grow up to be no longer afraid of repenting and believing in her promise of good news; until we grow up to start seeing the starry brilliance on every single one of our fellow heirs to the same promise of salvation. 

That night, when the father of faith was himself afraid that his obedience and sacrifice were for nothing. That God was not for real. Our Lord manifested and said, Do not be afraid, I am your shield. Then God pointed to the stars in the sky. Abram, my child, that will be the size of your heritage. And Abram believed the promise that he would not be able to see in this world and trusted God to make himself and us his heirs, citizens of heaven.  He took in the comfort of the wings of our Lord, and our Lord declared him righteous.

My sisters and brothers, there is righteousness in knowing we cannot do it all. There is righteousness in the awareness of our limitations. There is righteousness in admitting that we are nothing exceptional. There is righteousness in confessing that we sit at the foot of the cross of Christ and desperately need him. There is righteousness in the knowledge that God gathered us here today to receive mercy, comfort, and protection. There is righteousness in the contrite hearts of fearful sinners willing to be transformed under the wings of our Lord into fearless saints. There is righteousness because it means we are starting to believe, and therefore, the Lord reckons it to us as such.

The Lord is our light and our salvation;

whom shall we fear?

The Lord is the stronghold of our life;

of whom shall we be afraid? 

One thing we asked of the Lord;

this we seek:

to live in the house of the Lord

all the days of our lives,

to behold in the Lord’s beauty.

Thanks be to God. Amen.