Email from Church of the Redeemer

Morning Devotion for the Season after Pentecost

November 4, 2022

Invitatory

I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord.”

Glory to the Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

The mercy of the Lord is everlasting: Come let us adore him.

Reading - Luke 13:31-35

At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to him, ‘Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you.’ 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. Yet today, tomorrow, and the next day I must be on my way, because it is impossible for a prophet to be killed away from Jerusalem.” 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! 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.” ’

Meditation - Winnie Smith

A hen is not often at the top of a list of fierce beasts. She is a protector, sure, but is not viewed as a real aggressor or a danger to other animals. A mother hen watches over her chicks, teaches them how to eat and drink, and prepares them for life on their own, when she will no longer be their source of defense against the world. These traits of a mother hen are necessary for the survival of the species, but when one takes account of the whole animal kingdom, rarely is she thought of as a real leader.

So what an interesting analogy for Jesus to use when describing his own efforts to protect people. What does it say about our faith and about our human condition that our savior - the Incarnate God - describes himself as a mother hen? And further, that he describes Herod as a fox? A fox is cunning and sly, one who gets what he wants. He is a proven threat. The dynamic between a fox and mother hen is clear: the fox is the predator, and the hen and her chicks the prey. But a mother hen does not just give up and allow the fox to kill her and her chicks. She will use her whole body to defend them - she will “[gather] her brood under her wings” to cover them, usually sacrificing herself in the end. This is not an act of weakness! Conversely, it is one of the boldest things a mother can do. And this is who Jesus shows himself to be by going to Jerusalem and dying on the Cross for us. His whole life is directed towards his self-sacrifice. That is the pinnacle of protection and selflessness! It is an act of undeniable, unmatched strength.

But when I think of our culture, of what we value and of how we view strength, it is probably the fox, not the mother hen, that our culture reveres. We look up to athletes, to the physically strong, to those unwilling to back down or to sacrifice. We do not look up to the humble mother hen, willing to give everything - even her life - for the lives of her young. We want it all, to protect the weak and show our own strength by never being defeated. But Jesus knew all along that his ultimate show of strength would be when he sacrificed his body and his life - by “weakening” himself on the cross, he would be saving us all. Imagine how different our lives and world would be if we, like Jesus, had the strength of a mother hen.

The Lord's Prayer

Our Father, who art in heaven,

hallowed be thy Name,

thy kingdom come,

thy will be done,

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our trespasses,

as we forgive those

who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom,

and the power, and the glory

for ever and ever. Amen.