Fierce Love
RCL Year C • Sermon • Submitted
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I don’t know about you but I have never had a really high or positive opinion about chickens. I enjoy eating eggs and various chicken dishes, but the bird itself has never really impressed me. I had a friend growing up who had chickens and we used to go and watch them and he would catch one and show it to me. Other than that, the chickens would walk around and eat feed or bugs and just socialize. So to be honest I don’t give chickens much thought or credit. When our family went to the zoo a few weeks ago we saw the Bald Eagles and the other birds of prey and those were impressive sights to see. Then last week we went to the aquarium and there they had Macaws and Toucans and they are, if nothing, else, beautiful creatures to look at and admire.
So when I think about comparing a chicken to a Macaw or Toucan there is no comparison for me in the beauty of the latter to the hen. And when I think of the incredible hunting skills and eyesight of an eagle or hawk compared to a chicken I am not impressed by a chicken pecking at some bugs. I am impressed at the eagle from miles in the sky dive-bombing the river or ocean and coming back up in the air with a salmon. Those two images just do not compare in my mind.
So as I read todays story and see that Jesus compares himself to a mother hen that gathers her brood under her wings, I thought as I have that this is a nice sweet sentiment, but to me it has always lacked that impressiveness of many other animals Jesus could have picked to compare himself. I know this is probably newer term, but when I think of a protective mother I think of the phrase momma bear. In fact, National Geographic posted a video on their Facebook page with the caption, ‘there is a reason for the phrase ‘momma bear’’ and the video is of a momma bear saving her cub from a waterfall. The video wouldn’t load for me so I had to take them for their word.
So it really made me think that there has to be more to Jesus’ statement. So I went to the wonderful world the internet and looked up hens protecting their chicks. I have to say that I now have a very different opinion of hens and their ability to protect their brood. One video shows a hawk attempting to steal a chick for a meal and the hen both intercepts the hawk as it reaches the ground and blocks the hawk from the chicks. The hen then proceeds to force the hawk backwards into a corner of a dirt ditch. The hen eventually backs up and the hawk flies away. There are several other videos of hens warding off hawks. There are also a couple of videos of hens defending against a fox. Typically it’s more than one hen in this instance but they still save the family from the fox.
It just blew my mind that these hens would be able to fend off against hawks, but even more so against a fox. Which then of course leads us to the fact that Jesus not only calls himself a mother hen, but also calls Herod a fox. Now I have to admit that not all hens can fight off a fox which is why foxes are such a nuisance in hen houses, but Jesus seems confident in his ability to protect his brood from the wily, sly, crafty ways of this fox Herod.
So not only do I now think of this image Jesus gives himself as a mother hen as a sweet sentiment of a protective mother, but as one of a fierce protection. There may be some real truth to the term momma bear, but I now see there is some real truth to a momma hen. What makes this whole idea of mother hen even more impressive to me is what I alluded to at the beginning. A hen is not an eagle or a hawk or even a bear. A hen is tiny and unassuming in nature and yet it can be as fierce a momma as any other protective momma out there.
So when Jesus sees that there are some who are not willing to listen. When he sees that there are some who do not understand the kind of fierce love Jesus and God have for them, it makes Jesus, God and the Holy Spirit sad. Jesus wants to bring them under his fold, into his protection and yet there are people who are more interested in being cunning and sly like a fox, who want the world to stay the way it is, rather than to follow and listen to the truth. That is why Jesus laments. Jesus wants to be seen and understood as the messenger who is not just sharing the very words of God but is the word of God made flesh. All of chapter 13 has been about telling people about the kingdom of God and how people are trying to stop it.
So Jesus laments and calls himself a mother hen. And you know what? That idea of both a loving mother hen that gathers her brood, as well as a fierce mother hen that will take on foxes and hawks and whatever else that will attack her chicks has really transformed my understanding of what Jesus is saying. Jesus wants and wishes nothing more than for this world to come under the love and grace of God and for us to understand that is a fierce love and a strong protection that will not be broken by anything that may come in its way.
That fierce love also means that Jesus will not be intimidated by the fox. Jesus has work to do today, tomorrow, and the third day. Jesus has a plan and Jesus will not let a fox or hawk or anything else get in the way. That plan involves the plan of going to Jerusalem and as the last part of our story today tells us will include the celebration at Jerusalem when he enters and everyone says ‘blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.’ It will include the Last Supper, the trial and beatings and crucifixion. It will also include his resurrection and ascension. Those are the things Jesus will be doing in the coming days and weeks to come. So again, I will say that no creature in all the world, then or now will stop that from happening and there is nothing in this world that can ever stop Jesus’ fierce love from being made known. A love for you, for me, and for this whole world. A love worth protecting and sharing with all who are in need of it. Amen.