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.’ ”
How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!
Animals have such tremendous instincts. When danger threatens in the barnyard, the mother hen clucks out a warning and lifts her wings high. Immediately, all her little chicks stop what they’re doing and run under the safety of her wings. There, they stay warm and protected until the danger has passed. I’ve never heard of a chick refusing to get under its mom’s wings. If that were to happen, I suppose the chick would be left to fend for itself against whatever danger was threatening it.
When Jesus learned that Herod was trying to have him killed, he called Herod a “fox”. Right after that, Jesus lamented that he wanted to gather all of Jerusalem together like a hen gathers her chicks. Could this be a reaction to Herod, “the fox”, prowling around?
Jesus’ grief over Jerusalem’s (and by extension our own) unwillingness to be gathered under his protection breaks my heart. When the “foxes” of this world threaten to devour our faith, our conscience, or our safety, Jesus stands with his arms open wide, ready to shelter us. There, gathered together with the entire community of the faithful, we are protected, healed, and strengthened for the work of following Jesus in the world.
Prayer: Lord Jesus: When “the fox” threatens the little ones who can’t protect themselves, use me to guide them into the safety of Jesus’ loving wings. AMEN