Luke 13:31-34
31 At that time some Pharisees came to Jesus and said to him, “Leave this place and go somewhere else. Herod wants to kill you.”
32 He replied, “Go tell that fox, ‘I will keep on driving out demons and healing people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal.’ 33 In any case, I must press on today and tomorrow and the next day—for surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem!
34 “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing.
I recall a small group discussion on the gendering of God (or misgendering, in my opinion, as our Mysterious God is not limited by a human body or gender, but that's another post for another day). Pastor Emily wisely shared that one of her favorite descriptions of God was as a Mother Hen, gathering her chicks. Later I asked her "Where'd you hear that? I just read it referenced again in a book." She replied "Um, scripture. It's in the Bible."
Oh. Oops. Maybe I'll uh, check that out.
I love this scripture for so many reasons. The image of God as a mother hen gathering her chicks translates easily for me to a Mama bear and cubs, or Mama moose and calves. Personally, I also feel like I have a glimpse of that Love and protection as I parent my own children and care for many of your children at St. John. I have been thinking a lot about our children throughout this pandemic. We are all doing our part right now - teachers have changed curriculum to fit distance education needs, ministers are learning new technology (Heaven help us), hospital employees, delivery drivers, and grocery store employees are all working on the front lines, and we are all staying home and social distancing to save the lives of others. Everyone is doing their part.
I wondered if we could take a minute to appreciate what our children are sacrificing and going through right now. High school seniors missing prom and graduation. Preschoolers missing PreK graduation. Elementary aged students missing school plays, play dates, and field trips. Hungry children missing school lunches, hurt children missing their safe place at school. These kids entire world has been thrown upside down, and we are asking a lot of them to stay home (and not interrupt our Zoom meetings), not pick up on their parent's anxieties over a worldwide pandemic, and to miss their friends. Not to mention, their homeschool teachers are kind of the worst! (At least that's the consensus in my house.) All of us as parents are doing our best to Mother Hen, Mama Bear, and Mama Moose these kiddos. We are holding them as they cry, affirming their feelings, and doing our best to keep them safe, while teaching 3rd grade math.
It's not just parents and children who are making sacrifices right now, I know this. Not everyone has children of their own, but everyone does have an inner child. And if your inner child needs nurturing right now more than ever, please know that's normal. We are experiencing collective trauma and what Pauline Boss calls "Ambiguous Loss" - losing so many intangible elements of daily life at once that we struggle to name what is missing. Many of us were experiencing grief and death and loss before this, and that feels even more overwhelming under this COVID magnifying glass. Please know, friends, that our God WANTS to gather us up, like chicks under a Mother Hen's wings. God wants to hear your sadness, wipe your tears, hold your fears and anxieties, and hold us in care and love. Let us remember, and let us be willing.
Dear God, thank you for being our Mother Hen. Let us feel your wings surround us in loving care. In Jesus' name, Amen.
- Erynne DeVore, Director of Children’s Ministry