March 4, 2007
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The Norwegian
Lutheran Memorial Church March 4, 2007 The special thing about our Bible text for today is that two kinds of animals are used as metaphors, just within these five short verses. Jesus talks about the fox and the hen. He compares King Herod with a fox., and he compares himself with a hen, protecting her brood by gathering them under her wings. As animals not too often are mentioned in the gospels, let us today take the opportunity to think about the following: What characterizes these two kinds of animals, the fox and the hen? And how is their relationship, and their mutual balance of power? Back in Norway we have a neighbor who does poultry farming as a hobby. He has different kinds of hens, both big and small, White Italians and other chickens of different, beautiful colors. He also hatches chicks. We used to buy eggs from him, and now and then we looked after his hens when he went away for some days. Our neighbor enjoys his hobby, and one can imagine that also the chickens are happy, since they have a big outdoor area, where they can move freely within a fence that protects them from birds of prey and foxes. A couple of roosters are also strolling amongst the hens. That a hen feels well, becomes obvious when you see the bright, deep color of the egg yolk. But poultry farming is not just idyllic. Our neighbor’s hen house has had fox visitors, more than once. It seems like the number of fox is growing in the area. After every fox visit, my neighbor needed to strengthen the enclosure. Chickens are vulnerable creatures. And the fox is a cheater. He is smart when it comes to finding his way to a meal. In Norwegian fairytales the fox appears quite often. He plays the role of a sly creature. In addition he is selfish and impudent. In one of the fairytales, we get the “explanation” why the tip of the fox tale is white. Once, a maiden came across the fox just as it was drinking the fresh milk directly from the milk bucket. In anger over the theft, she took the bucket and threw the rest of the milk after the fleeing fox, and just hit the tip of its tail. So the fox is a thief, who takes what belongs to others. The hen has other characteristics. Today the reading dwells on the mother hen’s caring for her brood. I once heard a moving story about a place affected by a forest fire. After the fire, the firemen were cleaning in the burned area. Among other things, they found a hen lying there, charred and dead. But strangely enough, the wings seemed to be moving a little bit. So one of them pushed carefully, and there 5-6 tiny chicks appeared, wriggling and still alive! Instead of running away in fear of the fire, the mother hen instinct had worked. She gathered the chicks under her wings, and gave her own life to save her little ones. When a hen gathering her brood under her wings today is used to depict God, then I first of all think about how vulnerable God chose to become as he approached us. First by stepping into our world through the baby boy born in Bethlehem. Shortly after his birth, his life was threatened by the domineering King Herod. Later, God’s freewill vulnerability is shown in the way that the Son saved mankind. He took the hard way up to Jerusalem. He knew what was ahead of him there, in the middle of the holy Passover celebration of the Jews. As they were commemorating God’s acts of salvation in history, the redemption from Egypt, Jesus allows himself to be mocked by his fellow countrymen, and to be crucified by the Romans. By the way, the Herod that wanted to kill the baby Jesus, was not the same as the King Herod that the Pharisees were warning Jesus about today. “Herod the Great” who was the king at the time of Jesus’ birth, was the father of the “fox” we hear about today, Herod Antipas. He was a thief. Among the bad things he did, was to steal the wife of his brother. John the Baptist criticized him for living with his sister-in-law. We know how that ended for the Baptist. Now, the Pharisees come to warn Jesus about having the same fate as the Baptist. Then Jesus answers as he does. Herod has no more power than that Jesus is able to continue healing people and do his good deeds until his time has come. The main message of God’s word for us today, I find in Jesus’ longing to gather together us human beings. Just as a hen gathers her brood of chicks, so Jesus wants to gather us, to protect us from “the fox”, from evil, and the Evil One, who tries to steal our life and salvation. The sad thing was that the people of Jerusalem said “no thank you”. My wish for us today is that we could feel this longing God has for being together with us. He longs for giving us some rest, to meet our eyes, to let his face shine upon us. He wants to listen to our prayer, protect us under his wings. Let us feel His heartbeat! That his saving word might reach our hearts. As we today are welcomed to the Lord’s Table, so let us think about Jesus’ word to his disciples on the night that he installed the holy meal. Then he said something similar: I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer (Luke 22:14). We are in the time of Lent. Jesus is on his way up to the Holy City, where he is to accomplish his deed of salvation. He invites his disciples to follow him. “Come, let us go
to Jerusalem, We are going to sing this beautiful hymn every Sunday now during Lent here at Mindekirken. It helps us to have the right focus. It gives our life a direction. It provides support to seek deeper into the relationship with Jesus. Helps us to meditate over the big mystery of salvation: That he made himself so vulnerable, in order to save us from all our sins, and from everything that will destroy our relationship to God. Gracia Grindal has given us a good, English translation, so that the hymn can be sung at both of our services. Just like the hen that I mentioned, that stayed in the middle of the fire, spreading out her wings to protect her small, helpless chicks, Jesus gave his life for us. Glory be to him, who together with the Father and The Holy Spirit was, is and shall be one, true God from eternity and to eternity. |
The Norwegian Lutheran Memorial Church · 924 E. 21st St, Minneapolis, MN 55404-2952 · (612)874-0716 |