The Hen Runs from the fox to the lion

Luke 13:31-35 - Lent 2 C

NOTE: This sermon is an adaptation of a sermon from 2016.

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

You don’t have to raise chickens to know that it’s dangerous to have a fox in a henhouse. Your average first grader can identify a fox as a predator, and chickens (along with their chicks and their eggs) as prey. Putting a wily, resourceful fox into a chicken coop of mostly defenseless birds and their young results in a full fox and a very few, if any, surviving chickens. This phrase about being defenseless in front of a crafty opponent makes sense to us, but you probably didn’t expect to hear about foxes and hens in today’s Scripture readings.

Nonetheless, here it is! Some well intentioned Pharisees (yes, there were some Pharisees who cared about and supported Jesus!) came to Him and told Him to leave the region of Galilee, because King Herod wanted to kill Him. This wasn’t the same King Herod who killed all the baby boys of Bethlehem to protect his throne - that was Herod the Great (that’s how he’s known by history, even if you disagree about his greatness). The Herod who wants to kill Jesus now is Herod Antipas, who had also beheaded John the Baptist. Herod Antipas was the ruler of the territory of Galilee, north of Samaria, which is north of Judea and Jersusalem. Sill, Jesus wasn’t surprised or afraid when He heard that this Herod wanted Him dead. He quipped, “Go and tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I finish my course. Nevertheless, I must go on my way today and tomorrow and the day following, for it cannot be that a prophet should perish away from Jerusalem.’” In other words, Jesus sent a message to Herod that He would not die in Galilee, beheaded in a prison like John the Baptist. He had Messianic and prophetic work to do - culminating in His death in Jerusalem. And so, Jesus left Herod the fox behind and turned His attention to the city where God had put His presence - Jesusalem.

Jesus continued His words, saying, Luke 13:34–35 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! Behold, your house is forsaken. And I tell you, you will not see me until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ”” Now that Jesus is done talking about Herod the fox, He compares Himself to a protective mother hen who stretches out her wings over her brood of chicks to protect them. During rainstorms and fires and predator attacks, hens do this. Jesus said that He wanted to protect Jerusalem like a hen. But the people of Jerusalem would have none of it. They were not willing to gather under Jesus’ protection.

Of course, that leads us to think, “Oh, those silly Jerusalemites! Jesus wanted to care for you, but you wouldn’t have anything to do with Him! After all, you are the crowds who so quickly called out, ‘Crucify Him! Crucify Him!’” We heave a sigh of relief and say, “Well, it’s good that we aren’t like those people of Jerusalem!” But the truth is that we are. The Lord of Life comes to us, and we are quick to tell Jesus that He’s “messiah-ing” wrong. He doesn’t care for us the way we want Him to. We expect a Savior to do things like we expect - and Jesus does the unexpected. If we got to create our own Messiah and choose our own Savior, we would pick someone who made sure that we always had peace and prosperity without challenging us too hard or calling us to change our lives. We could be buddies with our Savior, maybe joining Him for coffee or a beer. That’s the Savior that we would make for ourselves. But Jesus hasn’t come to make you comfortable. He has come to save and protect you as He knows is best.

That’s why Jesus says that He has come, not to bring peace but a sword, even bringing hostility between fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, and mother in laws and daughter in laws. (Luke 12:51-53) Jesus has not come for you to feel comfortable or like Jesus is your buddy. Shortly before these words about Jerusalem, He warned people that they needed to repent of their sins lest something worse - the judgement and condemnation of God - would come upon them. Life in Christ’s Church is what He calls you to, not what you would like it to be. The Kingdom of God is not a “choose your own adventure” book, and God’s Messiah isn’t like Mr Potato Head where you can make him look like what you want. Jesus has come to be the Savior that you need, not the Savior that you want.

And you don’t like that! When Jesus comes as the Messiah, that means that you aren’t the Messiah and that you don’t call all the shots in your life. There are things that you don’t control, and there are things that happen that aren’t your preference or desire. You feel powerless and picked on, and your God isn’t reacting like you want Him to. You and I are no better than the people of Jersualem who wouldn’t be gathered to Jesus the Messiah.

But Jesus leaves Herod the fox in the north country of Galilee and He goes to Jerusalem anyway. He has an appointment with no mere fox, but with a lion. Namely, that’s the devil, the roaring lion who prowls around looking for someone to devour, and Jesus will give that devilish lion exactly what he’s looking for. Jesus goes to Jerusalem, escaping Herod the fox and subjecting Himself to death. No mere human can take Jesus’ life from Him, and the devil can’t take Jesus’ life from Him. Jesus lays down His life for you and for the people of Jerusalem, stretching out His arms on the cross much like a hen stretches out her wings over her young.

When you see your self-centeredness and your desire for God to play by your rules, when you feel guilty and ashamed about your sin, when you’re tired of living as a citizen of heaven in a civilization of worldly cares, Jesus stretches out His arms over you. Run to the cross, and take shelter under the spread arms of Jesus. He has laid down His life for you. No fox and no lion can threaten you. Government officials like Herod, worldly cares, division, persecution, and suffering cannot harm you - Jesus sees to that. The devil himself might prowl around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour, but he can’t harm you either - Jesus sees to that too. When you are confronted by your powerlessness over the world and even over yourself, Jesus covers you with His spread arms and His grace.

It doesn’t matter if you would ask Jesus to die for you, or if that’s the kind of salvation you want. That’s what Jesus has done. He is no mere buddy or friend, but He is your Savior. He invites you, not to coffee, but to the altar to receive His Body and Blood for the forgiveness of your sins. He gives you life, forgiveness, and salvation. He has covered you with His mercy and grace. That’s better than you could ask for or expect. Jesus your Savior has fled the fox in the henhouse to lay down His life before the devilish lion to protect you from death and hell. Thanks be to God! Amen.