Scripture: Matthew 23:37 – “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!” (NRSVue)
With the threat of bird flu and the price of eggs so high, a lot of people are thinking about chickens. I remember when I was little, we went to a farm to see the chicks hatching and being cared for under heating lamps. You can see the same thing in the Museum of Science in Boston. With their fluffy yellow down and little cheeps, they are aggressively cute.
But as useful as heat lamps are for agriculture, chicks did not evolve to need them. Rather it is their mother who takes care of them until they are big enough to fend for themselves.
There is a reason why “mother hen” is an idiom for someone who is protective, perhaps overprotective. Hens spend a lot of time keeping their chicks warm through physical contact and cuddling. They protect them from predators and other harms and teach them the skills they need to survive. The chicks are dependent on their mothers for many weeks. It is rare for a chick to try to rebel and try to wander off before it is time.
In the Gospel According to Matthew, Jesus likens himself to a mother hen. He wants to keep God’s children close to him, to cuddle and nurture them, but they refuse. There is something about Jerusalem that keeps them cold, miserable, vulnerable, and crying for help. This is unnatural behavior for chickens, but all too common for humans.
Why do we flee from God’s embrace? Why do we choose cruelty and selfishness over consideration of “the least” of God’s children? Perhaps we need to think more like chickens. We need to take care of our literal children, who are the most vulnerable to poverty in our society. We also need to take care of God’s children—that is everyone—when they need warmth and support in their times of sorrow and desperation.
To extend the metaphor, there is a time when chicks grow up and fend for themselves, but even then, they stay together in flocks. The older chickens nurture and teach the younger ones for the benefit of all. Even when we feel strong, successful, and self-sufficient, Jesus is calling us to let him nurture us. We never grow so old and so independent that we do not need his love. As you pray about the ups and downs of your life today, remember the image of Jesus the chicken. Accept his embrace and know his love.
Prayer: Jesus, I am weak and worn. Let me settle under your loving wings. Amen.
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