Jesus, the Mother Hen 

May 8, 2022 Mother’s Day!

I’m so happy to be here on this special day. Today we celebrate moms, and women. We celebrate their great love for us. 

Mother’s Day was started by Ann Jarvis after her mother died. Her mother had taken care of soldiers on both sides of the civil war and wanted peace in the world. Ann wanted to honor her mother, and she wanted families to honor their mothers. So today we celebrate moms who are raising children, making many sacrifices, and showing deep love! It is such important work! Mothering can be difficult and stressful. But we appreciate you, thank you, mom! 

We also think of those who have lost their mother. We remember mothers who have had a child die. While most moms are wonderful, we know there are some who have abuse their children. We pray for their children for comfort and healing, and that child abuse will end. 

Today we are going to look at a passage in the Bible, where Jesus talks about a chicken’s love. We’ll find out why Jesus thought a chicken’s love was so great! In Luke 13: 31, some Pharisees warn Jesus to leave town, because they tell him, King Herod wants to kill you. Jesus says 

“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.’ ³³In any case, I must press on today and tomorrow and the next day—for surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem!” 

Herod is a tricky, scheming fox! He has already killed John the Baptist. But Jesus says, I won’t stop driving out demons and healing people. I will do it today and the next day. Jesus says, “On the third day I will reach my goal.” Jesus knows he is in danger, but he will go toward the cross, and by the third day, Jesus means his resurrection, by the third day he will reach his goal.  

Then Jesus says, “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.  

Jesus says that Jerusalem kills the prophets and the holy ones. In fact, they will kill Jesus. But Jesus doesn’t hate Jerusalem for that. Instead, this is where the chicken comes in, Jesus says, how I long to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings! 

When we think of an animal who is very protective, we may think of a mama bear. You don’t get between a mama bear and her cub! 

Chickens are great mothers! A woman was raising chickens but had no rooster. So, the hens laid eggs, which would never hatch. She also had ducks whose eggs could hatch. One young duck mother wasn’t very attentive to her eggs. So, the woman put one of the duck eggs in the nest of a chicken named Annabelle. Annabelle was great at attending to that duck egg. When it hatched, she loved that little creature. Which was not a chicken. It had webbed feet and a bill. She loved it anyway! She was enthusiastic about mothering little ones. 

Later she to give Annabelle four chicks to foster. They snuck four four-day old chicks and put them under Annabelle. Annabelle hadn’t hatched them, but she was excited to be their mother anyway!  

When a chicken raises eggs that can hatch, the other hens help incubate the eggs. If the hen leaves her eggs in the nest to take a break, another hen will happily sit on her eggs.  

When chicks are born, they grow quickly and learn to eat, drink and walk. But they can’t warm themselves. Their mother is their source of warmth. The chicks gather under their mother’s wings. Mother hen is protective, but not overly protective. She lets them go out in the world but keeps them from danger and shows them what to eat and not to eat.  

Jesus says in Luke 13:34 he has wanted to gather Jerusalem, his children, like a mother hen gathers her chicks lovingly under her wings, for warmth and for protection. Jesus is saying, to the religious leaders and the people who rebel against God, Jesus loves them! He wants to help them find the best way to live. His longing is that they turn to God. He wants to love them with a mother’s love! Even though he knows they will kill him, he wants to love them! That’s a remarkable love! He will go to the cross to show God’s great love for them. He will rise to show God’s saving power. 

Jesus could have described his love for Jerusalem in many ways, but he chose a mother hen’s love. Jesus love for us is a mother’s love that loves us no matter what! 

Chickens can help us understand how great God’s love is for us. God doesn’t care what type of person you are, or if you’re another species, God loves you! God loves you enthusiastically. It’s a little odd that Jesus says he feels like a mother hen to Jerusalem. He is talking about the power people: Herod and the religious leaders. They are not cute fuzzy chicks or adorable babies. They are grown men. Never mind, he loves them anyway! 

The term, “Mother Hen” as we use it today, is not all positive.  A mother hen is a mother who is too involved, a helicopter parent who interferes and gets in the way of you making your own decisions. God is not like that. God is not overly protective. Instead, God gives you free will to explore and live your life. Jesus couldn’t convince Pilate or Herod to follow God. But he loved them anyway. He longed for them to turn to him, walk in his ways, and know the life that truly is life. Jesus’ love for us is a mother’s love that loves us no matter what. 

When I think of parents who love no matter what, I think of Tammy and Joe Sienkiewic. Their daughter was an athlete in school. She tried drugs with her boyfriend. Soon she died of an overdose. Tammy and Joe don’t want what happened to them to happen to anyone else. So, they have a sign in their yard that is lighted at night. It says there is always hope when you have an addiction. The sign has Joe and Tammy’s name and phone numbers. If you have no insurance, it tells you how to get help: go to an ER or police station and tell them you are seeking help with drug or alcohol rehab. At least once a week, someone calls The Sienkiewicz’s for help. I was at a talk Joe gave on what kind of clues might be in your child’s room or behavior if they are doing drugs. They co-founded an organization called Safer Streets for Tamaqua Little Feet to help prevent and respond to addiction. Isn’t that a testament to love: when you give out your phone number to the world and say, if you’re addicted and you need help, I’ll make sure you get it. You can call me, I’m here for you. That’s Jesus love for us, a mother’s love that loves no matter what! 

 My challenge for you this week is to thank some women! They nurture us and help us follow God. We’ll practice that right now: say to some women around you: thank you! 

When Jesus wanted to express his great love and longing for those who rejected his ministry and message, he talked about a mother hen. We give thanks for God’s love, and for the love of nurturing women. They help us follow God! They love us no matter what! Amen.