Listen to God and Trust in the Lord
What animals come to mind if you were asked to name an animal that is powerful and majestic? Maybe a lion, a stallion or an eagle? Certainly these feel majestic and fierce in their looks and actions: the lion roars, the stallion charges into battle and the eagle soars.
But while we might choose a lion. Jesus comes as a lamb.
We may wish for a stallion, but Jesus enters Jerusalem on a donkey.
And while we may be awed by the eagle, Jesus says, he is like a mother hen.
Notice that the animals I named as our images of power and majesty are animals who have been used in battle or are predators themselves. They take what they want by force., or in the case of the horse, they are used to help us get what we want.
But this is not the nature of Jesus.
Instead, Jesus chooses the image of a mother hen, who, in the face of danger, will stand up and spread her wings wide, beckoning her little chicks to safety. And as she does so, she puts herself at risk. If she had wished to fight, she would have used her wings to fly and attack her opponent. Having raised chickens when I was a child, I know, first hand, that when a chicken chooses to fly at you, their tender middle is protected by their wings which flap at you and cause distraction while their sharp beaks can do some painful damage. But a mother hen does not attack. Instead, she stands up and clucks to her chicks. She is vulnerable as she opens wide her wings, her soft belly exposed. Scurrying towards her, the chicks disappear under the folds of her wings without a sound, as if they were never there. But the chicks who have strayed and do not hear the call – well… they become lunchmeat for the eagle or the fox.
Speaking of foxes, after the Pharisees warn Jesus about Herod, Jesus calls Herod a fox. It’s not hard to imagine him as someone who would happily snack on little chicks – and eat the mother chicken for lunch. After all, everyone knew that Herod had killed John the Baptist at one of his dinners and now, apparently, Herod wanted to see Jesus. But, unafraid, Jesus declares that nothing will stop him from doing the work that God has sent him to do. Jesus is on the road to Jerusalem – but before he even gets there, he knows that not all will listen and that some of those who cry “Blessed be the one who comes in the name of the Lord” as he enters the city on a donkey, not on a warhorse, will also cry, “Crucify him.”
And yet… despite the danger to himself, Jesus does not choose another way, nor does he choose a different image, one that is more fierce than a little fox. If he had wanted a powerful mother image, he could have chosen a lioness or a she-bear who will destroy anyone or anything who endangers her little cubs. But instead, Jesus chooses a mother hen to describe his desire to gather ALL the people under his wings….even though he knows that some of the foolish chicks do not come when the mother hen clucks, and not everyone then or now listens to the sound of his voice.
And this is why Jesus gives a cry of lament, “Jerusalem, O Jerusalem.” He cries out in lament, but he is not lamenting for his own sake nor for the lost splendor of the city – even though by the time that Luke is writing, the temple and Jerusalem have both been destroyed. Instead, Jesus laments for all those – who like little chicks – had been led astray. He laments, “How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing.”
Lament is an emotion of deep sorrow, of grief, of loss. Abram in our first lesson expresses lament to God for not keeping God’s promise to give him a child, an heir. Lament is all too familiar to anyone who has lost a loved one too soon, has had dreams shattered, or is saddened by unfulfilled hopes and promises. We know the deep sorrow, grief and sometimes frustration, that comes with lament.
Lament can lead to anger, reactive violence, fear and the deep dark valley of despair and hopelessness.
When we are afraid or angry, our instincts urge us to either run away or fight. But everyone knows what happens to a little chick who tries to outrun a fox. The same is true if it tries to fight. It becomes lunch. And even with the best tools, a little more violence is not the answer to violence. It just begets more violence. And this can lead to despair and a feeling of hopelessness.
But this is not the only option. Lament can also be a turning point. For sometimes….in our darkest moments… we come to the realization that we can go no farther on our own, we have hit a wall. We need help. For as much as we hate to depend upon others, and as much as we would love to be able to cry out, “I can do it myself,” or think of ourselves as the leader of the army who is fighting to make things right…. we are more like the little chicks who need the outstretched wings and care of the mother hen.
As we see in our Psalm, lament can lead us towards trusting in God rather than in our own power. Despite the challenges before him, Psalmist puts his trust in God, proclaiming, “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom then shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” He later bends his will to God’s will, praying, “Teach me your way, O Lord; lead me on a level path” and ends with a proclamation of faith – for the here and now, “
This I believe—that I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living!” Even though it is hard, the Psalmist urges others to also: “Wait for the Lord and be strong. Take heart and wait for the Lord!”
This does not mean that, as followers of Christ, we should do nothing at all but pray. Instead, when I think it means is that we should pray – first. And then act in the way of the Lord, in the way of Jesus.
Abram’s prayer is kind of a complaint to God. But God answers him in a way that he couldn’t even imagine possible. God not only assures him that the promise of a child will come true, but God makes a new covenant with Abram, binding God’s very self to keeping this promise.
And God’s promise comes true – in God’s time, not in Abram’s time.
This is one of the challenges of trusting in God. We aren’t in charge of the timeline. Instead, as Christians, we are invited, like the Psalmist, to proclaim our trust in the Lord. And then, like Carmelite nun, Teresa of Avila proclaimed in the 1500s, be the hands and feet of Christ.
This is challenging work, in the midst of lament, to not wallow in our sorrows and grief nor take out our anger or frustration on others. But instead to pray, to listen and to trust in God to show us the way.
When we pray first, we see that the way of Jesus is the way of love, of praising God, trusting God and then walking in the way of God. For example, Martin Luther King Jr., a civil rights leader – and a pastor -- led non-violent marches to promote racial equality and justice. He never lost sight of following in the way of Christ. And neither should we.
Before Martin Luther King Jr. marched, he insisted that the people base their work in scripture and prayer. This is the way of Jesus.
Brothers and sisters, friends in Christ, let us follow in the way of Jesus, he who stretched out his arms and died for our sake, proclaims that he comes to us as a vulnerable mother hen who would gladly bring you all into the shelter of her wings. In response to our lament of the challenges of this world --- and there are many -- let us trust in the Lord and follow in the way of Jesus. Amen.
March 16, 2025 + Faith-Lilac Way Lutheran+ Pastor Pam Stalheim Lane