Lent 2C, 2025

Text: Luke 13:31-35

Title: The Fox and the Hen

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Last May we welcomed Poached, Nugget, Princess Layer, Hen Solo, Gladys, and Henrietta, Jr. to our home.  These chicks were about a week old, and Elizabeth did her best to depict them on today’s bulletin cover.

It was our first experience raising chicks, and it’s amazing how helpless they are at that age.  They need to be kept at just the right temperature with a heat lamp, the perfect distance from them.  Too cold, and they huddle together.  Too warm and they back away in the corner and could get dehydrated.  You even have to dip their beaks in their water and teach them where and how to drink. 

It was a good thing that we kept those chicks inside our house and away from predators.  We have a fox in our neighborhood, and if we had left them out to roam, they would have made a tasty snack for him.

But we kept them inside where they would be safe, warm, fed, and protected.

Today, Jesus talks about hens and chicks, and of foxes, too.

Herod is a fox.  He’s sly, tricky, and dangerous.

This Herod is not Herod the Great, the one who ruled when Jesus was born.  This is Herod Antipas, the one who had John the Baptist put to death.

Herod tried to appear like a pious, faithful Jew. He even came to Jerusalem to celebrate the feasts.

But at the same time, He was loyal to the Romans. He tried to play both sides.  And in the end, he got rid of John the Baptist because Herod didn’t want anyone telling him that it was wrong for him to take his brother’s wife for his own.

Who are the foxes in your life?  Who are the people who pretend to be on your side when, in reality, they are working against you, and merely looking out for themselves?

You could point to certain politicians, those who say all the right things to get you on their side, to get you to vote for them and elect them.  But in the end, all they truly care about is power and the freedom to do whatever they want. In the end, they devour you.

But the foxes could be a little more familiar to you as well.  Are there friends and family members who act like they are on your side, who pretend to have your best interests at heart, but truly are not? 

Remember Judas.  He was a friend and follower of Jesus.  He acted pious, he acted like he cared for the poor, but he just wanted donations to be made into a fund that he controlled and stole from.  In the end, that fox sold Jesus out for 30 pieces of silver and betrayed him with a kiss.

In the end, the most dangerous fox is Satan himself. 

Remember last week.  Satan tried to pass himself off as the good guy. 

Poor Jesus was hungry in the wilderness. Shouldn’t He have some bread to eat? All He had to do was say the word. 

Poor Jesus had nothing.  Shouldn’t He have the wealth and authority He deserved?  All He had to do was bow down to Satan. 

Poor Jesus was neglected.  Shouldn’t God prove His love for Him?  All He had to do was step off the temple and God would send His angels to catch Him.

Satan even appeared pious.  He could quote scripture.  Satan is the most religious guy around.

But he is a liar and a deceiver.  He tells you what you want to hear to get you on his side, but he doesn’t care about you.  His goal is to overpower you and to consume you.

So, what do you do in the midst of all these foxes?

What is Jesus’ response when He is told that Herod is after Him?

“I’m just going to keep going and doing what I’ve been doing.”

“I’m going to keep casting out demons.”

“I’m going to keep healing the sick.”

“I’m going to keep going to Jerusalem.”

Jesus knows that He is going to Jerusalem to die. He knows that He will be rejected there.

But that is what God has given Him to do, and so He’s going to do it, despite the dangers that lie ahead of Him.

Jesus doesn’t take up arms against Herod, raise up an army to fight against him.  Jesus doesn’t turn His disciples against Judas and have them fight against him, either. Jesus doesn’t even take His army of angels to fight against Satan and His demons.

Jesus knows that He is going to Jerusalem to die.

And, paradoxically, this is how Jesus defeats His enemies, not by power and force, but by sacrificing Himself.

It’s not what He wants, but He knows it’s going to happen.  He knows it’s the only way to defeat His enemies and win salvation.

The thing about chicks, or animals of any kind, is that you can’t force them to do what you want them to do. 

You probably know the saying that “You can lead a horse to water, but… you can’t make him drink.”

Jesus says that He would have gathered the people of Israel under His wings as a chicken gathers her brood, but they were not willing.

Jesus didn’t force the people of Jerusalem to accept Him.  He could have, but He allows Himself to be rejected.

And it’s the same way even today.

You may wonder why there is so much evil in the world.  You may wonder why so many people reject Christ and go their own ways.  Why doesn’t He fix things?  Why does He allow evil to continue?  Why doesn’t He just snap His fingers and make everything good.

The answer is that Jesus allows Himself to be rejected.  He allows people to make their own choices, even if they are evil, even if they cause harm to others or to themselves.

Jesus didn’t force the people of Jerusalem to love Him.

If you force someone to love you, that’s not love. 

Jesus did not make you a robot.  Jesus gave you the ability to say “no,” to His love and to the love other people around you.  Life would be so much easier if God just controlled everyone. 

But God loves you so much, that He lets you say “No,” to Him.

Jesus says that He came to gather His people together like a mother hen gathers her chicks under her wings.

Why does a hen gather her chicks?  One reason is for protection.

When a predator comes near, the hen gives an alarm call, and the chicks come running.  She covers them with her wings and places her own body between her chicks and danger.

And that’s a beautiful picture of what Jesus does for you.  When danger comes, whether it’s from a Herod or a Judas or from Satan Himself, Jesus calls to you, He beckons you to come under His protection. 

You don’t have to come.  You can say, “No,” and face the fox on your own.  But you’d be much better off with Jesus than on your own.

A few weeks ago, you were a fish, caught up in Jesus’ net.  A few weeks before that, you were a sheep, led by the good shepherd.  Today you are a chick, safe beneath the wings of Jesus.

Chicks are strong or smart or skilled in any way. They can only be loved and cared for.

And that’s how it is with you.  You don’t have to earn or deserve Jesus’ love.  He gives it to you freely.

It’s a comforting picture to know that, no matter how helpless you feel, no matter how dangerous your enemies seem, you are safe, you are protected by Jesus Christ Himself, and His sacrifice for you. 

He went to Jerusalem, knowing what would happen to Him.  He stretched out His wings on the cross.  He suffered and died to give you safety and security forever.

So, when the foxes come, when you feel threatened and insecure, come and find peace and protection under the arms of Jesus, stretched out on the cross for you.