2nd Sunday of Lent- Luke 13:31-35- The Lamant over Jerusalem

"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!" Luke 13:34

As Jesus goes about his ministry- healing the sick, calming the sea, exorcising demons, teaching God's truth- he does so with a destination before him.  He is going to Jerusalem, the center of religious and political power in Israel. More than that, he is going there to die, to pay the penalty for sin with his own life.  That's what makes the above lament so moving.  As he thinks about Jerusalem, he does so with love.  Using one of the rare feminine images in the Bible, Jesus speaks about how he desires to gather the city in love and protection, like a hen gathers her brood under her wings.  The city that has so often disobeyed God by killing the prophets, and is soon to kill Jesus, is a city that God still loves and desires to protect. 

I think this metaphor of God's love, like a hen gathering her brood under her wings, is applicable not only to Jerusalem, but also to us.  How often have we turned away from God?  How often have we harmed others through our thoughts and actions?  How often have we turned away from those who hunger among us and throughout the world?  Yet, despite all of that, God loves us and seeks to gather us like a hen gathering her brood under her wings.  On this Sabbath day, let us give thanks and praise for God's amazing love, forgiveness, and protection.