Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Sunday, Feb. 24, 2013.
Hen & Chicks Jerusalem Chapel
Last week’s reading about God’s covenant in Deuteronomy was easy to understand: Give God thanks with the first fruits of the harvest, not just what’s left over after we have feasted. Be good to our neighbors, and to the poor. Today’s covenant from Genesis is a little harder to wrap our modern minds around, with its talk of sacrificing livestock and poultry! But let’s look past the Bronze Age temple practices to find what endures: God’s promise stays with us always, even when the darkness seems deep and terrifying.
Psalm 27
Today’s Psalm continues the message that the Exodus covenant offers: Even when we feel under attack, beset with dangers and real-life fears, we place our confidence in God and ask for God’s protection. Bad things sometimes happen to good people. That is the way of our lives. But we look for God’s goodness in everyday life, and trust that God will be with us in bad times and good.
Second Reading: Philippians 3:17 – 4:1
The Philippians, too, were worrying about earthly fears and persecution by their enemies, but Paul reassures them with pastoral advice that might recall the Psalmist’s wisdom: Look to God, through Christ, for our salvation. Stand firm in our faith and find meaning in our lives by making every effort to live as Christ would have us live.
Gospel: Luke 13:31-35
It is Lent, and we are reminded of crafty King Herod as we follow Jesus toward Jerusalem and his death on the cross, a death that must come before resurrection and its promise. But then, in the middle of this dark and foreboding passage, there is a magical image that we should not overlook: Jesus describes himself as a mother hen protecting her brood under her wings! Not the strong, ruddy Good Shepherd guarding his flock, but a nurturing, feminine image that’s just as loving yet very different. How does it feel to think of Jesus as a source of gentle motherly love? Try reflecting on this as you hear the Gospel today.