What image helps you think about God's protection? I do slides for my Chapel sermons and this is the one I used this week...
Ooooo, right? An Eagle. YEAH, 'MERICUH! There is a problem though... in Luke 13:31-35, Jesus doesn't say that he wants to protect Jerusalem like an Eagle, but a chicken. Yes. A female Chicken. God's love is like... a hen? To compensate for my oversight and poor theology with the slide, a student fixed it for me:
And there you have it. Jesus wants to draw us close to him like a mother chicken.
You can find the sermon here or on iTunes (Search for BSC Religious Life).
Oh, and in case you have the question, "Why would Jesus use that image?" I think it has a lot to do with the fact everyone in Jesus' day would know how a Hen cared for her brood. It was an ubiquitous image. Eagles? Not so much. Not to mention Jesus' response to our aggressors is to shield and give life, not tear them to pieces with those razor sharp talons.
Jesus knows what he's doing. Can you trust the chicken God? We are on our way to Jerusalem to find out, aren't we.
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