Full service can be viewed HERE. Sermon at 35:45.
Lent 2C
March 13, 2022
Psalm 27;
Luke 13:31-35
INTRODUCTION
Today, in our exploration of how God is with us in whatever place we find ourselves, we are reflecting on God as our stronghold. The image comes from the first verse of our Psalm (“The Lord is the stronghold of my life; whom then shall I fear?”), but it is apparent in the other readings as well. The Genesis text comes at a time when Abraham (who is still going by Abram at this point) is getting pretty discouraged that the promises God has made to him for land and descendants has not yet materialized. But here, God assures Abram, and invites him to reclaim God, not the imperial powers he has encountered, as his stronghold – and Abram does. Paul in Philippians encourages us to “stand firm in the Lord” – our stronghold!
The Gospel text offers an image of an unlikely image for a stronghold. The word might evoke images of a fortress or tower, but here, Jesus will talk about himself not as a fortress, but as a mother hen – a mother hen whose chicks reject her protection. It is a convicting image! Why wouldn’t we flock to Christ’s protective wings? But the truth is, we often don’t. As you listen, consider where you do seek safety and protection, and from what, and what may cause you to stray from God as your stronghold. Let’s listen.
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| "Hen and chicks" by Finnegan (age 6) |
Grace to you and peace from God our Mother who gave us birth, and our Lord and mother hen, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Back in January, there was a story in the news about a group of moms who gathered on a football field in Boston, to let out a collective, primal scream to get out some of the deep emotion they were carrying around due to the continuing pandemic. The event was organized by a licensed therapist, who understands the real, psychological benefits of releasing emotion in this bodily way. Several days after the scream, she was interviewed on The Today Show and said she was personally still feeling the benefits, both of the scream itself, and of having done it in community. “I feel lighter!” she said.
I thought of this story this week as I read those words in the Psalm, “The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” As I mentioned, this week, the “place” we are focusing on is God as our stronghold, and as I imagined what that stronghold might look and feel like, not just spiritually but practically speaking, it was this image of 20 moms on a football field letting out a primal scream that came to my mind! It is certainly different from our usual image of a stronghold – perhaps we picture a mighty fortress as our God, or maybe the rock to which we cling in the storm, as another hymn describes. And yet, the thought of that collective scream makes me feel… seen, held, not alone, and safe to let out my deeply held anguish, fear and pain. And no castle or rock can do that for me – but God sure can!
Stronghold. It’s really a gorgeous name for God. It’s an image of protection. Of safety. Of steadfastness. And boy oh boy, that is exactly what I need and desire, and in particular what I desire from my God!
And yet, even though God is right with us and always eager to be the sheltering wings we run to, God’s people have a history of turning elsewhere for comfort. And that’s what we see in our Gospel reading today. In this scene, Jesus is addressing the city of Jerusalem as if it is its own character – a character with a history of retreating into fear rather than trusting in divine guidance. He laments, “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those whom God has sent to it!” – even, we’ll come to see, kills Jesus himself! The city was itself meant to be a stronghold for the faithful, yet it continually falls to forces both within and from the outside – including plenty of foreign enemies, but perhaps even more poignantly and devastatingly, she falls victim to the fears of her own people. Jesus’ lament continues, “How often I have desired to gather your (Jerusalem’s) children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!” I can hear the sadness in his voice – Jesus wants to be their protector and defender, their safe place, and yet, how can a hen shelter unwilling, defiant chicks who are always looking elsewhere – looking even toward the very things that will cause them harm?
And yet, that is what we human still often do. Rather than find our shelter in the protective steadfastness of God, we become hyper focused on our fears – physical, spiritual, emotional, even imagined – and let the very things that cause us to fear have power over us. And in doing so, it is the things we fear that become our stronghold, to which we regularly return.
The Lutheran musical duo, Lost and Found, speaks to this reality in their song, “Rachel Racinda.” The lyrics talk about Rachel’s small sister, who is desperately seeking Hope, but the more dearly she wants it, the more tightly she locks herself “inside her house where her life could be sure.” In the penultimate verse, we hear,
No matter how Hope begged her please to come out,
she valued her fears and she trusted her doubt,
and soon even she couldn’t open the lock,
or break out the window or turn back the clock,
or let Hope come inside and show her his care.
Her house was too solid. Her house was despair.
And Rachel Racinda’s small sister Melindas
grew used to her life, and stayed there.”
As I listened to the song, I kept hoping for some redemption at the end, but it never came. Melindas stays there, locked away from Hope, locked away from the life that could have been. And unfortunately, this is too common a story – we value our fears and trust our doubts, not finding shelter in the shadow of God’s wings, but in the valley of the shadow of death. That is, indeed, a story that does not lead to life.
Why do we put our trust in false promises? We build these fortresses and place our trust in them – and all the while, our divine Mother Hen is beckoning and inviting us to find shelter under her wings. I just love that image of a Mother Hen. I admit I don’t know much about hens, but I watched some videos this week of mother hens protecting their chicks. And if you had in your mind an image of a cuddly, gently clucking, passive creature, then let go of it! Mother hens will relentlessly protect their young. They make themselves big, and chase away the would-be predator. They peck, if needed, and claw. In fact, mother hens will protect their young at all cost, yes, even to the point of self-sacrifice. Yes, she will put her whole body on the line if needed.
Sound like someone else we know?
I love how the Gospel text starts today, with the Pharisees issuing death threats to Jesus: “You’ve gotta get out here – Herod wants you dead!” And Jesus is unfazed. “Tell that fox,” he says (and he does not mean that as a compliment!), “that no death threats will keep me from fiercely bringing healing and restoration to the world.” They don’t know – but we do! – that Jesus is Life itself, that no threat or reality of death will be enough to stop him from doing everything he can to bring life and salvation to his people, his brood, putting himself between us and a predator, even putting his whole body on the line for our protection. Wow!
So this is all well and good, right, but you may still be thinking, “Ok, pastor, so we’re supposed to find a stronghold in God, in the wings of this divine mother hen. Okay. But how do we do this, practically speaking? Unless there is some giant chicken with a halo somewhere I’m supposed to find?” Yes, I feel you. We need to find practical ways to turn toward God, to find that life-giving shelter in the tumult of our daily life.
And for this, I’m still thinking about the primal scream I mentioned. I said I thought of it because it struck me as a place where I would feel seen, held, not alone, and safe to let out my deeply held anguish, fear and pain. That is what a stronghold means to me, what it provides for me. So think with me for a moment – what are the other places that bring you and your heart, your spirit, that sense of real protection, safety and steadfastness?
God provides such places for us all the time in our daily life. Of course you might find such a place in prayer, or in Bible study, or right here during worship – and I hope you do. But God can be all sorts of places, making us feel safe and held. Perhaps you find a stronghold in staying in your car that few extra moments after getting home from work, so you can have a few still moments to yourself before entering the chaos that awaits inside. Or maybe it’s in a walk in the fresh air, apart from all that is causing you stress, where you can simply breathe in the Spirit. Maybe your stronghold is the text chain you have with some fellow believers which has, over the years, become a prayer group, where you share your joys and fears, and know they are safely held. Or perhaps, it is in the arms of your beloved.
Stronghold. Each of these, and so many other moments in our lives, have the capacity to be a stronghold for us. And each of these places is also a place where God meets us. God is our stronghold – not in some castle on a hill far away, but right here where we are. Right here where such a stronghold is needed, in the midst of so many stressors and fears. “The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”
Let us pray… Lord Jesus, how often you have desired to gather us, your children, together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and we were not willing. Make us willing, Lord, that we would turn to you as our stronghold. In the name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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