Worship - 16 March 2025

Summary of this week's theme

Menorca has many feral chickens, forming mixed, blended families. I saw one hen who had gathered an unusually large number of chicks - evidence of her welcoming nature. Chicks bond with the first hen they see, and people who raise chickens know they can be nurtured by slipping them under a sleepy hen. By morning, they follow her as she teaches them survival.

Jesus must have observed hens, learning about God’s sheltering wings. The Psalms echo this imagery: ‘How precious is your steadfast love, O God! All people may take refuge in the shadow of your wings.’ The writer Barbara Brown Taylor, who has raised chickens, noted, ‘A hen accepts all comers, no questions asked. She has never seen a chick she didn’t like.’ This should be the church’s model, offering a place of safe haven in a troubled world.

As we witness suffering, war, and rejection, Jesus’ longing to gather people under his wings reflects the sorrow of a God present in every crisis. Sadly, humanity resists being gathered, often due to poor leadership. Jesus’ lament about Jerusalem follows his reference to Herod as ‘that fox.’ It’s telling that an empire-backed ruler feared an itinerant rabbi. Herod Antipas had already executed John the Baptist and might have seen Jesus as a challenge to his authority.

History shows powerful leaders eradicating those who confront their power. Today, we see leaders initiating personal vendettas, echoing ancient power struggles. The Roman Empire, under Caesar, demanded worship, but the New Testament opposed such human regimes. Jesus proclaimed a kingdom of humble love, not imperial rule. Worshipping human leaders as saviours is misplaced.

Jesus’ miracles weren’t just individual restorations but acts of communal healing. The powerful fear such change because it disrupts their authority. Leaders often prioritise profit over prophecy. Coveting power, wealth, or recognition corrupts, and Jesus disrupts rulers who claim control over life and death. The resurrection removes that power from earthly hands.

Western societies, entrenched in the modern equivalent of imperial privilege, risk believing the lie that safety and prosperity belong to the ‘worthy.’ But Jesus belongs to all, especially the oppressed. Herods still exist, thriving on division and greed. Yet, Christ offers a different way - one of generosity and peace. The question remains: will we gather under his wings?