God bless the chicks

On 16th March, the second Sunday in Lent, Pamela Pianezza, a member of our congregation & a seminarian, gave us this homily.

JESUS’ SORROW FOR JERUSALEM (Luke 13:31-35)

31 At that time some Pharisees came to Jesus and said to him, “Leave this place and go somewhere else. Herod wants to kill you.”

32 He replied, “Go tell that fox, ‘I will keep on driving out demons and healing people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal.’

33 In any case, I must press on today and tomorrow and the next day—for surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem!

34 “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have desired to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing.

35 Look, your house is left to you desolate. I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.'

This short text from the Gospel of Luke made me smile. Then it puzzled me. A lot. I realized how much it has to do with the Lenten season and the desert we’re crossing right now. It is full of temptations and misleading ideas.

It made me smile for obvious reasons : who doesn’t like to see their favorite hero dismiss their opponent with a few good words ? :

“Go tell that fox, ‘I will keep on driving out demons and healing people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal."

Let me briefly remind you the context. Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem. He has already given a few memorable parables, he has healed a crippled woman. He also has denounced pharisees and experts of the Law:

« You Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. You fools ! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also ? (…) Woe to you Pharisees ! »

So of course, when I read that

« some Pharisees came to Jesus and said to him, “Leave this place and go somewhere else. Herod wants to kill you. »…

… I am suspicious. Since when do Pharisees care about Jesus’ wellness ? Aren’t they Jesus’ Nemesis ?

Well, no they aren’t. They did spend a good amount of time criticizing Jesus unorthodox methods, they regularly questioned his knowledge, they often tried to trick him (in the gospel of Matthew even more than in Luke’s) but no, as tempting as this over simplified lecture would be,  the Pharisees aren’t Jesus’ worse enemy. They are attached to the Law and we know that soon enough, after the destruction of the Temple, they will, in a way, be what is left of Judaism. And Jesus, our Christened king, is also called « rabbi ». A few weeks ago, we heard how he ran away from his family to spend time at his father’s house, at the temple. Where did we find him sitting ? At the feet of the pharisees… Jesus too cares deeply about the law of Moses, as the Sunday texts we've read since Christmas reminded us. So yes, Jesus and the Pharisees agree to disagree, but it would be unfair to pigeonhole the whole lot of them on the enemy side.

So who is the bad guy in this story ?

Easy : Herod.

Again a bit of context : we are not talking about Herod the Great, the one who rebuilt the second temple of Jerusalem and ordered the execution of all male children under two in the vicinity of Bethlehem, hoping to get rid of  baby Jesus. We’re talking about Herod Antipas, his son, ruler of Galilee. The man who had John the Baptist murdered, but not the man who will have Jesus put on the cross. This one is Pontius Pilate, ruler of Roman Judea.

I’m aware I’m getting a bit geopolitical, but the situation was complicated and Jesus was well aware of it. He knew what was at stake when he crossed the country announcing to all what the kingdom of God really looked like, which had absolutely nothing to do with what the kingdom of men like Herod the 1st or Herod the 2d or Pontius Pilate looked like.

Jesus knew where he stood. He knew where he came from. He knew where he was walking to. But most of all, he knew who was leading his feet.

“Go tell that fox, ‘I will keep on driving out demons and healing people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal.’

That’s what Jesus replied to the Pharisees who had just warn him his life was in danger. Was Jesus scared ? We can only guess. What we know is that he had an agenda, a divine one, and that nothing, no-one, could have him deviate from his path. Hence the boldness.

Jesus has things to do, important ones : casting out demons, healing people… This is what he has been doing yesterday, what he is doing today and what he will be doing the next day. Until… well, until the third day, where he will « reach his goal ».

It is hard not to see in those words a Passion prediction. Jesus will die and on the third day, he will rise from the dead. This would be a Christian reading of the scriptures and this is the right place to do so. But in a more Jewish perspective, this could also mean that Jesus will continue his ministry, day after day, after day, after day… until he stops. Those three days would then embrace Jesus’ whole ministry.

How can a man like Herod compete with such a mission ?

« Go tell that fox »…

We know to which animal figure every King or wanna-be king hopes to be associated with: the lion. The very biblical Lion. The one we find on Solomon’s throne in the book of Kings. The one associated to the tribe of Judah by Jacob when he blesses his children his the book of Genesis. And this is how Jesus will be presented in the very last book of the bible, the book of Revelation : « Lion of the Tribe of Judah, the Root of David ».

Lions are strong. They are powerful. They are greatly feared. Who would dare to mess with a lion ?

So what does it mean when Jesus calls Herod a fox ? That Herod’s attempt to have Jesus deflect from his divine mission, his ministry, was foxy smart, but certainly not enough ? An interesting detail : in ancient greek, « fox » was a feminine noun, when lion, or eagle, all those powerful animals, were masculine nouns. Does it mean that Jesus added insult to injury by calling Herod a she-fox ? And was the feminine synonym to weakness ? After all we know at that time nothing feminine could reach the power…

Well, wait and see…

Before we go on exploring the little menagerie presented to us in this text, let’s pause for a moment.

At that stage of the story, Jesus showed strength and boldness. He stuck to his mission,  refused to be bullied and even joked about his opponent. This is the reassuring behavior we can expect from a hero. But what’s with the following sentences ?

34 “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have desired to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing.

Jerusalem, Jerusalem… 

you may have recognized this two-beat rhythm…

Abraham, Abraham…

Moses, Moses…

Samuel, Samuel…

Whenever God is calling people in the first testament,  this is how he proceeds : calling your name, two times. So this is the voice of God we’re hearing. The sad, disappointed voice of God, through his prophet, Jesus, on his way to a fate we unfortunately recognize as it is an old pattern, going on for centuries : prophets speak the truth, they call out tyrants pretending to be kings, they ask for justice for the forgotten ones. And for that, they are killed. Isiah was sawn in two, Jeremiah was stoned to death and so was Zachariah.

Our strong, defiant and inspiring hero is now lamenting, knowing the terrible fate he’s walking too. And how does he face the tragedy ? Not picturing himself under the skin of a charismatic lion who could annihilate his enemies. Jesus, and trough his voice, god, remembers how many time he wished he could gather us all under his wings, like a hen gathering its fluffy babies.

But we were not willing…

A few minutes ago, I told you how, at my first reading of the text, I was looking for a bad guy in this story. This is not my usual self, as I usually embrace complexity and crave for nuances. But when those lines from the Gospel of Luke found me, I suspect a part of me had given up to the general, polarizing atmosphere. At that moment, I thought I had a clear idea of who where the bad guys in our world, the Herod, the Pilate or even the narrow-minded Pharisees.

But we don’t hear God lament about the Pharisees, or Herod or Pontius Pilate. We hear God crying for Jerusalem.  « you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you. »

There is a figure of speech called ‘synecdoche’. It is when a part is made to represent the whole or vice versa. Journalists love it because it’s an elegant way to avoid repetitions in a sentence. For instance we’ll say « Washington », or « DC », or « Buckingham Palace » instead of saying « the government » or « the royal family ».

So what do you think « Jerusalem » means ?

WHO do you think Jerusalem means ?

Who kills the prophets sent to them ? Lions ? Foxes ? Or just us, the lost baby chickens ?

There must have been many reasons why Jesus presented himself as a female volatile, but I identified at least one super power specific to chicken mamas. A farmer I interviewed long time ago lost part of his farm in a fire. In the ruins of the hen house, he found the body of his favorite, beloved hen. She had perished. But then he heard tiny little sounds. Under the wings of the mamma hen were all her chicks. All very much alive.

« Look, said Jesus, your house is left to you desolate. I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. »

There have been and there are many fires to survive, as there have been and there are many deserts to cross. Yet everyday, the choice is ours : to reply to the gatherer who tirelessly calls our names, or to give up to stone throwing. To pick up sides or to remember God’s wings are wide enough for all of us. Us chicken. Us foxes. Us lions, all the same.

Every day we can refuse to see our house abandoned and work to keep it full of God’s presence and remember those words :

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.