SERMON, LENT 2C, Luke 13:22-35

Who is God? Who is Jesus? Who is the Holy Spirit? What is your relationship with them? How do you see their relationship with you?

A week and a half ago we entered into Lent; that season of wandering, testing, challenges, temptations and faith. Last week I talked about the Spirit leading us into the wilderness and that Lent was the time when we recognized that we aren't out there alone.

Lent, more than anything else, is a journey. It's a time of prayer, fasting, self-denial, meditation and repentance, sure; but it's a journey. All of those things we do during Lent should have the focus of drawing us closer to God as we journey through the wilderness, led by the Spirit, ever closer to the crucifixion and Easter.

Our journey began last week when the Spirit led us into the wilderness. That's where the journey starts -- in the wilderness. Like the wilderness of the flood, or the wilderness of Abram's wanderings, or the wilderness of the Exodus, or the wilderness of a solitary voice crying out for repentance, the wilderness is always where the journey begins.

On that journey, we might try to learn more about ourselves and our relationship with God. How do we begin? We can start by praying. How do we get closer? We can study to learn more about God. Not everything works for everybody. Some people are better at studying or praying or teaching. It's a journey of discovery for what brings you closer to God.

And it's a journey of learning about God. For starters, we learn that Jesus was a person like any one of us. He was led into the wilderness where he was tempted just as we are. And we learn that he trusted in the Spirit not to abandon him. We learn that God won't abandon us.

Where does our journey take us today? What do we learn today? For starters, we learn that God transcends gender. Feminine imagery for God isn't prolific, but it does exist. If you can wrap your head around the idea that God is simply bigger than any description or label you can assign, then you should be able to understand God as more than genetically male.

I bring this up because Jesus compares himself to a mother hen today. There are all kinds of images he could have used, but he chose a decidedly feminine image: a mother hen attempting to gather her brood under the loving embrace of her wings.

But there is something else we learn today about Jesus in this passage, and that is that he is our protector. Barbara Brown Taylor wrote an article in which she said the fox is in the henhouse and the only thing standing between him and the chicks is mother hen. Herod is the fox and he's getting tired of dealing with Jesus the mother hen.

The hen will spread her wings to shelter her brood. But in doing so, she becomes vulnerable to attack. She places herself in harms way in order to protect those who belong to her. In other words, she will die so that others may live. Where have we heard that before . . . ??

We are reminded that Jesus is our protector, and that he is willing to die for us so that we might live. We also learn that Jesus' death isn't a possible outcome of having a fox in the henhouse. We learn that his death is the certain outcome. The hen will be killed by the fox; Jesus will die in our place.

This journey through Lent is just beginning. We can look ahead and see the cross looming on the horizon. Jesus will die at the end of our Lenten journey. But we can also see that it is the Spirit who leads us, and it is Jesus who protects us. In this journey through Lent, remember two things: 1) the Spirit will lead us through the wilderness and will not abandon us; and 2) Jesus, our mother hen, will protect us.

Who is God? Who is Jesus? Who is the Holy Spirit? What is your relationship with them? How do you see their relationship with you? Hopefully you will find the answers to those questions on your journey through the wilderness.