Reflection for Second Sunday of Lent – Luke 13: 31- end of chapter

‘Of pharisees, foxes and hens’

The dark shadow of Herod lies across Lukes gospel from beginning to end, but here, approximately half-way through the gospel his threat to Jesus becomes explicit and overt for the first time. ‘Herod wants to kill you’ some Pharisees tell him. But isn’t this strange? The Pharisees and Jesus don’t see eye to eye, so why should they suddenly appear and be seeming to warn Jesus of the danger he is in? Is it possible that some of them did have Jesus’ best interests at heart? Maybe they were just sitting on the sidelines and watching and waiting to see what happened next? Or maybe it was a serious attempt to warn Jesus; to persuade him to discontinue his journey to Jerusalem, and return to the safer north around Galilee. That way would neutralise his influence and save a lot of trouble for the Jewish authorities. What do you think?

What Jesus thinks becomes clear in verses 31-32. In terms that remind us of how Jesus handled Satan’s temptations in the wilderness, Jesus asserts that he will not be deflected from his mission, even though he knows it will end in his death. And note also how he addresses Herod – ‘Tell that old fox…’ – to call Herod a fox is not just to accuse him of being sly and deceitful but is also directly insulting. The fox was seen as an unclean animal at that time, and Jesus was well aware of Herod’s murderous ways, his incestuous relationship with his brother’s wife, and his collusion with the Roman authorities. Jesus is saying that he will not be controlled or influenced by such a vile creature as Herod. He will not be cowed by him or deflected from his destiny.  Do you think that Jesus was wise to insult Herod in this way? Have there been times or situations in your own experience of which you now think ‘I should have…’? Where you perhaps took the easier option to avoid trouble? Where you didn’t say what needed to be said?

Then Jesus introduces another animal – the hen – an animal that might be considered the opposite of a fox, even sometimes becoming its prey. In this passage Jesus is lamenting the fate of Jerusalem (which as you will recall was destroyed less than 40 years after Jesus’ own death). Using the analogy of the mother hen, he yearns to protect Jerusalem, in the same way that when danger threatens the hen may gather up her chicks under her wings for protection. Who would have thought of a mere hen as a symbol of protection and safety? 

The mother hen is willing to put her life on the line, between the fox and her brood. It may well cost her her own life. This was exactly what Jesus was about to do – to sacrifice himself for his beloved creation.

My children used to love the story of Chicken-Licken and Foxy-Loxy. I was word perfect at one time. If you remember, Chicken-Licken and her friends were deceived by the fox and ended up as the fox’s supper. The moral of course was to be careful whom you trust. And that is the end of that particular story. But Jesus’ story did not end with his death. It was the means by which he secured hope, the promise of eternal life, forgiveness and restoration for all of us if we will accept it. With a mother hen like Jesus, we do not need to fear the foxes of this world. We do not even need to fear death.

Tony White