First Presbyterian Church
Cutting a Deal
Sermon for March 4, 2007
by Pastor Susan Barnes

Children's time: Hens and chicks

Look at all these pictures. During the sermon, we're going to listen to words of Jesus where he talks about being like something in the pictures. Can you guess what it is? (I passed out pictures of hens and chicks.) Yes, Jesus talks about wanting to be like a hen who wants to care for her chicks. Have you ever seen a chick? How do hens take care of their chicks?

The story from our old testament reading from the Hebrew Bible explains what a covenant is. It is an agreement between two people. Instead of signing on the dotted line, or having the agreement notarized, a covenant in the bible was sealed by the two people butchering an animal and walking between two pieces. That's why the Hebrew Bible refers to “cutting a covenant” rather than making one. A covenant was literally cut in meat. When Jesus says, “this is the new covenant in my blood,” I think that's what he was talking about. Listen for the word of God as it is found in Genesis 15:1-12, 17-19.

1 After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, "Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great."

2 But Abram said, "O Lord GOD, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?" 3 And Abram said, "You have given me no offspring, and so a slave born in my house is to be my heir."

4 But the word of the LORD came to him, "This man shall not be your heir; no one but your very own issue shall be your heir." 5 He brought him outside and said , "Look toward heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them." Then he said to him, "So shall your descendants be."

6 And he believed the LORD; and the LORD reckoned it to him as righteousness.

7 Then he said to him, "I am the LORD who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to possess."

8 But he said, "O Lord GOD, how am I to know that I shall possess it?"

9 He said to him, "Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon."

10 He brought him all these and cut them in two, laying each half over against the other; but he did not cut the birds in two. 11 And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.

12 As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram, and a deep and terrifying darkness descended upon him.

17 When the sun had gone down and it was dark, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces.18 On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, "To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates, 19 the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, 20 the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, 21 the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites."

This ends our reading from Genesis. God encourages Abram not to fear. God will protect him. They cut a covenant together. Abram and Sarah's children will be as numerous as the stars. Our psalm reading is also encouraging. Our unison psalm is found on page 503. The message of Psalm 27 is that “having faith in God doesn't eliminate difficulties, but rather equips God's servants to live with courage and hope in the midst of difficulties.” 1 Listen for the word of God as we read it together in Psalm 27.

1 Of David. The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?

The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

2 When evildoers assail me to devour my flesh-- my adversaries and foes—

they shall stumble and fall.

3 Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear;

though war rise up against me, yet I will be confident.

4 One thing I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: to live in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in his temple.

5 For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will set me high on a rock.

6 Now my head is lifted up above my enemies all around me, and I will offer in his tent sacrifices with shouts of joy; I will sing and make melody to the LORD.

7 Hear, O LORD, when I cry aloud, be gracious to me and answer me!

8 "Come," my heart says, "seek his face!" Your face, LORD, do I seek.

9 Do not hide your face from me. Do not turn your servant away in anger, you who have been my help. Do not cast me off, do not forsake me, O God of my salvation!

10 If my father and mother forsake me, the LORD will take me up.

11 Teach me your way, O LORD, and lead me on a level path because of my enemies.

12 Do not give me up to the will of my adversaries, for false witnesses have risen against me, and they are breathing out violence.

13 I believe that I shall see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.

14 Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD!

This ends our reading of the psalm. Let us listen to the choir interpret this psalm.

Our gospel reading is on page 77. Jesus is on his way south to Jerusalem. Jesus has been teaching in villages that the realm of God will be opened to those from east and west and north and south. He taught that some are last who will be first and some are first who will be last. Listen for the word of God as it is found in Luke 13: 31-35.

31 At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to him, "Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you."

32 He said to them, "Go and tell that fox for me, 'Listen, I am casting out demons and performing cures today and tomorrow, and on the third day I finish my work. 33 Yet today, tomorrow, and the next day I must be on my way, because it is impossible for a prophet to be killed outside of Jerusalem.'

34 Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! 35 See, your house is left to you. And I tell you, you will not see me until the time comes when you say, 'Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.'"

This ends our reading from God's word. May the same spirit who inspired these words interpret them to our understanding.

Isn't it interesting that some Pharisees came to warn Jesus? Often, we Christians think of the Pharisees as being all bad. But they weren't. They were a class of lawyers who interpreted Jewish law. They were a little like a combination of a political party, a union, and a private club. They were not all alike.

Pharisees learned from Jesus and glorified God, they questioned him and watched him and hosted him for dinner. Here, they warn him to leave so he won't be killed.

But instead of thanking them for the warning, he sends them with a message to Herod. He knows they have access to Herod; he knows they can deliver his message. Jesus does not let fear of death stop him from his healing work. He lets Herod know that the king can't stop Jesus; Jesus will finish his work despite Herod.

Jesus' work is to cast out demons and perform cures

So far, in the gospel of Luke, Jesus has persuaded the devil to leave him after tempting him in the wilderness by offering him worldly political and religious power. Jesus cast an unclean demon out of the synagogue. He healed Simon's mother-in-law of a fever, and she served them. He cured many of the sick in Capernaum. He cured a man of leprosy, he healed a paralyzed man. (The scribes and pharisees questioned his actions) He restored a man's withered hand (The scribes and Pharisees were angry.) He healed the Roman centurion's slave after the centurion said that he knew his daughter would be healed with just a word from Jesus. He raised the dead son of a widow in Nain. Jesus sent the demons out of the naked man from Gerasa, and sent them into the Roman's herd of pigs so that they drowned. He healed the synagogue's leader's daughter, who was dying. He made the hemorrhaging woman clean. He healed a boy of a demon that makes him shriek and hurt himself. He cast a demon out of one who was mute so that he could speak again. He helped a woman who was bent over stand up straight, and that synagogue leader complained because he did it on the sabbath.

The stories we have of Jesus' healing are accompanied by complaints, warnings, and troubles. Jesus has helped people who are rich and poor, Roman, Jewish, and gentile, male and female, old and young. But the people who complain are some of the scribes, some of the Pharisees, and Herod himself. Jesus disagreed with some interpretations of the Jewish law. He made the synagogue clean, destroyed some of the Roman's meat source, and demonstrated his power to restore people so they could serve, be clean, walk, use their hands, come back from the dead, wear clothes, speak, and stand up straight. Jesus didn't just heal people; he demonstrated what the kingdom, the realm of God was about.

Luke didn't tell these stories so we would know that Jesus could make people well; he told them so we would know that Jesus has God's power, that Jesus was fulfilling the scripture from Isaiah to proclaim release to the captives and to let the oppressed go free.

He didn't just make people well, his actions revealed what was holding the people captive: not just germs, but the Roman occupation, the inadequate interpretations of the law, and harmful cultural traditions.

After Jesus tells the Pharisees he will go to Jerusalem anyway, he quotes from a Jewish tradition, 2 where God laments that Israel doesn't keep God's law and Judah has committed murder. They have forsaken not just God but themselves.

In Jesus' lament, he gives us a picture of a hen gathering in all her chicks under her soft warm protective feathers.

When birds hatch, they imprint on the first thing they see; so each chick knows its mother, recognizing that its mother is a place of safety and warmth. A mother hen knows where to find food for her chicks, and how to protect them. A hen will cluck and squawk at a fox, puffing up her feathers and pecking at the intruder. Jesus compares himself to a hen and calls Herod “that fox.” Apparently Herod was preparing to pounce on Jesus. The Pharisees concerned for Jesus' life come and warn him, in order to save him. But this is one hen who is no chicken – Jesus doesn't let Herod's threat stop him from his work.

Psalm 27 speaks of being confident in the Lord, despite the enemies all around. One pastor says, “ Fear is a wake-up call. It arouses awareness of danger. It puts us on high alert. Yet it can also do just the opposite, overwhelming us and diminishing our alertness. Neuroscience links fear to the amygdala in the lower, primitive brain. This small structure scouts for trouble and in detecting it, sounds an alarm and jerks multiple neural cords. As it reacts quickly to the threat, it ignores fine distinctions and uses generalizations. Its strength is rapid processing, and its weakness is lack of precision. With extreme fear, noradrenaline flushes through the body, initially producing intense vigilance, but then flooding the brain and riveting attention on the object of fear. Now the fearful person can hardly shift attention elsewhere. Tunnel vision occurs. Fear takes over, overwhelming the imaginative capacities and advanced reasoning. The fearful one become locked into the present and loses the ability to envision something other than what is now threatening.” 3 Reality becomes just that paralyzing moment.

God told Abram not to be afraid. He would have enough descendants. He didn't need to worry. He could rely on God. We too can rely on God. And when we do, we become less afraid of all the dangers around us. We can be cautious and careful, but we don't have to be fearful. Sometimes we have to do what is right even when powerful people around us don't think so.

Jesus did not let the power of the Romans intimidate him. He didn't let the religious elite interfere with his interpretation of God's word. He relied on God's gracious promises. We have stories of God wanting to do more for the children of Abram and Sarah. But they ignored the prophets and turned away. It's like children will do things that hurt them just to show adults “You are not the boss of me!” or adults acting childishly, stubbornly refusing to do something, even when it's in their own best interest, just because someone else suggested it first.

A hen can gather up her chickens quickly as long as they are close to her; her wings are short, so the chicks have to come in close. A hen clucks at them in order for them to know to snuggle under her feathers, sheltering them from sun, rain, and chicken hawks. The more a hen has to run to her chicks, instead of them running to her, the less able she is to protect them.

When we are as close to Jesus as a chick is to a hen, then it is less likely we will make mistakes of arrogance or ignorance or selfishness. The more we remember Jesus, the closer we are to him. The closer we are, the easier it is to remember that we are children of the covenant. God will not forsake us. That's the deal that was cut for us.

1 Cousar, Charles, et al. Texts for Preaching, Year C, p. 202.

2 We don't know which came first, Jesus' quote or this from 5Ezra or 4Esdras 1:28-30 “Thus says the Lord Almighty: Have I not entreated you as a father entreats his sons or a mother her daughters or a nurse her children, 29so that you should be my people and I should be your God, and that you should be my children and I should be your father? 30I gathered you as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings. But now, what shall I do to you? I will cast you out from my presence.” Both draw on the same Jewish tradition.

3 Steinke, Peter L. “Living by the Word,” Christian Century, Feb. 20, 2007, p. 20.