“How
often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her
brood under her wings, and you were not willing! …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.’”
Jesus uses a fascinating metaphor in
this morning’s Gospel. His metaphor is an intensely feminine picture of him.
Yet Jesus was certainly male, in the form of a man.
What Jesus’ metaphor does this morning is
to open up for us a different way of viewing God, a way that transcends gender
and takes us into a world of imagination.
Lest you think this is the only image
of God that is feminine, there are many others, and they are throughout both
the Old Testament and the New. From the Old Testament alone, here are four
unusual metaphors that spark our imaginations. Deuteronomy 32:10-11: God as a
protective mother eagle. Hosea 13:8: God as a fierce mother bear. Isaiah 42:14:
God as a mother in the act of birth. Isaiah 49:15: God as a mother
breastfeeding her child.
Jesus himself had many ways and
metaphors he used to describe both himself and God. Can you think of a few?
(Pause…) How about Jesus the bread of life? Jesus the light of the world. Jesus
the vine. Jesus the gate, the way, the truth, the life. Jesus the living water.
Jesus the new creation. Jesus the resurrection and the life. The hen is not the
only creature. There is Jesus the good shepherd and Jesus the Lamb of God.
So this morning in describing himself
as mother hen, Jesus appeals to our imaginations. To become a new creation
ourselves we use our imaginations, we enter a world of images and sounds,
smells and touch, and even taste. All these things are stored in our
imaginations; all these things are part of how we imagine God.
All this is to say when we only
describe God in one way, or even Jesus in only one way, we limit our
imaginations. We cut ourselves off from the wide array of pictures and sounds,
smells, and touches, and tastes that reveals God to us every day.
Let’s begin with opening our
imaginations today in the way Jesus did for us by likening himself to a mother
hen. All the ways of imagining Jesus are right, even those that may seem a bit
odd to others. The test of our imagination of God is to look for what would
happen. If God is love, what would that mean? What would it look like? If God
is light, what would that mean? What would that look like? If God is a vine,
what would the vine do and what fruit would it bear? So if you’re afraid your
picture or sounds, or smell, or touch, or taste of God might be wrong, never
mind! It is yours. It is how you imagine God. After all, none of what we
imagine is entirely “right” because none of us can fully imagine God. Imagining
together though, can get us closer and closer to who God is and what God wants
for us here and in the future.
So let’s begin by imagining together
this morning. You’ll find in your pews some pieces of paper and markers. Now,
pick up that piece of paper and the pen or marker, and draw or write what you
have in your mind and heart about God. What images do you think of when you
think of God? What sounds, or tastes, or smells, or touches? You might have to
share the markers with others around you so everyone has an opportunity to
contribute what’s in their imagination.
Just to get you started, you might imagine
God as the sound of Bach. You might imagine God as the key to the prison door. You
might imagine God as your favorite icon. You might imagine God as a tender
touch. You might imagine God as the smell of good soup simmering on the stove.
So whatever way you imagine God, draw it, write it, describe it, and get it on the
paper. And when the offering plate comes by, put those pieces of paper in the
offering plate. Later today, those imaginings will be pinned to the big white
banner hanging in the back of the church. So take a minute or two now and put
something on that paper. Put on the paper one of the ways you imagine God.
(Long pause.)
During this next week, look around you
and think about how else you imagine God. You might find a picture in a
magazine and cut it out. You might paint it, write it, sew it or knit it. It
might be a poem or song, a prayer or a blessing. Just make it small enough to
fit on the banner. And imagine how great it will be when we have so many
different ways of imagining God that the banner is completely covered and
things overlap. Because it is wonderful when our images of God overlap one
another and intersect and dance together.
When you come to church next, whether it’s on a Sunday or
another day, bring what you’ve made or written or sewed or knitted or painted
or cut out of a magazine to pin to the banner. We’ll do this for the rest of
Lent. On Palm Sunday, as we process with our palms singing “Hosanna, blessed is
the one who comes in the name of the Lord,” we will carry our images of God in
Jesus Christ. The One who comes among us to bless, heal, and inspire.
The Rev Nicolette Papanek
©2016
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