thoughts on the news of the day: hens and chicks

hmmm…..

            Today a friend of mine posted a beautiful photo of a bird with two chicks under her wing.  And I thought of the passage from Luke’s Gospel that has Jesus saying “how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings.”

            We don’t often use the words “Mother God”, but there it is: Jesus compares himself to a mother hen.  Most of us prefer the words “Father God”.  It is what we grew up with, what we are used to hearing.  But why isn’t it OK to think of God as a Mother to us all?  Mothers have attributes that are endearing to all of us.  They are compassionate, protective, and in their own way very strong.  I remember a friend once asking me, “Do you know what the most dangerous place in the world is?”  The answer is: “in between a mother bear and her cub.” 

            Mothers are attached to their children in ways fathers aren’t.  Yes, its true, we are.  We have carried the child in our womb (another biblical reference) and known it nine months before the father.  We love our children unconditionally.

            I think the point is that we really can’t know God, we can only use metaphors to describe God and those are inadequate at best.  So I invite you today to think about God in other ways besides the traditional ones. It might strengthen your attachment to the One who loves you unconditionally and forever more.

            hmmm…..