Read Luke 13:31-35 with your family.

The Bible uses a lot of images for God, not just ‘Father’. There are male images like father, and gender neutral images like wind, and female images like we see in this week’s story. God as a mother hen.

How does a mother hen act? When there is danger or her chicks are cold or wet, the mother hen brings them all under her wings and feathers to protect them. Even before they were born, the mother hen sat on the next and protected the eggs until they were about to hatch.

Our scripture today says God is like a mother hen, always wanting to protect us from whatever might hurt us. However we… like the people of Jerusalem… don’t often look to God for protection. We like to think we can handle everything on our own. Jesus was disappointed in people that they didn’t realize how much they needed God and how they should come to God for protection.