Second Sunday of Lent
“‘How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! ‘”
Summary
“Our first reading, Genesis 15:1-18, recounts God making a covenant with Abram. Covenants were usually two-way affairs, binding both parties. This acknowledged by them each passing between divided carcasses, symbol of the dangers of division. In this instance, only God is bound. Promising that God will remain faithful even when humanity fails. It is trust in this promise that gives Jesus the courage, in Luke 13:31-35, to continue on his way to Jerusalem despite the dangers that await him. He is given the opportunity to flee, to act in his own self-interest, but refuses. He understands that standing up to power has consequences but so does appeasing power, it will lead to his people being scattered like the chicks who refuse to be gathered together by their mother hen.
We are currently witnessing something similar play out on the international stage. In the face of threats (to impose tariffs, end military assistance, cut aid) governments around the world face the choice of putting their own interests first, protecting their own backs, or standing in solidarity with the weakest and most vulnerable. Our decisions may not be so far reaching and yet we all make choices that result in affirming or denying our solidarity with one another and with those most in need. We too can be agents of gathering or scattering. We cannot always trust those with power to use it for the good of all. We need to trust that God’s power is manifest always in gathering and never in dividing.
FIRST READING
Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18
“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.” 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?” And Abram said, “You have given me no offspring, so a slave born in my house is to be my heir.” 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.” 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.” And he believed the Lord, and the Lord reckoned it to him as righteousness.
Then he said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to possess.” But he said, “O Lord God, how am I to know that I shall possess it?” 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.” 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. And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.
As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram, and a deep and terrifying darkness descended upon him.
When the sun had gone down and it was dark, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. 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,
GOSPEL
Luke 13:31-35
At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to him, “Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you.” 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. 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.’ 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! 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.’ ”
