Trisha Huffman | December 19, 2015
As a seminary student, I was required to take biblical languages. Greek and Hebrew were both challenging courses. One of my favorite parts of Hebrew class was the class working together to translate Genesis 1. In verse 2, the common translation is that the wind of God hovered or swept over the waters. A more accurate translation is that God’s spirit hovered over the waters like a mother hen brooding over her chicks, calling them to the comfort of her wings.
Today’s passage in Luke 13:34 echoes Genesis 1. Jesus is lamenting Jerusalem and its people not recognizing Jesus for who he is. “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those who were sent to you! How often I have wanted to gather your people just as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings. But you didn’t want that” (Common English Bible). The pain of Jesus is almost palpable and leaps off the page to encompass the reader. What does this have to do with Advent? When we are waiting for the baby Jesus to come, how do the words of the grown Jesus point us back to his coming?
I think the secret lies in the connection of the phrasing in Genesis 1 with that of Luke 13. The image of God in that moment of creation is that of a mother seeking to shelter and comfort. The Old Testament, especially Psalms, is abounding with this type of image of God. Finding shelter in the wings of the creator gives peace and protection to the psalmist. It is an image of divine love that can be easily understood by humans. That love comes to full expression in the person of Jesus. A child born into flesh, held in the arms of a mother. A child who would grow to a man, whose flesh would signify ultimate love and sacrifice. In those arms we find protection and comfort. In his pain, we can identify our own. Out of his love, we can find expression of our own. Advent begins in our hearts as we find the peace and love under the wings of the Almighty.
Prayer: Comforting God, we thank you for the shelter of your wings. They are a place of creation, love, and peace. This Advent, may we find the shelter of Jesus, the babe, in the glory of his coming. What a wonderful gift of love you have given. Amen.
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