Sermon: March 16, 2025

Readings: Psalm 27:1 / Philippians 3:17-4:1 / Luke 13:31-35

From psalm 27 we hear the words, “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom then shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom then shall I be afraid.” In the gospel reading Jesus refuses to operate out of the negativity of fear. When he heard that Herod wanted to kill him, he didn’t respond with a similar image of violence and hate. He used an image of love and God’s desire to protect God’s creation. Jesus sorrowfully laments for Jerusalem and says, “How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!”

God desires to gather God’s children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings. Even when they reject God’s love and follow the gods of their belly, our Lord and Savior extends his redeeming love to his creation like a mother hen gathering her children, protecting them, loving them, and keeping them safe. That is the desire of our God for all his creation.

We are invited this Lent to resist the temptation of following the things of this world, the gods of our bellies, and fully embrace the light and salvation of our Lord. When we do, what is there that we have to fear? Because the Lord is our strength and source of life, and God desires to gather his creation under his wings, protecting and loving us.

It is a love that overcomes the darkness and is more powerful than fear. When we put God at the center of our lives; all that other stuff that seems so scary; all those things we are told to be afraid of, those things aren’t so big and scary. Faith in God’s love gives us true strength. Having faith and God at the center of our lives doesn’t mean nothing bad will ever happen. Bad things can happen; sad things can happen. But with our faith placed in God’s love, we are given the strength to go through those times and come out on the other side stronger and better than before. God walks with us through times of trouble and difficulty. Reassuring us that there’s nothing to fear because God is with us, and that’s where our salvation lies. And that is God’s promise to all of his creation.

“The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom then shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom then shall I be afraid.”