Herod the Fox & Jesus the Mother Hen; Luke 13:1-9, 31-35

 

Rev. George Miller

March 16, 2025

Luke 13:1-9, 31-35

 

Since August, we’ve explored different images of God.

 

The one who wants to walk with us in the cool afternoon breeze or stroll with us under the stars when we can’t sleep.

 

We’ve explored the body-ness of Jesus who stands, sits, sees.

 

We discussed that in Greek “compassion” means to have a visceral feeling in your gut; in Hebrew it means to feel deep love within your womb.

 

Scripture is so rich, so sweetly ripe with images of God and Jesus that have often been overlooked or mistranslated.

 

An example is Hosea 11:4.  God says “I led them with cords of human kindness, with bands of love.  I was to them like those who lift infants to their cheeks.  I bent down to them and fed them.”

 

This image is of God as Mom.  And it is about breastfeeding.

 

BUT, this statement was too radical, too maternal that many Bibles changed it.

 

Example- King James says- “I was to them as they that take off the yoke on their jaws, and I laid meat upon them.”

 

An example of what happens when scripture becomes nationalized, and authorities do not want you to think of God as motherly, but as owner.

 

The Good News is this- even as different Bibles, preachers try to suppress images of God or Jesus as Mom- they exist.

 

Today is a perfect example.  Luke thrusts us into a world that is so real, so political.

 

Infrastructure that has fallen apart, killing local citizens.  Roman invaders killing people of faith, mixing their blood with an unholy sacrifice.

 

Synagogue leaders come to Jesus, warning that the head of the Roman government is out to kill him.

 

Listen to what Jesus says. 

 

“Go and tell that fox that I am too busy casting out evil and offering healing.  I’m on my way to my final destination.  My desire’s been to gather the people as a mother hen gathers her chicks.”

 

Wow- how strong, sly, and strategic Jesus is. 

 

The Religious Leaders come telling him that the Head of Government is coming to get him, and his response is “Shoo!  You have no power here.  Worry about yourself.” 

 

BAM!  Another hammer into the hands and feet of Jesus.

 

Notice just how subversive Jesus is.  He stays calm.  He states facts; what he is doing.

 

He does a play on words, referring to Herod as a fox. 

 

In different cultures, foxes had different meanings.

 

For the Greeks, foxes symbolized sly, smart, cunning.  Being called a fox could be a compliment.

 

For the Jews, foxes were no good- destructive, damaging. Calling someone a fox could be an insult.

 

Jesus could be playing a mind game- is he complimenting Herod or is he ridiculing him?

 

Jesus is being sly as a fox by referring to Herod as a fox!

 

Then, the Piece de resistance- Jesus speaks wanting to gather the people of Jerusalem as a hen gathers her brood.

 

Hens are protective of their babies.

 

A hen gathers her chicks under her wings to keep them warm when it is cold.

 

A hen gathers her children for comfort and bonding, teaching and guidance, imprinting herself upon them so they’re less afraid, know to whom they belong, and are guided on how to live.

 

A hen gathers her clan so they can find rest, nestling under her wings to drift off to sleep.

 

Finally, a mother hen will gather her chicks to shield them from predators, threats, storms and anyone or anything that tries to harm them.

 

Jesus, who is a man, God embodied in human flesh, holy and divine, states how he’s always desired to gather the people as a Mother, a Mom.

 

Jesus, human and divine articulates his desire to gather the people as a mother hen-

to keep them warm, to bond and guide, to find rest, protect.

 

Realizing how subversive Jesus is, his use of “fox” to reference Herod is brilliant. 

 

He knew Herod was a threat to the people- a predator who preyed upon the helpless, who could not be trusted, who was untrustworthy in their power.

 

This is a perfect example of just how political our faith is and how political is the time that Jesus was born, baptized, crucified and resurrected.

 

Jesus could be saying “Herod is a fox; a threat.  I am the hen, loving and protecting you.”

 

Without saying it specifically, Jesus is saying “There are two different Kingdoms at play.”

 

“There is the Kingdom of Rome in which innocent people are slaughtered and buildings fall.  And there is the Kingdom of God in which people gather under God’s wings to be loved, nurtured, kept safe, and find rest.”

 

Which Kingdom do you want to belong to?  Which Kingdom do you believe leads to the greater healing, the greater comfort, the greater care?

 

Today we have a reading that reminds us of the woes of the world, but it also reminds us of how much God loves.

 

Today’s reading reminds us how humans may want to hurt us, but the Lord- the Lord wants to love on us just like a Mother, just like a Mom.

 

How cool, how wonderful that we have Scripture that shows us so many ways to think about God, view God and relate to God.

 

How cool, how wonderful that Jesus continues to show us the way, to offer us rest. 

 

Amen and amen.

The Innkeeper and M&M Sisters; Luke 10:25-42

 

Rev. George Miller

March 9, 2025

Luke 10:25-42

 

One great lesson Eden Seminary imparted upon us students is the concept of “Reading From Below.”

 

Reading from below means to immerse yourself within a story so that you start to notice the people who are there but not mentioned or given the primary focus.

 

In doing so, when reading from below, you discover the nuisances, intricacies, and possibilities that Scripture has.

 

Today’s reading is a wealth of reading from below moments.

 

We have Jesus interacting with the community.  The disciples are there.  As we learned in Ch. 8, there are also the vivacious, audacious women who are benefactors and co-ministers-

 

This Mary Magdelene, this Joanna, this Susanna, and many others.

 

With the women and disciples present, they get to hear Jesus share a story with a lawyer. 

 

The characters in this tale include a traveler, bandits, a priest, a Levite, a Samaritan.

 

But there’s another character- the innkeeper.

 

After the Samaritan shows compassion to the traveler, he takes him to an inn and says “Take care of him.  I’ll pay you back when I return.”

 

Most times we put a spotlight on the Samaritan, but the innkeeper deserves admiration as well.  He may have a bigger role in this story than we realize.

 

Traveling was much different back then, especially if you were Jewish.  Hospitality was most important.  Offering family a place to stay, welcoming people into your home, was an honor to do.

 

Inns were often used by travelers and foreigners who had no family connection.

 

Inns were looked down upon as places of ill refute where gambling, drinking, hooking up, spending time with sex workers were assumed to take place.

 

Innkeepers may be foreigners, immigrants, non-Jews.  They could be seen as dishonest, untrustworthy, just as likely to steal as a roadside bandit.

 

Amidst the women, disciples and lawyer, Jesus tells a tale in which the Priest and Levite do not show compassion-

 

It’s the Samaritan who does and takes a chance in believing the innkeeper will care for the man.

 

…and it is the innkeeper who takes the chance that the Samaritan will come back and pay what he owes.

 

We see no act of trust from the priest or Levite, but we see worlds of trust between the Samaritan and innkeeper.

 

This is reading from below.

 

Jesus’ story does not highlight the religious leaders, but the 2 individuals in which not one but perhaps two were Gentile foreigners.

 

Nor does this story celebrate the safety of a sanctuary or a religious institution doing the right thing- but an inn, a place of vice and ill-repute, with real people doing real things.

 

Once again- bam!- another strike of the hammer into the hands and feet of Jesus.

 

Then, we have the story about the M&M Sisters.  I call them that because I refuse to put one woman before the other.

 

For how many centuries has this story been misunderstood, how many times have preachers and teachers gotten this wrong?

 

How many Bibles mistold and mistranslated this tale?

 

After talking with the Lawyer, Jesus makes his way to visit the M&M sisters.

 

This is where reading from below gets to be fun.

 

Verse 38 tells us something so important- “Martha welcomes him into HER home.”

 

Martha welcomes Jesus into her home.  Not her father’s home, not her brother’s home, not her husband’s home, not her uncle’s home, not her son’s home- HER HOME.

 

Which tells us that Martha is someone to respect, a person of power, a BOSS.

 

As Mary takes the radical stance of a student by sitting at the feet of Jesus (note the embodiment language), we’re told that Martha is distracted by her “many tasks.”

 

Scripture says “her many tasks.”  Nowhere, not once, is there any mention of where Martha is or exactly what she is doing.

 

Nowhere, not at any moment, are we told if Martha is in the kitchen making dinner, or by a washtub doing laundry, or in the main room with a broom sweeping up the dust.

 

We are simply told Martha was distracted by her many tasks- so WHO decided to put Martha in the kitchen or assume she was doing housework?

 

Who assumed that if Martha is busy, it must be cooking, cleaning, or laundry?

 

The word that is used in Greek for “tasks” is “diakonia,” the word we get “diaconate” from.

 

Diakonia usually means work related to the church, tasks that offer hope and healing.

 

Throughout the New Testament “diakonia” is used to refer to what the disciples are doing.

 

Diakonia means things like helping the sick, feeding the hungry, serving Communion.

 

But for some reason, when “diakonia” is used to refer to Martha, people assume she’s cooking a banquet for 13 men.

 

No.

 

If there is just 1 lesson I’d love for everyone here to learn is that nowhere in the original Greek scripture does it ever mention that Martha is in the kitchen.

 

Martha could be the brains behind Jesus’ entire ministry.  She could be working on Stewardship. She could be acting as a treasurer, she could be paying bills, she could be heading up Public Relations.

 

And guess what- because this is her home, and she is doing many tasks, she could be doing all these things AND making a fabulously delicious dinner as well.

 

But Martha is in no ways a harried June Cleaver with pearls and a martini waiting for her man to come home…

 

…Reading from Below.

 

What a wonderful way to engage with scripture.

 

As we continue to take this Lenten journey with Jesus towards Jerusalem, let us continue to seek out and wonder who else is present in the scriptures that we are not being told of.

 

 How does their story offer greater impact to the story of Christ and of God’s Creation?

 

The more we ask, the more we discover, and the more our faith and our love grows.

 

Amen.

Women Who Made the Ministry of Jesus Happen; Luke 7:36- 8:3

 

Rev. George Miller

Feb 23, 2025

Luke 7:36- 8:3

 

It’s another day.  From the fields of grain to the fish filled waters of Capernaum, from accusations of being a drunk glutton who eats with street trash, to the table of a Pharisee, we witness once again how “Bam!” another hammer is about to strike the hands and feet of Christ.

 

This time we explore another theory- Jesus had the audacity to surround himself with independent strong women, even if the Gospel writers and Church fathers tried to hide it.

 

The author of Luke goes out of their way to show just how embodied Jesus is.  He eats.  He takes his place at the table.  His feet are kissed, dried, anointed.

 

This story is sensory rich- food to taste, fragrance to smell, eyes that see, crying to hear, feet to touch, words of forgiveness to celebrate.

 

Jesus is not a disembodied being who is all miracles and show, Jesus is tangible, earthy, here.

 

Because Jesus is not disembodied, he requires the same things we do- food to nourish his journeys, drink to quench his thirst, companions to enrich the day, care to have the courage to keep on going.

 

All these things he receives.  Who does he receive it from?  The women.

 

Mary Magdlene, Joanna, Susanna, the woman with the alabaster jar and many others who provide for Jesus and the disciples out of their own resources.

 

This is such a key reading to get a better, richer, more realistic view of Jesus.  Here, we discover something rarely discussed-

 

The Disciples may get all the screen time, all the glory- but it is the women, the women who were there all the time, and it was the women who made the work of Jesus possible.

 

There is a good chance that these women were rich, they were successful, and they had the time, ability, and desire to be there.

 

One of the greatest sins of the Christian Church is how the male leaders created an unrealistic, false, narrative that either women are a perpetual virgin or a harlot.

 

Because here in Luke 7:36- 8:3 we discover that there are women who extend hospitality and care to Jesus in a way the men don’t, and there are women who are literally funding Jesus’s ministry through their own personal resources.

 

Chapter 8:3 makes it clear- matriarchs like Mary, Joanna, Susanna provided for Jesus through their own resources.

 

This does not mean they cooked or cleaned or laundered or nursed.  They could have very well done some of these things.

 

But - they provided, they gave, they shared, they donated, they offered what they had and what they could so that Jesus could go from grainfields to fish-filled waters, from cities to villages, proclaiming and talking about the Good News and Kingdom of God.

 

In other words, the Marys, the Joannas, the Susannas were the ones who made it possible for Jesus to say “Love Grows Here” and to show the world what that looks like.

 

How amazing to realize that as we read these stories and hear about the miracles, the healings, the teachings, the transformations taking place that there are women there, there are women making all this possible.

 

How different would our faith be, our culture be, if we had more of these stories, if our priests and pastors had shared this information, if each and every grandmother, mother, aunt, niece, girl was raised hearing this.

 

Maybe there would have been a Pope Francine by now.  Maybe our stairwell would have a photo of a female Senior Pastor. 

 

Maybe folk would be worshipping at a place called Saint Susanna UCC.

 

Jesus surrounded himself with smart, strong, steady, financially secure women and they were there.

 

They were there when he healed folk living with paralysis, they were there when he taught the Beatitudes, they were there when he had the 5,000 sit to be fed.

 

Women were always there to offer him their tears, their broken hearts, their thanks, even as religious leaders said “How dare he do what he does.”

 

They were there when the disciples deserted him.  They were there to prepare spices to anoint his dead body. 

 

The women were there on the first day of the week, at early dawn, to find the stone rolled away.

 

The women were the first to remember his words and say to the world that Christ has been raised.

 

So today, let us lift up and let us celebrate all the women, throughout all time, who have been there to follow Christ and to make the Good News known to all.

 

For that, let us say “Amen.”

 

Jesus Died For Who He Ate With; Luke 7:18-35

 

Rev. George Miller

Feb 16, 2025

Luke 7:18-35

 

Last week we moved forward with Jesus, beyond the grainfields and into the fishing town of Capernaum. 

 

We met a powerful man and a vulnerable woman, hearing how Jesus saw them and was moved with womb-love.

 

We said that when we read a story about Jesus we can think “THAT’S another hammer into his hands.”

 

Today is another theology- that Jesus was killed for the people he ate with.

 

But first- a story:  Last Friday I met friends at San Jose and was greeted by the owner Fernando.  He asked how the week went, taking time to listen and respond with care.

 

When I sat down, he came over with a complimentary plate of ceviche with the most delicious avocado.

 

As Fernando put the plate down, he said in a compassionate, fatherly way- “Here you go my boy.”

 

He must’ve known that I needed to hear those words.  Not “my friend” or “pal,” but a term of kinship.  At that moment he was being “Dad.”

 

No matter how old we get or how our relationship with our father is or is not, many of us have those moments where we just need “Daddy.”

 

Someone to care for us, watch over us, let us know it will be alright.

 

That Friday night, bustling with sizzling fajitas and festive music, the owner of San Jose took the time to see me, hear me, and show true care.

 

Food is a way we show someone what we think of them and where they belong.

 

Back in July, the Council filled my house with groceries and gift cards.

 

Council did not have to do this.  But they did, and I am so thankful.  What a way to say “Welcome to St. Lucas” and introduce me to local foods, like gooey butter cake, toasted ravioli, Straub’s infamous chicken salad that Viktor and Louis still talk about.

 

The food we eat tells a lot about who we are, where our family is from.  Who we eat with and where we eat says a lot about our place in life.

 

Jesus understood this.  Food was a huge part of his ministry.  In Luke we see more instances of Jesus talking about food, eating food, or on his way to eat than any Gospel.

 

Jesus knew that seeing folk, hearing folk, having compassion for them was one thing.

 

BUT- to sit down and eat with them- that’s another.  It’s easy to offer healing and wellness to someone you may never see again.

 

When we take time to stop, sit down, eat beside another- that takes time, attention, vulnerability, and bravery.

 

This is what Jesus offered everyone he dined with.

 

Jesus lived in a culture in which you only ate with those who were “in,” with those who were “just like you.”

 

You only ate the proper foods with proper utensils, in the proper manner.

 

As a proper rabi, you were expected to do as the other proper rabi’s did. 

 

But Jesus was not known for being proper, nor was he like anyone else.

 

Walk through a field on a Sabbath and your Disciples are hungry- let them pluck the grain and eat it!

 

Spend the day teaching about Heaven and cleansing folk- go ahead, relax with Ted Drewes and a Budweiser.

 

Huge crowd follows you and they’re hungry?  Don’t send them away or worry if they are Jew or Gentile, citizen or refugee, LGBTQ or ally.

 

You say “Sit, eat,” and trust in God that the 5 loaves and 2 fish that you have will suffice.

 

Even when you are invited to the home of a known enemy of the state or a person who survives by sharing their body- you join them at table, break bread, have a drink, and say “See how good and pleasant it is when we eat together in harmony.”

 

To sit at the table with a peer, an outsider, a saint, or a sinner is to say “I see you, I care: we are part of the same family,” even as naysayers, conflict-mongers, and bullies watch.

 

That’s what Jesus did.  That’s who Jesus was.  THAT’S the Heavenly Kingdom of God he embodied.

 

Yes- there were a few people who did not like or approve of his eating style.  Instead of saying “See how the Lord welcomes all!”-

 

They said “Look at him.  How much he eats, how much he drinks, who he sits with.  Shameful!  Sinful!  Jesus is a slob, a drunk who welcomes trash.”

 

Jesus dined with everybody, everywhere.  This did not make society’s gate keepers happy.  So “Bam!”, another hammer into his hands and feet.

 

Thank God we do not think like that.  Thank God we are blessed.

 

This month we’re discussing how “Love Grows Here.”  One of those ways is with Michele who created today’s event “Sox, Crocs & Cocoa.”

 

Just as “Love Grows Here” has proven to be prophetic, so is Michele’s choice of fun for today.

 

The idea of wearing wild socks on a Sunday!  Would Rev. Kruse have approved?

 

Crocs- maybe in Florida! What would our founding Church Fathers think?

 

And a hot cocoa buffet?  Well, let’s be honest…who’s going to complain about that?

 

How wonderful it is that we get to gather in the Hall, to sip, enjoy, be warm, and welcome one another.

 

It may not be bread that is broken or wine that is poured, but it is certainly a form of Communion in which we get to smell and taste just how good Heaven on Earth can be.

 

As we continue through today and this week, let us be glad that not only do we worship a Lord who sees, hears, and has compassion for us-

 

We also worship a Lord who will gladly sit, eat, and drink with us.

 

No matter who we are; what we do.  If we are powerful or powerless.  Jesus is right there at table, ready to have hot cocoa with us all.

 

Let us say “Amen.”