Jesus Raises us UP like a Hen with Her Chicks

“Jesus Raises us UP like a Hen with Her Chicks” 
Reflection for Ascension Sunday/Mother’s Day May 12, 2024
Churchill & Gilford United Churches 
Krista Moore 
Luke 24:44-53 and Acts 1:1-11 
Luke’s Accounts of the Ascension of Jesus 
BOTH were written by LUKE – who was a physician travelling with Paul the  apostle. He wrote the first account The Gospel of Luke, and then the Acts of the  Apostles. He addressed the second book to a mysterious man called Theophiles which means God’s friend. Luke teaches about the ascension today. This is a  combined reading.  

Introduction to the Scriptures  
Today we will think about God as a loving parent.  

Last week Jesus called us “Children of God.”  

It is a tremendous blessing to belong to God. 

To be loved and taken care of.  

Jesus treated his disciples as children, teaching and instructing them in his way.  

The disciples were his first “children,” those he blessed before his ascension. He  raised his hands to bless them, and prayed for them, as he was lifted up into  heaven.  

Jesus blesses us, too. 

But today he will challenge them. He will prepare them for his departure. He  cannot stay with them physically forever.  

But he promises He will raise them up with him. If they will follow and listen…

REFLECTION:  
HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!  
When you think of God, who do you think of? (E.g., Is he an old white guy with a  beard in the clouds? An invisible force? A wise friend?) Or like George Burns, or  Morgan Freeman?  

Often in Scripture, God is spoken of as our Father. “Our Father who art in  heaven,” but today, I would also like to show you that God is a mother.  Jesus said about his people: 
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how often I wanted to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings.” (Luke 13:34). Jesus gathered his chicks throughout his 3 years of ministry on earth. But he  didn’t stop there. He continues to gather us together today.  

He raises us up in his arms, through his teaching, and love.  

In the passage today, he broods over his disciples, and prays to God to  protect them as he returns to heaven. 

As he prepares to leave, he gives them many instructions, like a parent  preparing their young ones to go out on their own. 

Be safe! Don’t leave Jerusalem just yet! Wait for the Holy Spirit to come and  God will take care of you. Don’t worry about the future, just love, and forgive everything, and everything will be OK.

GOD IS A MOTHER: JESUS IS LIKE A HEN WITH HER CHICKS
Jesus shows us God’s love for us.  

God is a Father. God is also a Mother.  

Jesus broods over us like a hen over her chicks.  

Like a mother bird nudging her baby birds out of the nest in spring, he  nudges us forward, to have an adventure of our own. Sometimes it’s tough love he  gives:

I’ve fed you enough worms, helped you catch enough fish. Now it’s time for  you to learn how to fish on your own. It’s time to FLY. GO out and FLY! All parents must do this eventually. 

STORY: GROWING UP, LIVING ON YOUR OWN 
When I was 18, we were living in Kitchener, and I was attending the  University of Waterloo, in my first year of university. I lived at home, so I enjoyed  all the conveniences, and didn’t have to get an apartment or worry about anything.

Then suddenly my parents decided they had to move, for my Dad to start a  new business in Barrie. I couldn’t go. I had to stay. I couldn’t go where they were  going. Even though I was happy for them and loved Barrie.

(We had spent many years boating up near Port Severn and we had relatives  in Barrie. It was a good fit and a new start for them.)

But as a young adult, I was mystified. I would have to go out on my own  soon and figure out what real life was like.  

My parents didn’t just leave me alone. They gave me many instructions and came to show me how to do things. To prepare me. 

Whenever you leave a young adult in a house, you give them many  instructions… 

Here’s how to shop and cook for yourself. 
Now, don’t leave the stove on! 
Turn off the lights before you go to bed and turn the furnace down at night.  Don’t burn the house down! For goodness’s sake.  
And always clean the dishes in the sink.  
Sorry, mom.  
And don’t have a party! 

I was a good student and kid. I didn’t get into too much trouble.  I was busy doing exams and working part time at Sears.  

As I realized what was happening, that things were about to change drastically, that I would no longer be a kid living with my parents, it hit me. 

I experienced sadness at losing my childhood family and home; and fear at  having to grow up suddenly. It took me a few years to settle down, get married and  change to the University of Toronto, where I eventually found my way. Growing up is hard. But it’s good for us.  

QUESTION:  
Who here has children or grandchildren?  

Do you ever stop caring or worrying about them?  

No.  

You think about them day and night.  

You brood over them, like a hen over its chicks.  

And I’m sure you all can remember what it was like to be a young adult.  Pretty scary.  

Suddenly you have all these responsibilities.  

You must figure out where to live. How to pay for rent and groceries.  How to make a living.  

You are ON YOUR OWN.  

SCRIPTURE  
That is what it must have been like for the disciples with Jesus. He was with them for 3 years, ministering to them, listening to all their questions, giving them all the 
answers (though they didn’t understand him or listen!). And he showed them how  to do what he did, taking care of all their needs:  

Catching a net full of fish,  
  multiplying the loaves and fishes,  
    healing many diseases,  
      performing miracles,  
        teaching them day and night.  

Jesus must have been exhausted! 

Then he warns them it’s time for him to go.  

They are devastated. Confused.  

How will they go on without him?  

They saw him be crucified and die. They lost all hope.  

Then he was raised on the third day, and they are elated!  

He stayed with them for 40 days to offer comfort and instruction.  And now, again, it’s time to leave.  

He must return to the Father, he says. His mission is over.  

But theirs must go on without him. 

He leaves them many instructions, like parents when they leave their young  adults alone. 

Be safe! Don’t worry! This is how things work. You can do this. Call me if  you need anything! 

Jesus builds their confidence and tells them he will not leave them alone.

 He will send the Holy Spirit.  

To empower them to make decisions,  
to become apostles,  
to go out and teach and heal on their own. 

He is making them into adults, into his own image.  

They are no longer dependent but EMPOWERED by the Spirit, by his Love.  He can’t tell them the future, much as no parent can tell their kids everything  that might happen. Sometimes you just must find out the hard way and learn your  own lessons. What could go wrong?! 

TODAY WE HONOUR OUR MOTHERS. And I honour mine. I am so  blessed to have her with me today.  

After all these years, and many growing pains, my mom and I have become  the best of friends. I still call on her to help now and then, but I also know I must fly on my own. That each of us has a mission to fulfill. 

If she hadn’t encouraged me to go out on my own, I never would have  learned what I have learned or experienced. I am grateful for her support, even  when it was tough love! 

SAYING GOOD-BYE TO ONE WHO CARES FOR US 
Today’s scripture is also about saying goodbye to someone we love.  It’s hard to let go of someone who has been our everything.  

For the disciples, Jesus was their everything. And now he is physically  leaving them. They now realize He really was the Son of God. They see him  ascending into heaven! 

It is almost like the death of a loved one.  

One minute they are with us, and the next they are gone. 

We are happy they are free from their suffering and can finally fly home. But  we are also sad to be left behind. We wonder how life will go on without them.  Many of us have lost spouses, mothers, grandmothers, sisters, aunts, or other  family members. And we miss them.  

Losing someone is not easy.  

But a parent cannot stay with their kids forever. Eventually, they must nudge  them to fly on their own. And we all grow up and eventually get older. 

Once we are a senior it is even harder! Suddenly we are the oldest rung on  the generational ladder. There is no one left above us to guide our way! This is when we draw closer to God as our father or mother.  

When we become children again, relying on God’s guidance and protection.

 Knowing Jesus will guide us safely home.  

STORY: GOD COMFORTS US WITH SIGNS FROM THE SPIRIT
 Has anyone ever received signs from a passed loved one or angel? Like a  dime, or a cardinal or a butterfly?  

These are spiritual ways that the one who loved us remains with us and communicates with us. I still see you; I am still here; I am not far.  Jesus is like that too.  

He says to his disciples, “you are witnesses to these things.” You have seen  the things we did together, all the miracles; and you witnessed my death and  resurrection. Do not forget the wonderous things you have seen!  

And now, they are looking up and seeing him ascend into heaven!

As if that were not enough,  

Two guardian angels appear to remind them Jesus will return – “now you go  back to Jerusalem, and wait for the Holy Spirit, like he said, and all will be well.”

There are angels among us. That brood over us like a hen over its chicks.  When those we love cannot be there to help us. The angels are there to remind us. Jesus may not be physically here, but he promises to be spiritually with us  always, guiding our way through the Spirit.  

PENTECOST: JESUS SENDS THE SPIRIT TO GUIDE US  
Next week, we will experience Pentecost. The promise Jesus gave them – the Holy Spirit will descend on us and give us strength and power from on high.

To empower the church to keep going.  

To not be discouraged.  

To not give up.  

Like chicks finally becoming chickens, or birds flying the nest.  

We must carry on the mission of Christ.  

To share the gospel of Love everywhere, to give people hope.  

To learn to Forgive.  

To raise up the next great generation.  

Now it is our turn to care for them. And show them that Jesus is with them. Jesus sends us to care for his chicks. Because he loves them. 

We can do this by supporting the people around us, especially our youth.  because God knows it is difficult out there. 

YOUTH EVENT: MAY 24  
In two weeks, we will hold our first YOUTH EVENT in many years– a  collaboration of the South Simcoe Cluster of United Churches, hosted at Gilford  United.  

We will gather our youth to enjoy a social time to share, talk, do crafts, ASK  US ANYTHING (just like Jesus’s disciples), and of course enjoy free pizza! I  encourage all of you to invite your children or your children’s children to  participate and support them all. So they will know they are not alone.  

We will brood over our chicks and pray for them, like Jesus does for his disciples. We will show them God loves them and is there for them.  

WE ALL NEED GOD TO WATCH OVER US  
We all need God to watch over us.  

We all need to know we are loved. Even into our old age.  

Whether we are 5, or 85 – whether our parents are alive or not…  

We can remember, God is our Father, God is our Mother.  

This Mother’s Day, May God Bless all Our Mothers –human and divine,  past, present, and future. May their love be with us always, inspiring our way on. 

God is with us. And cares for us still. 

Jesus sends the Spirit to brood over us and help us.  

Like a hen broods over her chicks.  

No matter what life brings,  

Jesus will raise us up on eagle’s wings. 

We are never alone.  

Jesus is with us still.  

God is a father. God is a mother.  

God’s love is eternal.  

Thanks be to God.  

Amen.