Matthew 23:37-39 (NRSV)
Read Matthew 23:37-39 on biblegateway.com
Verse 37"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! Verse 38See, your house is left to you, desolate. Verse 39For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, 'Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.'"
Devotion
We bought a house with six different kinds of paneling, cracks in the stucco and peeling paint. A friend handed me a business card. It simply read, "Emmett Lynch, Fixer." Soon, Mr. Lynch was puttying, plastering and painting. Everything was "fixed." He lived up to his card. So does God. Psalm 118 offers a divine business card: "The Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever." Jesus is God's steadfast love in human flesh. Matthew describes that love: "How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings."
Prayer
Loving God, you gather us as a mother hen gathers her flock; you hold us in the shelter of your arms. Help us to turn to you — and receive that embrace. Then, may we turn to others to pass it on. Amen.