Nobody likes a mother hen. Mother hens are overprotective, interfering, overbearing. They cluck and pick and watch constantly. Unless you are a vulnerable chick in need of protection. Unless all your life you’ve been deprived of a mother’s care. Unless all you’ve known is the feeling of being abandoned, left to your own devices, stranded to face the fox all by yourself. Then maybe a mother hen wouldn’t be so bad after all. When one’s life is filled with suffering and pain, it’s nice to have a mother hen: caring, welcoming, warm. Those are the same qualities most of us would like in the God we worship. Today, we cultivate courage and trust in God’s care, and release self-reliance as we note Jesus calls himself not a king-god, a warrior-god, or even a father-god. He compared himself to a mother-hen-god, with holy wings spread over us, protecting us, sheltering us, keeping us safe, and loving us.