Gathering Under His Wings

“O, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children to­gether, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!”‘ (Matthew 23:37).

What a wealth of meaning in these words! We are invited to consider a hen, who with infinite patience and devo­tion, seeks to cover her little ones with her out-stretched wings to protect them from the chill of night and the dangers of darkness. We are reminded of our Lord’s similar devotion to his people, the lost sheep of the house of Israel. We call to mind his compassion for the common people who gladly heard his words of wisdom, and how he healed their diseased, raised the dead, and fed the multi­tudes by his miraculous power. We are reminded of his dedicated life and un­bounded love for his Father and friends, a love that made him willing to face the anguish of the cross. It is therefore quite in character that our Lord’s words are charged with deep emotion. He offered God’s chosen nation life eternal, but most of them refused it. He came unto his own people and they received him not. He was despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.

The tragedy of the parable oversha­dows the mother hen’s devotion. A pic­ture of the Lord’s betrayal, illustrated by the hen and her chickens, would find most of the little ones outside the out­stretched wings, a warm invitation re­jected, not perceiving the perils they had willfully chosen. The picture would also include the predatory animal life: wolves, serpents and vipers, waiting to snatch un­wary chickens. But no single parable -of any nature can portray all that is involved in the process of rejecting eternal life. There are more complexities in fallen human nature than can be represented by chickens refusing the sheltering wings of the hen. The limitations of such a picture are obvious when it is recognized that the Lord’s repeated attempts to gather Jerusalem’s children under his wings in­cluded the class he called serpents and vi­pers. This incongruity can be rationalized only by remembering that, during the Lord’s ministry, the persistent refusal of the Scribes and Pharisees to even listen to his teaching caused a gradual degenera­tion in their character, until they earned the reputation of predatory animals ready to kill. They were in a favored position to rightly evaluate the Lord’s work in their midst, but traditions, selfishness, pride and hypocrisy blinded them. They steadily followed the downward path, first by fault finding, then by attempting legal entrapment. Failing in this, they con­spired to take the Lord’s life.

Matthew 23 consists mainly of the Lord’s denunciation of this class. They seem so far removed from what a disciple should be, that we may fail to see any reflection on ourselves. Yet there are as­pects of their gradual degeneration of character from which we can draw les­sons. A balanced view of the chapter will reveal that the Lord’s parable of hen and chickens well represents Israel’s refusal to be gathered during his ministry.

The Lord’s condemnation of a wicked, organized opposition was occasioned by the end result and not the beginning of a way of life that leads to rejection of the Lord’s invitation to eternal life. The ap­parently innocent and trivial choices we make for ourselves may seem as harmless as the chicken’s desire to roam free a little while longer before seeking the safe­ty of sheltering wings. But our choice may be the initial step in a direction which leads us to become so entangled with sin that we find ourselves in the position of refusing the warmth of our Lord’s friend­ship. The tragedy is compounded if we ourselves are blind and then try to lead others. Let us analyze a few of the mis­takes of these blind leaders.

Jesus says they left undone the weight­ier matters of the law such as judgment, mercy and faith. Notice the word “judg­ment” in this context. The word has many shades of meaning in Scripture, but the context helps to determine its meaning. Here it is used in the sense of an “equi­table decision.” While we are forbidden to judge others in the sense of condemn­ing them, Jesus here enjoins the exercise of judgment in the sense, so well ex­pressed by L. G. Sargent, of being “judi­cious without being judicial.” The blind leaders illustrated this lack of judgment when, according to the denunciation of Jesus, they carefully washed the outside of the dish and yet cared not that the food inside was morally unclean because they obtained it by extortion and excess. And then he immediately made the direct application to them by saying they out­wardly appeared righteous to men, but were full of hypocrisy and iniquity. A relevant fact, terrible to contemplate, is that they were unaware, for the most part, of their condemned state. Such is the deceitfulness of sin.

Jesus also pointed to their self-asser­tion in loving places of honor, to be seen of men, and their desire to be addressed as “master,” and then he set out guiding principles to rebuke such self-seeking (verses 8-12). These precepts are recog­nized in our constitution, and as a people we recognize no authoritative head except Christ. While human nature naturally seeks power we do well to guard against the evils of dictatorship. There is, never-the less, danger of going to the opposite extreme and despise effective organization. Discerning judgment is needed to strike a right balance between opposite ex­tremes. We must not encroach on indivi­dual liberty, yet for the general welfare, liberty must not be allowed to jeopardize order.

While Jesus has finished his earthly ministry, our duty of inviting men to take shelter under his wings remains. If our invitation is to be effective to those without, it must be evident to them that the love of Christ is in our midst. How can we attain these objectives if we do not understand how to apply the Lord’s commandments? Surely this is a challenge to all of us to seek understanding from God’s Word, and it is the duty of exhort­ing brethren to help us understand what Jesus would have us do.

After reflecting on the chapter read it seems that the main reason for the failure of the Scribes and Pharisees to follow Jesus is that they were too big to get under his wings. There wasn’t room for them in their puffed-up state. In an antagonistic mood, the chicken with ruf­fled feathers presents a puffed-up appear­ance. In their inflated state the Pharisees Scribes were devoid of love, for “love is not puffed up.” We have the appraisal of Jesus of them as a class in the parable of the Pharisee and the publican. The Phari­see addressed God in his prayer with an empty form of words; Jesus says he “prayed thus with himself” because he then proceeded to preen the feathers of his own accomplishments instead of im­ploring God’s mercy as the publican did. Jesus in effect says: “This man is too big in his own sight to get under my wings, while the other man is small enough be­cause he sees the need for God’s mercy.” In the same context the Lord states the principle: “. . . every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.” Is it a mere coincidence that Luke’s Gospel then records the Lord’s remedy for such bigness? Jesus rebuked the impertinence of his disciples by saying: “Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God . . . Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a Little Child, shall in no wise enter therein.”

There is room only for little chickens under the mother hen’s wings, and after they experience the warmth of her body they accept the crowded conditions as a mutual arrangement. Only by so behaving is the mother hen able to shelter and warm them all. There is a counterpart in ecclesial life. Our Lord has laid down the principle that we are his friends on the condition that we keep his command­ments. There is no room under the shelter of his wings for the self-exalted. Two little chickens may fight over a morsel of food. But they have forgotten about it when the time arrives to be gathered un­der the mother’s wings. Our own young have the same admirable trait of quickly forgetting a childish quarrel. The Apostle Paul tells us to cultivate this habit of children forgiving quickly when he says, “In malice, be ye children.”

But what are we to do about the chick­ens that are too big to get under the shel­tering wings? Should we leave them out in the cold to shiver? By no means. Let us remember the Lord’s words: “How of­ten would I have gathered thy children together.” It is our work to do the gather­ing during the Lord’s absence, and it cov­ers a work among those within, as well as inviting those who are without to exper­ience the warmth of Christ’s friendship. Our Lord has given explicit directions on how to go about it. In Matthew 18 he outlines the procedure to follow when someone has wandered from the shelter­ing wings into the way of sin. And here again we need to exercise judgment in comprehending the nature of our Lord’s rule and what it is intended to accom­plish. Because it is the basis for rules in our constitution, some may regard it as a harsh legal procedure to use only as a means of curbing incorrigible sinners—a handy device only for the big and bold to use. On the contrary, only little ones have the humility to use it legitimately. The real purpose of this rule is so dif­ferent that we may well dwell a while upon it.

The setting will help our understand­ing. Jesus had been telling his disciples while on the way to Jerusalem of his impending suffering and death. So far were the disciples from their Lord in understanding and sympathy for the ordeal that lay ahead of him that they could only talk about who would be greatest when Jesus reigned in glory, who would have the chief places of honor. When they stopped for the night at a house in Capernaum Jesus asked them what they had been talking about on the way. They were dumbfounded by the question. Then Jesus called a little child of this house­hold, set him in their midst and used him for a lesson. “Except ye be converted and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.” To be so converted requires that we try to cultivate the desirable traits of little chil­dren: unbounded faith in our Father, quick to forget quarrels, the humility to learn from others and willing acceptance of people regardless of social status.

Jesus used the child as a pattern and type of those “little ones” who believe in Jesus, in the discourse that follows in Matthew 18. They must learn to live peaceably together. Stumbling blocks will be put in their way. But believers will also deceive themselves with activities in life if they allow them to crowd Jesus out. Better to cut off the hand or pluck out the eye if necessary; in other words, stop the abuses of otherwise harmless activities. Better to make sacrifices than to lose eternal life. These dangers re­quire believers to help each other in over­coming causes of stumbling either in themselves or others. And the parable of the lost sheep is in this context. To leave the ninety and nine and go after the lost one is the way we fulfill the will of the Father “that not one of these little ones should perish.” That forgiveness must be freely granted is clearly emphasized by the last parable in Matthew 18, which is not in this context by accident. When we go on such a mission we seek not to condemn but to convince, and if a sec­ond attempt is needed we take with us those most fitted to aid in recovering our brother. Mutual willingness to forgive offenses is necessary for success. There is no better way to clear up a misunder­standing, and only if hardness of heart persists, is the outcome likely to result in permanent loss of a brother. Of this rule Brother Roberts wrote: “Unless indivi­dual offenses are strictly treated in this way, the community will constantly be in danger of disturbance and even disruption. . . Let Christ’s wise rule be insisted upon and the mischief is stopped at its beginning” (Ecclesial Guide). The alternative to strict observance of this rule is an intolerable state of ecclesial tur­moil in which it would be impossible to pursue the objectives for which we are organized.

We can readily understand the need for traffic regulations and driver qualifi­cations to avoid chaos on our streets and highways. Reckless drivers are grounded to protect the rights of others. Incompet­ence and ignorance of the law on the part of violators do not relieve them from responsibility, nor lessen their ability to cause serious injury. The same principle applies to the ecclesia. Unwise use of the tongue can cause casualties in the eccle­sia.

Christ’s rule is the wise and loving way to approach these problems. If it is done in the spirit of Galatians 6:1, the one approached and the one who makes the approach have everything to gain when the motive is reconciliation. The right use of Matthew 18 has nothing to do with a hammer and tongs approach. Admittedly, it is a difficult work to per­form with competence. But it is the duty of all to help enforce the rule. When an evil report is listened to, we share the guilt of the reporter. At such times we should kindly and tactfully remind him to report directly to the victim and tell him that we are not interested in hearing the details. Thus Jesus has set out the way to bring harmony among the little ones who follow him. Gathering under his wings is both a subjective and objective work. We must work on ourselves first before we are qualified to help others to become “little” enough to gather there.

Human nature has not changed. Let us beware of thinking we are not suscept­able to the tragedy which engulfed the Pharisees. Traditions, established customs and lack of discernment, can deceive us, too. On the other hand, if we are aware of our need to be rescued from our own fleshly thinking, we will welcome the transforming power of the Word to help us acquire new ideals. Our ideals will de­termine which we wish to be—”big” or “little.” Do we think “big” or “little?”

We are all innately “big” in our own sight. Unless we are converted and be­come as little children we shall be unable to get under Christ’s wings. His life is our pattern to follow. We remember his care for “little’ ones, which at times caused his indignation to be directed toward the “big” ones. Only faithful fol­lowers can be recipients now of his gracious promise, “My peace I give unto you.” By opening our hearts to receive it, we shall be choosing the way that leads into the kingdom of peace and righteousness, when “the Sun of right­eousness shall arise with healing in his wings” outstretched for all who have grown .”little” enough to obtain shelter there.