And we can see so transparently so many of these qualities in the life of Mary, the mother of Jesus, as she accepts, when only a young girl, the strange news of motherhood; as she makes the journey not just to Bethlehem, but into the dark valley, and not in a sterilized hospital but in a dirty stable. We see that motherly protection as she flees to Egypt; we see her standing by Him in humility at Cana, and in broken-hearted love standing beneath Him at the cross. Those qualities, the highest qualities of motherhood -- security, protection, healing, belief in the child, sacrifice, and yes, discipline -- are motherly qualities women have because they are created in the image of God. Look with me at some scriptures which show us these motherly qualities of God.

Turn to Deuteronomy 32:11-12. Here Moses, in one of his farewell speeches to the children of Israel, reminds them that God has a special place in His heart for them (v. 9). He goes on to speak of how God led and taught "Jacob," the children of Israel (v. 10). Then Moses changes his picture of God, and remembers how he watched, one day on the backside of Midian, a mother eagle teaching her young one to fly. She tried and tried to coax the young eaglet out of the nest and into the air, to no avail. Finally she swooped down from the sky, and with wings and talons she swept both nest and eaglet over the edge of the ledge and into the chasm. And as he fell, the young eagle began to flap his wings and fly in descending circles. As he tired, the mother eagle flew under him and caught him on her back, where he rested until he had strength to fly again. That, says Moses, is the way God works with His people. "As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings: so the Lord did lead him ..." God, like a mother, disciplines us, teaches us, pushes us out into the world to use our wings. Some call it tough love; I expect it was as tough on the mother eagle as on the eaglet; as hard on the mother as on the child, and not a joyful task for God, either. God as the mother eagle ....

Now examine Matthew 23:37. The image of God as a mother eagle may seem severe; here the image of God as the mother hen is softer. Most of us who are adults have seen the mother hen clucking and the chicks running to gather under her wings for safety and protection. Jesus, approaching Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, fastens His eyes upon the Holy City, the footstool of God, and as He does His heart is broken as He thinks of how He would have spared them the destruction speedily coming upon them.

"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem ... how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!" Jesus is saying, "I have the kind of motherly love for you that a mother hen has for her chicks; I would have gathered you to me, under the protection of my wings; but you would not respond to my call!"