(Available also in mp3.)
One of the most striking images in the New Testament is the one Jesus uses here. Jesus is warned that he might be killed by Herod if he keeps doing what he's doing. Jesus then notes that he is not in Jerusalem yet, so it is not the place for him to die. Jerusalem is the Big Shot place, the home of the Temple and headquarters of the authorities, the ones who usually do such killings. (Keep in mind : that is where he ended up dying. But that is yet to come.)
Then, Jesus lets his emotions out. "How I'd love to gather you under My wings", He says, "but you would not be gathered." This is God the Mother Hen, trying to hide the chicks from the fox (the Herods of the world). Most sermons nowadays make so much of the feminine imagery, though God is treated as Jerusalem's mother in Isaiah 66 -- or the image of God as a bird, though in Ezekiel 10, God's far from being as puny as a chicken.
Important as that is, the main thrust of Jesus' saying is not in the image of God he uses, it's in what the little chicks do. They refuse to be guarded. They won't stay under the wing! The result is that they will be left "desolate". Maybe the fox will have little chicken nuggets for lunch; or, they'll just get lost in the cold world and freeze or starve. Their survival depends on the mother hen, but these bird-brains want nothing of it !
Who scurries out from under the wing?
Lord, teach me to trust you and your love for me. Tuck me under your wings. Keep me safe from the foxes prowling in my life. Amen.
There's also a downloadable Lent and Easter PDF file with lots of stuff about Lent, and Lent devotionals.