Sabbath Devotional :: Feathers

“He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge. His faithfulness will be your shield and protection.” Psalms 91:4

I love the image of Christ as Mother Hen. There are also verses in 3 Nephi 10 in the setting immediately after the Nephite destruction where Christ uses the same metaphor — rich, compassionate, consoling.

We see ourselves as chicks threatened with spiritual attack but confident that we will be protected by our Redeemer. Christ as Mother Hen will swoop in, cover us with his feathers, and his sacrificed body and protect us from destruction, like a hen protects her chicks from devouring hawks. Christ and his faithful promises provide our eternal refuge and protection.

Many of the people MWEG serves are “chicks” facing the “hawks” of unethical deportation, inadequate healthcare, poor education or meager income. They are numbed by heavy taxes, desperate for appropriate housing, and willing to work but underemployed. The list goes on. Sometimes it feels like the entire country groans like the suffering Nephites.

While spiritual healing is available to them in the grander scheme of things because of the Gospel, the practical, hand’s on, food-in-the-stomach relief is often not.

This is where we come in.

As we listen to the urgings of the Spirit to act for the benefit of those in distress, we can be Christ’s feathers. Our bodies, voices, visits, phone calls, letters, donations and persistence can become a shield and protection for them. We do these things not because there is something in it for us — no potential converts (that is the Spirit’s work), no praise of men (or women), no financial remuneration. We do it because, to borrow a phrase, we choose the right. As disciples of Christ, we serve our sisters and brothers in our global family because it is the right thing to do.

And if our efforts sometimes fail or are thwarted, we take comfort and refuge, covered with Christ’s feathers and protected by His wings. And when we are healed, we fly again.