Today, Dr Madeline Beveridge, Pastoral Projects Leader from the Diocese of Lismore, reads from the Gospel of Luke (13: 31-35) in which Jesus tells the Pharisees: ‘Today and tomorrow I drive out devils and heal, but on the third day I attain my end’.

Madeline says in today’s Gospel, the Pharisees urge Jesus to flee, fearing for His life. He answers with a striking rebuke, calling them “foxes,” and declares that a prophet cannot die outside Jerusalem. He then mourns the city that repeatedly rejects and stones the messengers God sends, expressing a deep longing to protect its children like a mother bird sheltering her brood.

The scene teaches us two urgent lessons. First, spiritual complacency is dangerous and, secondly, that God’s love remains patient and protective, even when we push it away.

In our everyday lives this can look like the subtle ways we close our hearts: a colleague who brushes off a kind word, a family member who refuses help, or the habit of scrolling past a news story about suffering without offering prayer. The Gospel invites us to become the “hen” in our own circles—someone who intentionally creates a safe space for others to feel loved and heard.

This week think about choosing one person who seems isolated or burdened and set aside five minutes to listen without an agenda. Offer a short prayer, a word of encouragement, or simply your presence.

This small act mirrors the protective wing of Christ and turns the lament over Jerusalem into a lived reality of compassion.

In closing Madeline says, ‘May we all heed Jesus’ warning, open our hearts to the prophet’s call, and become the gentle shelter that God so lovingly promises’.