MEDITATION AT THE BIRD FEEDER

Psalm 84:2-4
Luke 12:6-7
John 6:37-39

I came home on Sunday after lunch to find a crowd of starlings and a lone mourning dove splashing in the snow melt water in the eaves of the garage.

The mourning dove and I are not strangers. Built into a corner of my deck is a bird table (flat, open bird feeder). I often see the same, single dove out there, usually sharing it with a noisy crowd of sparrows.

 English house sparrows and starlings are not native to North America. Brought over from England because immigrants missed their songs, both are often considered pest species. Myself, I have a kind of love/hate relationship with sparrows.

 There's a reason male sparrows are “bulls.” They are the bullies of the bird feeder. The males, in particular are very territorial and aggressive. I've watched them chase other birds away from bird feeders, and then they make a mess as they pick through and discard seeds they don't want. They're also really noisy, especially in the morning. Early risers, they often awake me before my alarm goes off at 5:00 am.

 Yet, that mourning dove is usually there when they're feeding, ignoring their personal squabbles and their attempts to drive it off.

 English house sparrows are one of the most common bird species in the world.  No wonder Matthew priced them out at five for a penny (copper coin).   Yet, as annoying as they can be, Psalm 84 tells us that even sparrows find a home beside the altars in the house of the Lord.  God welcomes them and provides a safe sanctuary where they can raise their young in safety and security.  In the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, Jesus tells us that our Creator is so lovingly aware of them that God even knows when one of them falls to the ground.

 I love those noisy, bothersome sparrows because they remind me of my humanity and my own flaws. At my worst, I am selfish, argumentative, pushy and irritable. Yet despite how unlovable I am, God still loves me, unconditionally and steadfastly.  God has a place in God's heart just for me.  And just for you.

Jesus points out that if God loves a common sparrow so much, we are worth even so much, much more to God.  God is so intimately interested in our well being that God can tell each and everyone of us how many hairs are on our heads.

 Like that dove among the sparrows, during winter storms and sunny, warm days, the presence of Christ through the Holy Spirit is with us, even at our noisiest and most bothersome, loving and caring for us, no matter what. In John 6:37-39, Jesus assures us that those who have been given to Him by the Father, those who are followers of Christ, can never be snatched away from Him – never.

 So when we're feeling unlovable and unloved, when it seems like life is a blinding snowstorm or a deep dark night, we can find comfort in this:

 God's eye is on the sparrow, and we can trust, never doubt it, that God watches over us.



"His Eye Is on the Sparrow" sung by Selah

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