Fly Like the Birds

As I was doing my lectio divina and prayer Psalms this morning and yesterday, my attention was drawn to the constant coming and going of sparrows at our bird feeder. I got to wondering, even speculating about what they think as they manage their flights. Some seem to come swooping in from high above only to veer off on a sharp vertical path out of my sight. Some seem to come in smoothly and perch on the edge, rewarded by their morning meal. As some come in, seeming intent of landing, something warns them off and they even seem to drop sharply to the ground. Some seem to take off from the feeder effortlessly, while others jerk a couple of times before getting into their flight path. I am very aware that different birds have quite different flight patterns, and sparrows are among the flutterers. Watching them come and go, I paid attention to the shifting positions and speed of their wings as they made these various maneuvers. I thought about my nephew Tom Williams who is a pilot and knows how to use the controls to get an airplane to take off, climb, steer, descent, and land. I know that takes a lot of knowledge, training, and skill. He has to be alert and thinking to do it. So I wonder how birds use intentional thought to fly.

Then today, I came to Psalm 55:5-8 today. It brought together my awe at watching sparrows fly and the anxiety I am sure many if not all of us feel with COVID-19 – not just with health but with practical economics, social isolation, uncertainty about what’s next. I know, dove not sparrow, but I think a lot of us can identify with wanting to get far away.

“Fear and trembling come upon me, and horror overwhelms me. And I say, ‘O that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest; truly, I would flee far away; I would lodge in the wilderness; would hurry to find a shelter for myself from the raging wind and tempest.’”

I don’t want to get into all of the political and public health controversies that are swirling around us right now. But for a long time, well before COVID-19, I have been concerned about how the divisiveness and polarization in our society is infecting the Church, our neighborhoods, workplaces, friendships, and families. Just a little farther down, Psalm 55:12-14 trembles with this pain, even as it reminds us that it is hardly new. It evokes for me an intense prayer for unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. (Ephesians 4:3; Philippians 2:2-4; 4:2)

“It is not enemies who taunt me— I could bear that; it is not adversaries who deal insolently with me— I could hide from them. But it is you, my equal, my companion, my familiar friend, with whom I kept pleasant company; we walked in the house of God with the throng.”

Pondering the juxtaposition of watching the sparrows coming and going at the feeder with Psalm 55, I was brought back to where I started today with Psalm 25:4-5,9. My prayer is for the humility not to overthink what is beyond me, but to welcome the Lord to teach me the way.

“Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth, and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all day long. … He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way.”