Birds

I feel ill at ease these days.  The cruelty and carnage in Gaza and Israel are unimaginable. Our country’s government is badly broken and whatever form of democracy we enjoy is being threatened as we face an impending election.  I sense a strong urge to distract myself. I want to buy something, go someplace, or be with someone. If I am honest I feel an underlying hum of dread. 

Yet, as I sat this morning having my coffee and smoothie for breakfast I was mesmerized by the birds in my yard.   Happily eating, flitting about, zooming through the sky and enjoying the day, they seemed to be at peace.  How carefree they appeared to be.

Jesus lived in a time that felt much like ours. His country was fraught with war, injustice, cruelty, and deprivation.  The Romans held the Jewish people in a strangle hold.  Any dissenters were tortured and publicly hung as a warning to anyone else who might be tempted to do the same. The religious establishment was in bed with the political powers. It all seemed hopeless. Yet, in that time and in that place Jesus paused by the road and said: 

“Consider the birds of the air.  They don’t sow or reap or store in barns, and yet, your heavenly father feeds them.  Are you not of much greater value than they are?”   Matthew 6:26

 At first reading it appears that Jesus is saying bad things don’t happen to birds. But, let’s face it.  Birds fly into windows and break their necks.  They get electrocuted on power lines, and bigger birds swoop out of the sky and eat them. Their lives are constantly threatened.  So how are we to comfort ourselves as we consider these birds?  I think we can be sure that the birds are not thinking about the next hour or day or year.  They are inhabiting the moment they are in. 

Volumes have been written about the importance and benefit of disciplining ourselves to stay in the present moment. But why is it so hard?   Research has shown that we are hard-wired to be self-protective.  We can count how many bullets we have in a gun, how much money we have in the bank, how reliable our security system is etc.  But, all of that is only a warm blanket of delusion. Such thinking lulls us into a false sense of security and control. Let’s face it, being out of control is terrifying.  

What if: 

 There is a nuclear war.

 A shooter comes into my kid’s school.

 I get cancer.

 The economy crashes and I lose my job and all my money.

 An earthquake demolishes my house.

In all these imagined scenarios I want a plan, resources, and a way out.  I want control to somehow assure myself that I am safe. 

Meanwhile, those birds we are admonished to consider, are gloriously free of such thinking.

 Jesus spoke about the futility of worry when he said,

“Do not worry about your life. Who of you, by worrying can add a single hour to his life”… (Matthew 6:25)

Ekhart Tolle says:

“The most decisive event in your life is when you discover you are not your thoughts or emotions.  Instead, you can be present as the awareness of your thoughts and emotions”.  

In other words we can learn to observe our thoughts. As I pay attention and observe my thoughts I can see them come and go.  I can say things like:

“Oh there it is, that thought about (fill in the blank).   I can get on that train and ride it for hours or I can simply let it go”.   Of course, this interruption of our incessant thinking requires attention.  That’s why meditation is seen as such an important exercise for our brains.  In meditation we see our thoughts arise, we identify them, and we gently let them go.  As we recognize our thoughts and let them go we find ourselves solidly in the present moment, like the birds. 

After drawing our attention to the fact that birds are not occupied with the future, Jesus tells us that God loves them, feeds them and promises to do the same for us.    But I could point to plenty of evidence to the contrary.  Lots of people die of disease and hunger.   The people in Gaza with no medical care and no water to drink are not experiencing God’s feeding. 

So what kind of care and food does Jesus promise us?  What is most essential for our well-being? 

At the risk of offending some of you I have wondered if, in fact, the preservation of our physical lives is not important to God.  Many times in Scripture we are warned of the danger of “losing” our souls.  But I cannot think of one solitary verse or teaching that warns us about the dangers of losing our physical lives.  As a matter of fact, God seems to be absent when it comes to the preservation of human life. Volcanos and earthquakes kill thousands.  Wars and cruelty take the lives of children, women and the weak.  How can this be if, God has promised to preserve our physical lives?

Consider these admonitions from Scripture:

“What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?”  Mark 8:36.  

“Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul “

Matthew 10:28

“Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life”. Proverbs 4:23

When Jesus allowed himself to be crucified he demonstrated that the preservation of his own physical life was secondary to the preservation of His soul.  As He died He said, “Into thy hands I commit my spirit.”   Luke 23:46

This prioritization of “life” is the very opposite of most human thinking.  We live in a physical universe.  We carry ourselves around in a physical body. So, we seek physical safety.    There must be something much more important.  

The real enemies of our lives are not the things that threaten our bodies.  The real enemies of our lives are the things that corrupt our souls.   We can be consumed by greed, by hatred , by dishonesty, by arrogance, by addictions.  These are the enemies that pose the greatest threat to our lives. 

The food that Jesus promises us is not physical bread and water.   

The food God promises us in all circumstances, is the food of His love and companioning presence.  He promises a peace that passes any human way of thinking.  He promises to sustain us no matter how tough things become.

The soul can suffer great injustice without resorting to hate.  The soul can suffer cruelty, hunger, misunderstanding, betrayal, poverty, and disease and remain steadfast in love. For example, after nearly 30 years of being unjustly imprisoned Nelson Mandela emerged from his cell having won the friendship of his guards by loving them. Jesus, broken and bleeding hanging from a Roman cross implored God to forgive those who were responsible because they did not know what they were doing.  It is a complete reordering of our minds to prioritize life like this.

Jesus said, “I am the bread of life.  Whoever, comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty”.  John 6:35

God is offering to protect and sustain our souls in love no matter what we encounter in our human journeys. 

We live in a broken, threatening, compromised world. There are plenty of reasons to feel vulnerable, weak and afraid.  But we can choose to stop our reflexive repetitive thinking.  We can pause and consider the birds. We can choose to live in the moment we inhabit.  And in that moment we can open ourselves to the life-giving, sustaining love of God for our souls. 

“Nothing can separate us from the love of God.  Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats..None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us.   I’m absolutely convinced that nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable, absolutely NOTHING can get between us and God’s love. “   Roman 8:38-39.