This morning we heard a ‘thud’ on our living room window. I knew right away what it was. A bird hit our window. I winced as my three year old asked, “what was that?” I told her a bird probably few into our window and may be hurt. We stepped outside to see a little bird laying in the grass with its wings laying open and contorted on the lawn. It was small sparrow. It was alive, but didn’t look well at all. We found a towel and set the bird in a better place. My daughter insisted we give the bird some water and some bird seed. As I continued to get ready to head off to work I kept stopping by to check in on our little friend in the towel. My daughter sat beside the bird and sang lullabies, watched over this little creature, and told the bird that it will be able to “get back to its mommy and daddy soon.” That bird was in good hands.
In Jesus’ day there was a lot of anxiety about life, perhaps much like we often feel today. People wondered how they could pay their bills, the tax man was due to come around, they worried about an illness in the family, and political turmoil threatened everything. In fact, the anxiety of that culture seemed to be such a concern for so many people that Jesus’s most common command was “do not be afraid.” People wondered if their lives mattered, if they were ultimately in God’s hands, and if there was any hope for them. So Jesus gathered these anxious people around and said, “…not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows.”
We are more valuable than a sparrow. Yet often we don’t feel this or see it ourselves. Talk of war, curses from a colleague, a broken marriage, an estranged family member, and job loss make us feel like maybe we are alone and unknown or unloved. Loneliness and fear seems to be endemic in our culture.
As I watched my daughter sit on the deck beside this sparrow it seemed to me that she sat as God often sits with us. We may be hurt or afraid, but we are not alone. We’re in better hands than we know. It takes only a few people to remind a hurting world that we are not alone. A parent’s assuring words reminds a child that they are loved. A spouse pulls near or a phone call to a friend can make all the difference. Even one neighbour on a street who takes even the most passing concern in the wellbeing of others can bring precisely the kind of care that can change a life. Our neighbourhoods need those who will sit and wait by those who hurt. Our neighbourhoods need good hands.
For about 20 minutes my daughter sat beside that sparrow, singing gently to it. Then, in a moment, and quite unexpectedly, the bird flew off. My daughter jumped up. At first startled, and then cheering. The bird was OK! She ran inside to share the good news, the bird made it, but more than that, the bird can “now fly back to its mommy and daddy.”
Someday soon we will all come across someone who is alone or hurting. We may not have the answers, but we can be those who sit and remind. Because we’re not alone, we’re in Good Hands.
