His Eye Is On The Sparrow

This morning my wife and I were sitting outside enjoying the crisp Spring air---at the outset of what is shaping up to be a beautiful day here in the Hill Country of Texas.  

We have a variety of birdhouses and birdfeeders in our backyard, scattered among terraced flower beds, and rose bushes.  One of those houses has become the home for a family of sparrows.  

While we sat and watched this morning, the mother sparrow would fly from the birdhouse and then return minutes later to feed her babies.  As soon as she would perch on the outside of the house, we could hear the little sparrows begin to cheep in unison.  

The mother went back and forth, tirelessly.  Never stopping.  It was a beautiful rhythm.  I felt like I could sit and watch her forever.  

As I sat there, I couldn't help but recall Jesus' words of comfort to his disciples when he said, "Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care." (Matthew 10:29)

We get so caught up in the tyranny of the urgent sometimes.  We worry needlessly about things we cannot change.  We try so terribly hard to solve our problems all on our own.  We often wonder if God cares about our struggles.  

But watching the sparrow, I was overwhelmed by a sense of God's timelessness and wisdom.  I saw in her rhythms the gentle pace of God's peace.  I glimpsed holiness in her service and a simple joy in her duty.  

The great Christian mystic Meister Eckhart once wrote, 

Apprehend God in all things, for God is in all things.Every single creature is full of God and is a book about God.Every creature is a word of God.If I spent enough time with the tiniest creature--even a caterpillar--I would never have to prepare a sermon.So full of God is every creature. 

Look around you today and diligently read the holy scriptures that are being written in God's good creation.  Find your place in the peaceful rhythms of grace that are embedded in our world--a world saturated in God's glory and love.  

And may the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you now and always. Amen.