Brian took a wonderful photo of Momma Dove, the bird who has built her nest in our camellia bush. Today's Psalm appointed for Evening Prayer made me think of Mother God as a she-bird , carefully tending to the vulnerable , needy creatures in Her care.
Months of Covid Life has me feeling tiny and vulnerable, much like a baby bird. Even as springtime offers its yearly resurrection, I am wary of expecting too much too soon.
Let's look at the Psalm appointed for today.
They set your sanctuary on fire;
they profaned the dwelling place of your name,
bringing it down to the ground.
8 They said to themselves, “We will utterly subdue them”;
they burned all the meeting places of God in the land.
9 We do not see our signs;
there is no longer any prophet,
and there is none among us who knows how long.
10 How long, O God, is the foe to scoff?
Is the enemy to revile your name forever?
11 Why do you hold back your hand, your right hand?
Take it from the fold of your garment[c] and destroy them
When COVID first hit our shores, we were told to " flatten the curve" by staying isolated for two to four weeks. Okay, I'd thought, this sucks but it is not permanent. Yet as weeks slowly turned into months and people continued to defy the regulations put forth for the slowing of the virus, I felt abandoned by God and { more strongly } by my state and federal government. I watched COVID-related hospital cases climb to scary proportions while a majority of people in my county and state scoffed at wearing masks and staying home.
I remember asking anyone who would listen " How long must we live this artificial existence?"
"How long, O God, is the foe to scoff?
Is the enemy to revile your name forever?
11 Why do you hold back your hand, your right hand."
Brian and I found a wee bit of sanctuary in going to the water on weekday mornings. At least there we could commune with the non-human creatures and feel the sun and wind on our faces.
Then came September , 2020. Hurricane Sally roared ashore for an unexpected visit to Pensacola, dumping record-setting rain on the Greater Pensacola area. Thanks to some human error and negligence, the Three Mile Bridge was damaged and rendered unusable. As Florida Winter set in and daylight hours started to wane, I found myself falling into a serious depression.
I am blessed to know God as a Mother Bird, because I see that aspect of the Godhead in people around me. Number one of my list is my spouse, Brian. he loves me at my best and these past few months have seen him love me at my worst.
Like a Mother Bird, God protects and comforts us-- especially when we feel abandoned by Her. In Jesus-- God -with-Us, we are given a way to be that is the epitome of this Mother Bird God. Our duty as followers of Christ is to love each other -- all people-- the way a mother bird tends to her chicks.
She feeds them.
She defends them.
She keeps them warm and safe from predators and the elements.
She exhibits a sacrificial LOVE that can only be known to humans by gazing at Jesus on a cross.
Amen.
Sarah Elizabeth McCarren
Wednesday of Holy Week 2021
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