“It may be that when we no longer know what to do we have come to our real work, and that when we no longer know which way to go we have come to our real journey. The mind that is not baffled is not employed. The impeded stream is the one that sings.” ~ Wendell Berry
Today, instead of doing yard work like I should have done, I’ve been in the sunshine reading Consider The Birds: A Provocative Guide to Birds of the Bible. Author Debbie Blue is not only biblically knowledgeable but pretty darn witty. Did you know the eagle in the bible is a mistranslation of the Hebrew word “Nesher”? A griffon vulture is the more accurate translation in English, but it’s not very sexy to picture a vulture as much of anything other than a carrion clean-up crew. That’s how many ancient societies have viewed the poor bird anyway. In any case, that’s hardly the most shocking thing in the book to me. For example, today I learned that house sparrows have been reviled for centuries. People hate them; kill them by the thousands, eat them even, put bounties on them because they destroy native species and decapitate bluebirds. It’s true, according to Cornell’s ornithology guide, that house sparrows are not native to North America (introduced to New York City in the 1850’s). They tend to congregate where there is human activity and often take over bird houses intended for other species. Still, that hardly seems cause to put a bounty of their little heads let alone eat them on skewers. “Not one sparrow is forgotten in the sight of God,” said Jesus. I think they’re delightful birds who love us and want to be near us. God doesn’t seem to mind, so why should I? I’m not going to let them nest in my house but I might build a little nest for them out back. Maybe even set up a critter cam to confirm, or deny, the bluebird beheadings. It’ll be the next YouTube sensation.
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