Photo and Commentary ©2024 by Maylan Schurch
Friday and Sabbath, October 11 & 12, 2024
Just across the street from the entrance to our cul-de-sac is a house whose owners have taken sympathy on wild birds over the past few years. For as long as we remember, this hospitality has attracted a flock of pigeons, whom you see along the gutter above.
Shelley and I especially enjoy it when we see them flying in the air. A couple of days ago I was walking past this house and noticed that the pigeons, augmented by another flock from somewhere else, were swooping back and forth in the air above me. “Murmuration” is the term to describe what these birds are doing.
I paused for a moment to see if I could spot which bird was the leader, but I don’t think there was one. Somehow they decide as a group when they want to turn, and it’s almost synchronous, and only rarely do one or two individuals fail to follow. Within this consensus decision I don’t see any evidence of factionalism. On the contrary, it seems like idyllic fellowship.
Humans are a lot smarter and more complex than birds, of course, but the Bible insists that we need to work toward unity—not a lock-step, goose-step, robotic response, but a unity based on a united love of the Creator and His qualities.
Take a moment to ponder two Bible verses about God’s ideal for us, spoken by Paul and Jesus, at the link just below: