-God’s Loving, Creative Presence-
SCRIPTURE READING — GENESIS 1:1-5
The Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. — Genesis 1:2
Have you ever watched a seagull or a tern that seems to just hang in the air over the waves? The wind may be blustering and the waters roaring, but the bird still soars calmly over the rough ocean.
That image of hovering over turbulent waters is how the Bible first describes the Spirit of God. The word for “hovering” indicates a high degree of care, even concern, in its action, and it is unmistakably linked to the behavior of protective birds that brood over their nests, guarding and keeping their clutch warm and safe as it develops. The Holy Spirit, in his protective love, hovers over the surface of the unformed deep.
The story of creation in Genesis was given to God’s people at a time when other stories about the beginning of the world were filled with themes of violence and chaos. Into that unsettled situation, the Genesis story came as a gift that revealed God’s purposeful, loving intention to make all things good and beautiful. At the time, it would have sounded far different from the other creation stories. And because love and goodness are at the center of this story, it continues to invite people to know God as the loving, protective Creator that he is. As we’ll see this month, many other passages in the Bible also teach us something about God through the imagery of birds. Let’s keep reading and pondering together.
Loving God, help us to be continually aware of how you hover over us, keeping watch as you protect us and sustain your creation day by day. Amen.
-Learning to Pay Attention-
SCRIPTURE READING — GENESIS 1:20-26
God said, “. . . Let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.”— Genesis 1:20
For anyone who has grown up under the wide-open skies of a prairie, where the horizons are far and wide and the ground is soft, it can be quite a shock to move to the city. The concrete, high-rises, and constant bustle can be disorienting. That was my experience a couple of decades ago when I moved to Vancouver, British Columbia. Though Vancouver is a beautiful city, it wasn’t familiar or welcoming to me at first. I often walked with a downward gaze, wondering how to connect with a place that didn’t feel like home. Then one day the phrase “Look at the birds” entered my mind, and that was an unusual idea for me. From my perspective, birds were okay, but I didn’t know how to identify many of them. Yet I suddenly remembered that Jesus had said, “Look at the birds”—and I took it as a holy invitation to lift my eyes up. As I began paying attention, I saw that birds of all kinds were everywhere, in every season—even in the city! It shifted my perspective dramatically.
Perhaps you feel far from home, or as if you don’t belong in the place where you are now. Could God be inviting you to lift up your eyes so that you can take note of his work around you and his provisions in life? Will you join me in being filled with wonder as we reflect on birds as an important part of his creation?
Loving God, help us to lift up our eyes. May we notice your marvelous creation, in which you have even placed birds in the sky as a daily reminder of your care. Amen.
-Bringing Peace-
SCRIPTURE READING — GENESIS 8:6-22
When the dove returned to him in the evening, there in its beak was a freshly plucked olive leaf! Then Noah knew that the water had receded from the earth.
— Genesis 8:11
Maybe you have seen a picture or a logo showing a dove with an olive branch in its beak. That image draws from our reading for today. Over time, the image of a dove bringing a part of an olive tree has become a symbol for peace.
When we look a little closer at today’s passage, it becomes clear that Noah wasn’t just passively waiting for good, peaceful news. He first sent out a raven, a robust bird that flew “back and forth” but apparently did not come back into the ark—probably because it found plenty of carrion to eat. Noah then sent out a gentle dove—a more vulnerable bird—to go looking for signs of new growth. And then he waited attentively.
The dove soon returned because it “could find nowhere to perch.” So Noah brought it back into the ark for seven days. Then, when he sent the dove out again, it returned in the evening with an olive leaf. This meant the flood waters had receded to a safe level where the people and animals could flourish and thrive again, enjoying shalom (peace) in God’s world.
As we reflect on this, let’s consider ways in which we might participate in bringing peace in God’s world. Do we just say we want peace, or are we intentionally working toward it, even in small, possibly vulnerable ways? Are we also sharing the good news of Jesus, who brings peace and rest for people’s weary hearts?
Lord, help us to be bringers of peace in this world, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.
-Submitting to God’s Promises-
SCRIPTURE READING — GENESIS 15:1-21
The Lord said to him, “Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon.”
— Genesis 15:9
Recently in one of my high-school classes, students became quite engaged in discussing what it means to submit. They argued that it wasn’t appealing and that it might cause people to agree to things that could be harmful for them. In their view, submission is potentially dangerous. In a way, they’re right. Submitting is risky.
Today’s story about Abram believing God’s word and submitting to God’s promise is complex, and it has many cultural layers that can be hard for us to grasp. For example, we don’t make promises today by dividing animals and then walking through the pieces. In those days that meant, “If I break my promise, may the same be done to me.”
Notice, however, that Abram doesn’t walk through the divided animals, as would have been the custom. Instead, Abram goes into a deep sleep, and God passes through the pieces. The emphasis here is on God making and keeping the promise. Abram’s task will be to believe God’s promise and to live according to it.
Believing that God will keep his promises challenges us to submit and invite him to take control in our lives. And, rather than reducing our power, as some people are fearful of, this way of living brings us to live fully in the strength of God’s faithfulness and power.
Promise-keeping God, your plans for us are way beyond what we can imagine for ourselves. Help us to trust in you always. Through Jesus, Amen.
