Home Birds



A few weeks ago there was great excitement when we noticed activity at a birdbox on the shed wall that has been vacant since we hung it there many years ago. A pair of coal tits decided it would make a good home for their family and set about the furnishings and bedding inside. And then there was quiet for a while, but last week the activity increased exponentially, and we realised that the chicks have now hatched! We are thrilled watching mother and father coal tit flying rapidly in and out from early morning until evening trying to keep the babies fed! It is extraordinary how much food is needed and how busy the parents are trying to provide. At some stage over its empty years, the box had got a knock and is hanging crooked on the wall, but now we don’t dare to straighten it in case we disturb the growing family!

Our coal tit family prompted me to reflect on the challenges of family life in the modern world. Not everyone can find a cosy home to live in. Not everyone can provide enough food for their children. The birds do not have to worry about the cost-of-living-crisis. Maybe we can envy the birds, but like them, we must also work hard to make a living and provide for the vulnerable in our families. There is no such thing as an easy life and not everyone has a home to go to.

What is a “home”? It should be a place of security, love and care. Many people have had the security of their previous homes destroyed due to war. Many people have never known love and care where they live, so have never known a true “home”. All these people are in my thoughts and prayers as I reflect on this theme of “home”.

The Ascension of Jesus is celebrated this week (in some countries on Thursday and in others on Sunday). This was the “homecoming” of Jesus to his Father in Heaven. But before he left us, he made a promise: “make your home in me as I make mine in you…” (Jn 15:1). If Jesus makes his home in us, then the Father and Spirit are dwelling in us too. This is the teaching of our Carmelite St Elizabeth of the Trinity – God dwells within us. Heaven with the Father, Son and Spirit of infinite love is in our souls. What a profound thought!

Again, Jesus said: “make your home in me…” When we are in need of the security, love and care of a homeplace, let us go within our hearts and souls and be at home with God who dwells within us. He is a God who cares for us and loves us so much more than the birds of the air. “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” Matt 6:26

 

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