All God’s Sparrows: Reflection on Matthew 10: 24-33
Eric Hollas, OSB
Saint John’s Abbey, Collegeville, MN
13 July 2013
I used to think that God had to have better things to do than sit around all day watching out for sparrows and counting the hairs on our head. But then I realised that I was reading God’s job description through my own very human eyes.
You would think that God would be more concerned about poverty and the environment and world peace, than birds and hair. After all, in our most idealistic moments those are among the things that we care deeply about. And on the other days we fret about filling our barns and bank accounts to overflowing.
There’s no denying the importance of security in this world, and that’s why we all invest so much energy in that quest. Even monks do so. But the Gospel reminds us that from God’s perspective these are only a few pieces of the much larger puzzle of life.
In his recent visit to the Italian island of Lampedusa Pope Francis lamented the indifference that the world seems to show to refugees. His words were praised in some quarters and lambasted in others. But Francis certainly struck a chord as he spoke of how difficult it can be to believe that God loves each and every person. And to the immigrant and the homeless and the ignorant, I would add our immediate neighbor. How difficult it can be to break out of our narrow circle to see God in others.
If Pope Francis could see the face of Christ in people standing on the shores of Lampedusa, I’m sure he would not mind if we ran with the idea to include the people we bump into every day. To dismiss those around us as just so many worthless sparrows is to turn our backs on the God who watches over them.
It’s nice to know that as we age we cooperate in God’s work almost by default. After all, we lighten God’s work load by having fewer and fewer hairs to count. But wouldn’t it be nice if we took a more active role in doing God’s work. How much better would it be if we saw Christ in the sparrows sitting on either side of us. And if enough of us did it, perhaps God might be able to take an occasional afternoon off.
