‘Charm on Goldfinch, charm on’

‘Charm on Goldfinch, charm on’

‘Charm on Goldfinch, charm on’

# Reflections

‘Charm on Goldfinch, charm on’


Reflection three – ‘Charm on Goldfinch, charm on’

This is the third in a series of reflections looking at the natural world and finding God’s presence there. Again, I’m in the Rectory garden but this time I’m in front of a tree filled with bird feeders (which are occasionally raided by squirrels) and will be reflecting on how birds can reveal glimmers of God’s presence on Earth. 

Matthew chapter 6, verse 26 says: ‘ 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?’

Birds have no concept of planning ahead or storing food, yet God provides for them. If God is doing this for birds, think how much he is providing for us.

Psalm 50 verse 11: ‘I know every bird in the mountains, and the insects in the fields are mine.’ This verse reminds us that God created the world and everything in it; birds and insects are God’s creatures.

St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals, built bonds of love with all kinds of creatures in the animal kingdom. But he had a special relationship with birds, who often followed him around and rested on his shoulders, arms, or hands as he prayed or walked around outside. His prayer celebrates the freedom of birds and their closeness to God.

"My sweet little sisters, birds of the sky, you are bound to heaven, to God, your Creator. In every beat of your wings and every note of your songs, praise Him. He has given you the greatest of gifts, the freedom of the air.”

‘Goldfinch’ written in 2020, is very much a poem for our times. It expresses our need to experience God’s presence in the world and to feel hope. Goldfinches are ‘gifts of light’.

Goldfinch  by Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris:

‘God knows the world needs all
the good it can get right now –
Out in the gardens and fields,
Goldfinches are gilding the land for free,
Leaving little gifts of light:
a gleam for the teasel, 
a glint for the tree.

Did you hear their high scattered song,
their bright wings’ flitter,
Falling around you as flecks,
As grains, as glitter?
Imagine the loss of their lustre, 
the lack of their sheen:
No more shimmer, a worrying absence of gilt.
Charm on, Goldfinch, charm on –
Heaven help us when
All your gold is gone.’

Wherever we are, birds are all around us, singing their melodious praise for the little they have. Their lives are simple but free. They live in the present, with no concept of planning for the future. They have no organised system for providing for themselves beyond the moment they're in, yet still they eat and survive.

This is such a contrast to our own complicated, lockdown lives, where freedom often feels like a distant memory. We inhabit a world where we can no longer congregate joyously, take communion together or collectively worship in church.

Yet we have plenty to be joyous about, God loves us and created us to be his beloved children. We have the freedom to love the world around us and to help those in need.

Life may feel full of suffering and darkness, but God is here. His extraordinary presence can be felt in the ordinary birds sitting on our bird feeders. God offers us sustenance through the natural world He created.

We just need to have faith that God loves us all and there will be enough. So keep filling your bird feeders, smile at the squirrels (God created them too!) and marvel at the flashes of gold revealing God’s light in the world. 

With blessings

Rev Rona

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