Learning from the ovenbird
Text: Ezekiel 37:1-14
Last Sunday an unexpected guest arrived at our household. We found an ovenbird sitting on our porch. it was alive and breathing heavily. Soon, all of our eyes fixed on the bird. At first, we thought it might be thirsty, so we provided some water. It was warm and humid with nearly 30 degree, and we had seen how bees quenched their thirst in the bee bath we made in our backyard. Our younger son also provided some seeds in case it was hungry. But our hospitality, despite the best intention, was not well received. The bird didn’t seem to be interested in any of those. None of us was an expert about birds, so I posted a picture of the bird on Manitoba birding Facebook page asking for help. People are eager to help! It didn’t take long for us to realize that the bird was most likely suffering from a window strike. The best thing we could do was to provide a shelter. It was so windy, and a couple of crows were wandering around. So, we moved the bird where it could hide from any harms. I promised my kids to take it to the wildlife rehabilitation centre first thing in the morning if we would find the bird still there.
The distressed ovenbird reminded me of the current circumstances we are in. About 14 months ago, we hit a wall that none of us experienced before. Being cut off physically from our loved ones and community, we may have been suffering from a sense of disorientation, isolation, and dislocation. The long haul of the covid-19 pandemic demands of us new language to understand where we are, and to express how we feel. I found myself in need of courage and wisdom everyday not only to survive but to thrive and eventually to breakthrough. I searched for my answers in books, movies, and conversations, but none of them gave me as clear a picture as the troubled ovenbird did. Its image was so powerful that I could identify with it. The ovenbird and I shared in an interrupted life. And we also had the same need – to reconnect to our community.
What do you miss most during these times? Your answer speaks of what you value most in life. What do you miss most about church? Your answer tells you what you most appreciate about church. It can speak so much about your understanding of church, and where you find your spiritual nourishment. For example, if you miss feeding the hungry, that’s how you express your faith. If It is fellowship with sisters and brothers in Christ, that’s how you nurture your spirituality. I was struck by Jennifer’s heartfelt sharing during her virtual concert. “Do you remember the coffee house is in the packed Upper Hall, the concert is in the sanctuary with the band and choirs and singers standing shoulder to shoulder lifting their voices to a room full of real people!” As for me, I miss pastoral visiting – looking into the eyes, being able to hold space, and embracing the Holy Mystery through conversations. What we miss about church is how we find our connection to God.
Today’s text contains one of the most horrific images in the Bible – a valley full of dry bones. But the same passage also speaks of one of the most hopeful visions – how the breath of God brings new life. God’s vision starts where there seems to be no hope. Ezekiel received this vision while living in exile in Babylon. The vision was given for a people who have lost heart, who are suffering a death of the spirit, a living death. Their temple has been destroyed, and they were cut off from their land. All the things that gave them identity are no longer available. Ezekiel witnesses the soul of his people gradually withering and dying, becoming as lifeless as a valley of dry bones. Can these bones live?
The hand of God brought the prophet down in the middle of the valley, and led him all around those bones; Ezekiel was invited to look deeply into the pain, suffering, hopelessness and lifelessness first. And then, God commanded the prophet to prophesy to the breath, saying “come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon the slain, that they may live.” Notice where the breath comes from. From the four winds, which indicate God’s cosmic reach. What the community is missing most also speaks of their spirituality. Yes, they miss their temple, and their connection to their community, but it’s the breath of God that makes them who they really are. Their very essence - the sprit, the wind, and the breath - comes from the four directions, the full Circle of Life. Nothing is missing, dry or dead in the realm of God’s ongoing creation. Even those of us who struggle with our own spiritual dry bones can experience wholeness by embracing the work of the Spirit.
You may be wondering what happened to the ovenbird? As soon as I woke up on the next day, I went to see how she was doing. Her vivid eyes were telling me that she had recovered well. Finally, she became strong enough to move and to fly away. She flew to a wild plum tree in full blossom near our backyard. I was bit sad that she didn’t even look back. But I was relived that she was okay. I sent my best wishes on her way, admiring how she trusted in her instinct to rest for healing. After all, the ovenbird belongs to the Circle of Life just like you and me.