Lent & the Backyard Bird Count

                 Artist Kelley McManus added the crow after creating this image for a children's curriculum 

 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him.

And a voice came from heaven, "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased."
And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness.He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.

Mark 1:9-13 NRSVue

 The six weeks of the Christian liturgical season of Lent often takes from Winter into Spring, as the days lengthen or "lencten" (the Old English source of the word Lent.) Because Easter is a moveable feast, related to the moon of the Spring equinox, Ash Wednesday may be more wintry on one year than another. 

Our Lenten journey has many aspects, including our Sunday readings and encouragement to take on disciplines or to abstain from certain things through the season. There is also an invitation to pay attention to what we experience along the way, through all our senses. 

This year, 2024, the Great Backyard Bird Count gets underway today and continues through what is the Family Day long weekend in Ontario. To that end there is a seminar at our local library this afternoon on attracting birds to our yards and our feeders for observation. As with many old-timers, we have a number of feeders that are visible from our family room. We experience the variety of birds seen in the needlework piece given to me by a parishioner years ago, and more -- there was a red-bellied woodpecker at a peanut feeder recently. We noticed that they were all more active before the snow began to fall yesterday. 

                                                                Vicki Stephens needlework 

After our trip to Israel last April I had a greater appreciation of Jesus' wilderness experience and the birds he might have seen during those forty days -- birds are "wild beasts" aren't they? 

Okay, this wasn't exactly his backyard -- it was rugged terrain -- but he couldn't have helped but notice the surprising variety of birds we saw when we were roaming around in the Negev desert and in the hills along the Dead Sea. I imagine there were a few vultures soaring above, checking out whether he was still moving. And yes, we visited what might have been Jesus' place of baptism in the Jordan River, although we didn't spot any doves. 

We can "consider the birds of the air" with our eyes and our ears through Lent, and even take the time to identify them. 

Prayer-walking through Lent

 

God of the Way,

you are the road we travel, and the sign we follow;

you are bread for the journey, and the wine of arrival.

Guide us as we follow in your way, holding on to each other,

reaching out to your beloved world.

And when we stray, seek us out and find us,

set our feet on the path again, and lead us safely home.

In the name of Jesus, our Companion, we pray. Amen.

Voices United 648 

In recent days we've taken advantage of sunnier days and mild weather to walk outside. We would prefer to be cross-country skiing or snowshoeing, but we have enjoyed lots of different trails. We are well aware that the temperatures are unseasonably warm and may will be setting the stage for another record-breaking year on beleaguered Planet Earth. Just the same, we know that physical movement and appreciation of the natural world are vital to health in body, mind, and spirit.

 For Christians through the centuries embarking on pilgrimages, lengthy intentional walks that were often arduous and even dangerous, was an expression of devotion. Jesus embarked on the journey to Jerusalem and the temple for festivals as did other Jews and our acknowledgment of Holy Week involves the culmination of one of those walks. 

Two things come to mind as we begin the 40-day (plus Sundays) journey through Lent. While not all of us are physically mobile, the metaphor of the journey or pilgrimage can be spiritually meaningful. Those of us who are are able to be physically active find time will benefit from outdoor walks even though they may not be the Camino or some other demanding trek. 

Years ago I asked our daughter Jocelyn, a graphic designer, to create some banners for Lent, including the one above. Recently I came upon a little book I discovered thirty years ago called Prayer-Walking by Linus Mundy -- no relation, same spelling. Since the publication  there has been so much written about the physical, psychological, and spiritual benefits of walking. There is growing research to suggest that developing into upright creatures meant that we evolved to think about when we're ambulatory. I would concur with this from personal experience and I figure I pray more effectively as well. 

Being outside also leads me into a place of gratitude and wonder regarding Creation that is essential to my well-being. My joints may be much creakier today but I will walk first and whimper later.