Faith

Lent, Week 3

It’s mid-March, and in the mangrove forests of Central and South America, sunlight has been dripping into the days by minutes, increasing their length. And deep within that forest, the male Yellow Warbler begins to feel a restlessness. So, heeding a call that has rung out to migrating birds for millennia, he heads north. It will be a long, difficult journey, filled with danger, and he is a very small bird. About 5 inches long, and at 0.4 ounces weighing about the same as a triple-A battery, he will fly for thousands of miles, settling on territory almost anywhere in North America, as far north as the tundra. He may fly non-stop over the Gulf of Mexico or all along the coast, encountering storms along the way. He will rely on stop-overs to rest and replenish his dwindling supply of the fat that fuels his very life. If his familiar resting spots have been destroyed by fire or development, he may starve before reaching the next.

Male Yellow Warbler at Magee Marsh in Ohio, an important stop-over.

So why does he migrate? What makes such a perilous journey worthwhile? What keeps this little flyer going is the promise of plentiful food and breeding space. The tremendous number of insects that emerge during spring in the north provides nearly unlimited food for breeding birds and their young. And being an early migrant, this Yellow Warbler will have his pick of the best nesting spots. This knowledge is built into his DNA. He does not doubt. He flies. He sings his beautiful song, “Sweet, sweet, I’m so sweet!” as he defends his new-found territory. And in the days and weeks to come, he will sing the same song to attract a mate from among the arriving females.

Male Yellow Warbler with food for young

This is the faith of a bird; a small bird, bright yellow, like the sun. When he leaves the mangroves and heads north he is drawn by a faith that food will be available along the way and that insects will be swarming when he arrives at his destination. He stakes his life, and his role in continuing his species, on this faith.

I think of Abraham and Sarah, that aged couple, leaving their comfortable home and all of their relatives, and traveling to an unknown land, simply because God told them to go. And childless though they were, they believed the promise that they would become the parents of a nation. This is the faith of Abraham and Sarah.

I think of all of the families leaving their homelands as I write this, traveling together through so many dangers, hoping to find a better life in a far-off land, not knowing if they will even be allowed to enter when they arrive. This is the faith of a migrant family.

A bird making its way to a nesting site. An old couple walking a road into the unknown. A young family walking together through hardship and danger into a life they can only hope to meet. You, me, and the vast throng of humanity, making our way on the paths we hope will lead to life for ourselves and those we love. Each one of us, bird or human, is pulled by circumstance or desire. And as we respond to that pull we are sustained by faith.

Meditation: May we follow the paths that call us in life. And along the way, as we meet joys and sorrows, ease and pain, safety and danger, may we have the faith of a bird.

Female Yellow Warbler

To learn more about the fascinating story of bird migration and Yellow Warblers in particular:

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/the-basics-how-why-and-where-of-bird-migration/#:~:text=Migration%20can%20be%20triggered%20by%20a%20combination,predators%20*%20Communication%20towers%20and%20tall%20buildings

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/the-basics-how-why-and-where-of-bird-migration/

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-do-birds-know-when-to-migrate/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow_warbler#:~:text=American%20yellow%20warblers%20breed%20in,shrubland%2C%20farmlands%20and%20forest%20edges.