Daily Reflection
December 6, 2025

When I sat down with the readings for today I thought to myself, “Wow, could there be a more appropriate, important, and well timed message then the one we are reflecting on right here?” It seems that within our communities both big and small, there is a swirling sense of mistrust, skepticism, anxiety, and even angsty-ness. We turn on the TV or open our phones and computers to nearly any site and we experience opposition, conflict, and tension of some kind. And all of this tension seems to come from our anxiety and fear of “the other.” It seems as though our tolerance and civility for people, policies, and opinions that don’t match our own is at an all-time low. And it shows up in how we talk to and about each other and in the negative energy that swirls through the air. So, when I read the line in Matthew’s Gospel that says, “At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd,” I thought to myself – “this certainly sounds like what we are feeling today.”

This morning my wife and I were out taking a walk and for some reason my attention kept taking me to the birds. I love birds, but this morning I seemed more acutely aware of them. I started thinking about how many kinds of birds are in my neighborhood and that each one has a unique look, sound, shape, and size. In fact, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology (my favorite bird site) says that there are 11,145 different species of birds in the world. On our walks I especially love to hear them sing together as if they are putting on a concert for everyone in the neighborhood. I felt overwhelmed with gratitude about the gift of the birds, and I realized that my gratitude stems from their diversity. If we just had one kind of bird that ever existed, yes it would be beautiful in its look and song. But putting them all together, the gift is exponentially more with all the varying colors, tones, and flight patterns. What joy the diversity of 11,145 different kinds of birds bring to the world.

My feelings about the birds took me back to the troubles we are experiencing in the world today. So much of our conflict seems to come from our dualistic minds focusing on the differences of “the other” in their politics, race, religion, sexual orientation, or just about anything that is not like me or my group. I think if we had just one kind of bird in the world, rather than 11,145, we might feel like we had a sense of order, understanding, and control. In some ways this might make our lives easier. But if this were the case, the morning song that I hear in my neighborhood might also start to sound boring and even fad into the background going unnoticed. The diversity of “the other” in the morning concert seems to be profoundly critical to its brilliance. The birds don’t seem to mind that there are over 11,000 species different from themselves. They all just sing together anyway. Each bird sounds beautiful on its own. But together they sound magical.

Perhaps the birds have something to teach us about civility and the importance of diversity. Isaiah says in today’s reading, “No longer will your Teacher hide himself, but with your own eyes you shall see your Teacher.” And further Jesus says through Matthew, “The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Perhaps the gift of the birds is the Teacher shown to the world in a brilliant demonstration to make himself known and to demonstrate that “The Kingdom” is here and now for all if we only have eyes to see and hearts that are open to “the other.”