I was sitting yesterday, and I heard a sudden noise, which turned put to be a small sparrow which had flown into a glass panel. There was a small puddle of fluid around him, and he just lay down in shock. He was so still he looked as if he was not breathing. Just in case, I pulled up a chair to give him some shade.

Eventually, he sat up, and he tried to fly but although he could flap his wings, not much happened. He rested some more, and then took off, only to go straight into another glass panel. He looked dazed all over again. I put some water near him, and he rested for an hour or so, before getting all his strength together and flying away.

I was so glad he made a recovery, and hope this injured bird is now flying freely with his friends. What struck me was how engrossed I became in this drama, which took hours, and how much I cared for this injured sparrow.

In the Bible it says in Matthew 10:29 ‘ what is the price of two sparrows- one copper coin. But not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without Your Father knowing it.’ NLT We are told that God cares about the life of every sparrow, and of every human being. He knows even the number of hairs on our heads, and loves each one of us.

If only we really understood this simple truth, and treated each person with reverence, with respect, with dignity. Watching the terrible loss of life and suffering in the Middle East, in the Ukraine, in the Sudan and so many other lands, the destruction and cruelty caused by human beings makes you sick. How do we ever justify such conduct? How can conflict become so normalised, that we barely notice any more. We become desensitised to it all.

Yet everytime God reminds us of His nature, of One who is good, loving, kind, just, compassionate a God who longs to bring healing and reconciliation in our hurting and broken world, even in the devastation and the ruins, we are inspired to live for Jesus. We pray for peace, we seek what is good, we support that struggling person, we give to that charity, we choose when to speak and when to be quiet with wisdom. We pray for the Holy Spirit to cleanse us from apathy and lethargy, and to choose to do His will. And we pray that the ripple effect from this spiritual uprising of prayer and love will make sure that every person  receives the care and attention they need, even as that humble sparrow. May we never give up on this vision of the very kingdom of God.

Gracious God, we remember Jesus looking at the suffering of the people in Jerusalem, wanting to gather them up as a mother hen gathers her chicks, but they were not willing. God of goodness and compassion stir up our souls out of our indifference, soften our hearts, and help us to feel again with your tender love. May we not be satisfied with the status quo, but always strive for your will to be done. Holy spirit encourage us, even if it is just to take a faltering step each day to show prayerful compassion and thoughtfulness to those we meet, and those whose painful stories we are all too familiar with. As You care for the sparrow, may we also love all those in this hurting world, Amen