All of the New Testament Gospels dont always tell the same story. They have their different authors, peculiarities and points of view. But there is one story that you find in all four Gospels, told in much the same way. Its the story of the baptism of Jesus. The Spirit of God descends from the heavens like a dove, and rests upon Jesus, indicating his favor with God.
I think of that story occasionally as I watch doves come and go in our back yard. They gather the seed on the ground at the base of the bird feeder, as the feeder is not a suitable perch for their heavier bodies. Usually they come in pairs and eventually alight in nearby trees, filling the neighborhood with their plaintive calls. I wonder, do these doves bring any special message, beyond reminding me of the Jesus baptism story?
Some birds have come to have special meaning and carry special messages for me. For instance, take cardinals. Ever since I watched and listened to the cardinal sitting outside my fathers bedroom window, as he lay dying inside, cardinals have carried a unique and special gift for me. Their unanticipated appearance suggests a divine presence. Their song penetrates grief and fills me with a sense of calmness and well being. Often these days, I watch them, as they sit in the bushes by the dining room window, and impart to me a sense of peace and tranquility.
Then there are owls. Ive long believed owls are a special spiritual bird for me. Usually when I am about to embark on a perilous journey or enter into a difficult and dangerous situation, the owl has brought comfort and alleviated my fears. They brought me calm once as I entered into a peace mission in a war zone in Nicaragua, and another time as I embarked on a long and difficult journey back home from India. But circumstances dont have to be hazardous; a sense of larger presence and calm spirit comes when I hear the song of the owl any night of the week.
Ive also come to associate other birds with other people; usually because of a meaningful personal experience with them. One friend, a naturalist and avid birder, was ill at home and gradually slipping away. I would visit on occasion and was amazed at the goldfinch in the back yard. There were feeders, to be sure, but looking out his bedroom window, I had never seen so many goldfinch in one place at one time. I wasnt there when he eventually died, but I imagined a quiet goldfinch funeral outside his window at the moment of his death.
On another occasion, I witnessed a host of swans in a swampy wetlands area. It was a back road Id never been on before and I sat a spell and watched them. That night a friend came to me in a dream, riding through the heavens on the back of a swan. I presided at his funeral the next day, convinced that his death was redeemed by a living Spirit, that was making its way through the heavens.
Somehow in our pride and self glorification, we as humans lose our sense of place in the larger universe of living beings. Unless we have an everyday connection with a dog or horse or bird, or some other special creature, we close our eyes and ears to what the animal kingdom might have to teach us.
The Holy Spirit descended like a dove. I would assume the Holy Spirit can descend as a cardinal too, or an owl, or a goldfinch or swan. And why cant the Holy Spirit take some other form as well? Say in the intimate look of the dog, or in the eye of the horse, or even in a burning bush?
Elizabeth Barrett Browning says it best in her poem:
Earths crammed with heaven,
And every common bush afire with God,
But only he who sees takes off his shoes;
The rest sit round and pluck blackberries.
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