CONSIDERING SPARROWS

Posted: 11.04.26 in Articles category

 

'Considering Sparrows’ is the title of a newly published book by Kevin Burrell, an American church pastor and keen birder. In the prologue he explains why “wise people birdwatch”, citing the example of King Solomon and others in the Bible who paid attention to birds in their lives. Jesus himself gave the best example, telling his followers to “look at the birds of the air” and “consider the ravens”. Burrell goes on to write that birdwatching for him at its best can be expository – opening a window into God’s character:     

All the world’s a stage for God’s wildly creative ingenuity. But when it comes to birds, we get the sense that perhaps God is showing off, turning the innovation dial up to eleven. After all, he could have made one species of bird and called it a day. Instead, he overwhelms our global senses with over ten thousand species – everything from tiny hummingbirds and kinglets to the largest birds, like the condor and emu – in one creative breath. Each species turns the prism slightly to show us a different angle of a great God: He makes eagles to show his majesty, songbirds to sing his glory, and pelicans to show that he has quite a sense of humour….

 

Kevin Burrell’s book has an impressive subtitle: ‘What birds Teach Us about Who We Are, Where We’re Going, and the Joy of Following Jesus’. I think the book achieves that admirably and I recommend it wholeheartedly. In Kevin’s phrase it is a ‘walk through’ Philippians, apparently his favourite book in the Bible, but it’s more devotional in tone than a commentary. Kevin uses avian examples as metaphors to demonstrate key truths found in St Paul’s epistle and I will cite four of them subsequently in this article. For instance, the Brown Creeper’s lack of aggression at bird feeders and its downward flight path between trees demonstrates the virtue of humility, echoing Paul’s instruction to the church in Philippi:  

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. (Chapter 2 verses 3 and 4) 

Similarly, Kevin discusses pigeons and their homing behaviour which he observed at a funeral he was presiding. As the mourners were led outside, a quartet of ‘doves’ was released, flew up high, circled, turned south and disappeared over the treetops. Kevin considers how that funeral ceremony reflects on our human feelings that we are made to live beyond the grave, sensing that eternity is somehow ‘written in our hearts’. He quotes Paul’s words in Philippians chapter 3:

But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Saviour from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.   

On another occasion Kevin describes being woken up by a bird chorus on a camping trip with a string of birdsongs delivered in quick succession - Hermit Thrush, Northern Cardinal and Tufted Titmouse. As he listened from his sleeping bag Kevin realised that the chorus came from a single bird perched on a branch above his tent - a Northern Mockingbird. Mockingbirds are excellent mimics and can reproduce the sounds of over 150 bird species, as well as those of frogs, cats, dogs, insects and various mechanical noises like car alarms, squeaky pulley wheels and ringing phones. Apparently, it is always listening for new tunes to memorise and adding to its playlist. That’s why Kevin Burrell deems the bird to be “a fitting embodiment of Paul’s words in Philippians 4” as he urged his readers to seek out the best things to imitate:     

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.  Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me or seen in me — put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

 

My favourite chapter in Kevin Burrell’s book is ‘Tern Pursuits’ and it has a strong personal connection for me. Kevin came over from the States in June last year (2025) to join our Even Sparrows retreat on Holy Island and then stayed over at our home for a couple of days. During that time, we visited the Farne Islands and had an extremely close encounter with an Arctic Tern which continually tried to peck our heads before eventually settling on Kevin’s telescope and posing for a photo! In his tern chapter Kevin writes about the Arctic Tern, the bird which lives more of its life in daylight than any other creature as it migrates each year from pole to pole in pursuit of 24/7 light. Kevin Burrell argues that this bird would make a fitting mascot for a globe-trotting missionary like Paul, “pressing on towards the goal” in pursuit of righteousness, honesty and the Gospel as the apostle described himself doing in Philippians chapter 3 verses 12 -14. If this bird made a New Year’s resolution, Kevin argues that the tern would seek to “do whatever it takes to live fully in the light”. Then he closes the chapter with these wonderful words:  

Live up to what you have already attained. So, by all means, live in the light of righteousness, determined to glorify God with your life. And live in the light of honesty, free to admit where you regularly fall short of his glory. But most of all, love in the light of the gospel, the good news that frees us from shame and the pursuit of holiness. May yours be a pole-to-pole commitment to the gospel, allowing its radical promises to wow you. Jesus entered the judgement of polar darkness to give you hope of perpetual light. Keep telling yourself the good news, and let others speak to you regularly, until the day when Christ becomes so fully our light that no migration will be necessary: “Night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light” (Revelation 22:5).