Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. And even the hairs of your head are all counted. So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.

Matthew 10: 29-31

Yes, a sparrow is a bird. But if you say Sparrow in 124^th St. in Jamaica Avenue, people think that you are referring to a fellow who drinks beer early in the morning and sings Hindi songs until evening either below the parsonage or in the stores nearby. The word sparrow also brings a picture of a hit man, many of us heard of the dreaded sparrow unit of the New People’s Army in the Philippines. That’s another kind of sparrow but today we are reflecting about a bird. Those of us who are not adept in classifying birds will not be able to distinguish the varieties when presented with different kinds. I remember tamsi and maya whose presence years ago were very noticeable. But for sparrow, what we know is that it is a small bird sold for two in a penny. The practice those days in Biblical times would be to skin and roast these birds for food.

In this verse, Jesus used the life of a sparrow as an illustration of God’s care and love. He assured his disciples that God knows the life of each sparrow that falls to the ground. Yes, they are abundant and people eat them all the time but not one of these sparrows escape God’s attention. To illustrate further about God’s detailed and meticulous concern and attention for each of us, Jesus said, “even the hairs of your head are all counted.”  So the word of assurance is pronounced again, “do not be afraid you are of more value than many sparrows.”

The reason behind our courage is not based on our own strength and our ability to resist and to confront, we fear not because God is with us – God stands with us and God keeps an eye on what is going on with our lives as we struggle and to live the values of God’s Kingdom and to proclaim and invite others to celebrate with us the coming of God’s rule and reign in Jesus. God puts premium in the life of a single sparrow which was expendable, how much more with our lives that God considers more valuable. Now we appreciate more the words of the hymn that speaks about the sparrow. The 2^nd stanza of His Eye is on the Sparrow captures our theme today:

“Let not your heart be troubled,” 
     His tender word I hear,
And resting on His goodness, 
     I lose my doubts and fears;
Though by the path He leadeth, 
     but one step I may see;
His eye is on the sparrow, 
    and I know He watches me;
His eye is on the sparrow, 
     and I know He watches me.

I sing because I’m happy,
I sing because I’m free,
For His eye is on the sparrow, 
     And I know He watches me.

We do not fear because as God’s eye is on the sparrow, God’s eye watching us not just today but for the rest of our tomorrow.

Prayer

Thank you God for keeping an eye on us

Because you are with us always,

we fear not. Amen.

[Like a seed planted in the soil, it is our prayer that God's Word will grow in us as we nurture it in our hearts. Allow the seed to germinate. Your reflections and responses are welcome. Please click on the Add a new comment icon below.] Past Daily Devotions are archived at the bottom of the Sermons page.