Just an Old man out standing in his field

It was really cold out there this morning. None the less, I followed my usual routine. I first fed our four barn cats, and then cautiously walked down the frost-covered hill to fill the bird feeders.

As I was inserting the suet squares into a wire cage, I heard in my mind the echoing chastisement of a former well-meaning neighbor: “Don’t you know you shouldn’t be feeding those wild birds? It messes up their instinctual search for the natural nutrition their bodies really need. It even confuses them when it’s time to migrate south! And besides they’ll become dependent upon you. They’ll forget how to fend for themselves!”

I looked at a chickadee up in the tree waiting for me to leave. I answered, “But I love my birds. If I don’t put food here in my feeders they won’t come around here where I can watch them.”

“So you’re choosing to jeopardize their natural instincts for feeding themselves, to feed them ‘candy’ from a manufacturer, who really doesn’t care for their health but only your money. You’re making them grow dependent upon you, just because you selfishly want them over here so you can sit on your porch and gawk at them through your binoculars.”

I paused. I thought of asking him what had gotten his knickers in such a twist, but much of what he said was plausible, at least in theory. All I could think to say was, “But I love my birds. I’m feeding them, especially as the weather turns colder, because I care for them. And frankly, they keep coming back, so I’m thinking they must appreciate it. I’ve yet to hear a complaint!”

Now back to the present. As I ascended the hill back up to my warm house, I recalled something I read and reacted to recently. Pope Francis had spoken at the 13th Festival of the Social Doctrine of the Church. In his address, he made the following statement, which seemed to stand as some kind of foundation for the rest of his comments:

“His [Jesus’s] communication is true because it is inspired by love for those who listen to Him at times even distractedly.”

Was Jesus true because he was inspired by love?

Made me think of an infamous quote from a 1970’s movie: “Love means never having to say your sorry.”

Please understand, I’m not being critical of pope Francis; he may not have meant at all what I took away from his seemingly simple statement. But it reminded me of what happened to all the liberal main-line Protestant denominations who shifted their focus from their traditional credal foundations to the social gospels of the 1960s. Love–however one understands or feels it to be–becomes the foundation for essentially whatever one wants to do.

Reminds me of a song from the 1970s entitled, “You Light Up My Life.” The lyrics could be understood to mean one person affirming another person in their life, or it could be understood to be speaking of God. But there was one line towards the end of the song that kind of undercut everything: “It can’t be wrong when it feels so right.”

Was the song true because it just felt so right?

My mother was one of the kindest, caring, selfless persons I’ve ever known, but most of her life (before she became a Catholic in her seventies) she was pro-choice, because she believed under certain circumstances, an abortion was the most loving thing to do.

Was my mother true about abortion because she was inspired by love?

Whatever might be said about these convictions, still, we believe that what Jesus said was true, not because He was inspired by love, but because what He taught about love–even His most radical statements–He said because He was the Son of God. Some might respond, “Well, DUH, we all know that! The pope was just presuming that all in his audience already knew this and believed this. It goes without saying!”

Sorry, especially in this crazy Age of pervasive confusion and relativism, it does not go without saying. Especially in this Age when the number of so-called “Christians” doubting the divinity of Christ has never been so great since the Arian heresy of the 4th century. We must intentionally and frequently affirm what has been the foundational truth of our Christian faith: Jesus Christ is Lord. Period.

“So every one who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven; but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven” (Mt. 10:32-33).

It is only upon this truth that we can understand what love means. “God so loved that He gave” … Jesus Christ so loved that He died … and we are to love one another as He loved us, which defines love as laying down our lives for one another.

We are called to live out the radical social doctrines of our faith, not because a well-meaning teacher named Jesus was inspired by love, but because His gift of love, as the Son of God, was so inspiring, selfless, and salvific.

So, do I feed my birds? I know, this question pales in comparison to the previous discussion, but in truth, our everyday lives are inundated by voices from people and media supposedly inspired by love or supposedly good intensions. Were my neighbor’s convictions sufficient grounds to accept his charges as true? In the birding world, the debate goes on.

For me, Jesus said, “Look at the birds of the air [I guess he didn’t mean Emus]: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them” (Mt. 6:26). I guess, following my well-meaning neighbor’s rant, I shouldn’t feed, not only the birds, but any wild animals, or any animals at all–let God take care of them! Or even my neighbors, or the poor in my community–certainly God can take care of them better than me! And if I do, they’ll become dependent upon me! Or I shouldn’t try to evangelize (eg, proselytize) anyone to Christ and His Church: if God wants them to convert, He can do this Himself!

Well, Jesus did say, “Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all nations…”. He also said, “Whatever you do to the least of these, you do unto me.” Yes, he was talking about needy human beings, but I also believe, in a profound way, that being created in His image means we are to be His hands and feet in taking care of His Creation. “Whatever we do to the least of these…”, in a nuanced way, means all of Creation–even those birds that enjoy the suet and seeds I give them everyday.

So, yes, I’ll feed them tomorrow morning, because I’m inspired by the steadfast love and care of our Creator, and of His son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, our Savior, and our King.

(Oh, and yes, you might be wondering about the cat in the photo. That’s KK, and she likes birds, too.)