Sparrows Seeking Home

Even the sparrow finds a home...at your altars, O Lord. – Ps 84:3

I am no ornithologist; neither have I studied ancient cultures' views of the simple sparrow. But the biblical witness seems to view such critters as commonplace, rather insignificant. Their value, at least in 1st century monetary terms, was not even a penny's worth. (Mt 10:29) Worthless, some might say. And yet, even such seemingly insignificant creature finds a home at the altars of the Lord. This might–should?–appear a bit shocking, for the Lord was meticulous in His instructions to Moses about the precise detail of the Tabernacle, which was a copy of the heavenly Temple. (The same details applied to the later Solomonic Temple in Jerusalem.) Replete with all of its precious metals, purification rites, consecration ceremonies, and restricted access, it was a holy site for the holy God wherein He made His people holy through sacrifice. And yet, somehow, even pesky sparrows, with all their hopping, chirping, and flitting about, find their way to the altars of God, and there find rest. Are they to be brushed aside? Run off? No. In fact, blessed are they who dwell in Thy House.

If the Lord invites and welcomes in the sparrows, of such little value as they are, how much more does He welcome you in? If the Lord cares even for such fickle creatures, how much more does He care for you? As the Tabernacle/Temple was a copy of the heavenly Temple, it was an earthly representation of a heavenly reality. As one entered the Temple, we might say they entered heaven. (This is, in fact, precisely what Jacob says when he wrestles with the Lord in Genesis 28:17 How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.) Even after the resurrection and ascension of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, this heaven-on-earth reality endures. Where, then, are we when we darken the doors of the sanctuary? Are we not, like the little sparrows, returning home, finding our rest from the wearying week by taking refuge at the altar of the Lord? There we hear His voice. There we receive His food. There we commune together as one people, regardless of our differences. And there, though we cannot (now) see Him as we desire, we offer Him our praise. Our worship, little as it is, is pleasing to Him, just as the simple song of the sparrow.

Grace & Peace