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| The Kākāpō, image by Jake Osborne. Native to New Zealand, it is now critically endangered. There are currently only 325 known individuals. |
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most endangered birds
A GREETING
Turn your ear to me and hear my prayer.
Show me your steadfast love—and your great strength.
(Psalm 17:6-7)
A READING
Guard me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings, let your hand rescue me from such people, from such a world.
(Psalm 17:8;14)
MUSIC
Sung in Irish, the lyrics lament the departure of a loved one,
and a desire to use music to call them back.
A MEDITATIVE VERSE
“Whoever touches you touches the apple of my eye!"
(Zechariah 2:12)
A REFLECTION
The sense of [peace] may come with watching a flock of cedar wax-wings eating wild grapes in the top of the woods on a November afternoon. Everything they do is leisurely. They pick the grapes with a curious deliberation, comb their feathers, converse in high windy whistles. Now and then one will fly out and back in a sort of dancing flight full of whimsical flutters and turns. They are like farmers loafing in their own fields on Sunday. Though they have no Sundays, their days are full of sabbaths.
- from The World-Ending Fire: The Essential Wendell Berry
VERSE OF THE DAY
When I look at justice I see your face;
and when I awake, I’ll be content just to see your likeness.
(Psalm 17:15)
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| The giant ibis is on the verge of extinction, with only 300 - 350 individuals believed to still exist. This image, taken in 2013, is by Brendan Ryan. Most likely such a capture would not be possible in 2026. |
In Psalm 17, we hear the psalmist ask God to be held as “the apple” of God’s eye. The ancient saying is believed to refer to the reflection of oneself that can be seen in another's eye when standing very close. Being guarded or held as the apple of God's eye can be a metaphor for God's love, and extends the sense of humankind being made in God's image. We are close enough to God that we can see our own reflection in God, and God in us.
Images of the mirror and reflection of God's love in us and working through us fill Psalm 17. The psalmist is asking for God's intervention against an enemy and uses the argument that God's people are cherished by God, the "apple of God's eye," so God will intervene to save them. How might we read all of these verses, from the point of view of the most critically endangered birds in our world? The kākāpō and the giant ibis, two native birds of the southern hemisphere and mostly known to have had habitats in New Zealand and Cambodia/Vietnam, might be good candidates for taking the place of the psalmist. These very rare birds are down to their last individuals and on track to become extinct. Efforts have been made to relocate and sequester the kākāpō to specific predator-free islands off the coast of New Zealand, possible only because the kākāpō is a flightless bird. The giant ibis is the national bird of Cambodia, and enjoys legal protections there. However, illegal logging and hunting still threaten even these measures.
Just as we are the precious apple of God's eye, so too is Creation and all its creatures. How much can God count us to make endangered species the apple of our own eyes?
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This American ornithologist explains why birds are declining
and offers suggestions of what we can do.
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Scripture passages are taken from The Inclusive Bible.
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LC† The Winged Word is a devotional series of Lutherans Connect, supported by the Eastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada and the Centre for Spirituality and Media at Martin Luther University College. To receive the devotions by email, write to lutheransconnect@gmail.com. The devotional pages are written and curated by Deacon Sherry Coman, with support and input from Pastor Steve Hoffard, Catherine Evenden and Henriette Thompson. Join us on Facebook. Lutherans Connect invites you to make a donation to the Ministry by going to this link on the website of the ELCIC Eastern Synod and selecting "Lutherans Connect Devotionals" under "Fund". Devotions are always freely offered, however your donations help support the ongoing work.
Thank you and peace be with you!
