This past Tuesday was Independence Day, the day we celebrated our declaration of our independence from England 247 years ago. As we discussed last week, it was our new beginning for the 13 colonies to be known as America. The American flag with its thirteen alternating red and white stripes, and a blue field with 13 white stars in the upper left corner left corner was designed as our representative flag, under which numerous battles would be fought before Lord Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown in October 1781. The flag would change in appearance over the years as the 13 colonies became the United States of America, and other states were added. Its appearance might change, but never the freedom it stood for.
Then in 1782, the American bald eagle was chosen as our national bird to be an iconic symbol of our freedom. It was chosen for its strength, long life, and its majestic beauty as it soared the skies in total freedom. In the wild, a bald eagle will live 30-35 years, and up to 50 years in captivity. A full-grown bald eagle has a wingspan of up to 7 feet, and will weigh as much as 15 lbs. They’ve been clocked at 65 mph in level flight, and diving speed of 150-200 mph!
Although similar to the American bald eagle, the golden eagle was the iconic symbol of Rome. Rome’s focus was on the strength, fearlessness, and power of that eagle. Its sharp, curved beak allowed it to tear its prey apart, and its razor sharp talons could grasp its enemy firmly as it pierced its flesh. But this young nation was less focused on the attacking capability of the eagle to destroy an enemy, and more on the total freedom seen in the eagle’s flight over this vast new land. The bald eagle, with its beauty, strength, and freedom, a look of fierce wisdom, and native to this land, made it an ideal icon to symbolize this new country, a land of hope for those coming to America seeking freedom.
But more than just a symbol of our history and our freedoms, the eagle also offers some interesting insights into the nature of our God. The eagle is mentioned several times in the Bible to symbolize God, focusing on its majesty, rather than its fierce nature. It’s seen as the king of birds, just as our God is the king of kings. The eagle is seen as strong and protective, able to gracefully soar higher than any other bird. Under God’s strong, protective wings, our spirits can soar as free as eagles. In Isaiah 40, the prophet speaks of God as “the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth…Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles.”
Several other characteristics of the eagle parallel the majesty of our God. An eagle seldom flies by flapping its wings, because doing so quickly exhausts it. Instead, it uses its huge wingspan made up of over 1,250 feathers, separated at the tips like the fingers of a guiding hand, to soar gracefully and effortlessly for hours over the land, using existing wind currents and updrafts. The Holy Spirit has often been called the Breath of God, that becomes the wind beneath our wings. But if we try to fly, flapping our own spiritual wings or relying on our own strength, instead of depending on the Holy Spirit, we will find life relatively exhausting and our abilities severely limited. When we let His Holy Spirit lift us to soar effortlessly above the storms of life, we become the creations He intends us to be.
The eagle has amazing eyesight. In its apparent effortless flight, it can focus on opportunities as well as danger. It can telescopically see predators, as well as prey, at long distances, but has also almost microscopic vision in its ability to see dangers or threats close at hand. It can see a distant fish just below a surface of water, go into a dive, and make a precision strike to grasp the fish with its powerful talons. It can also spot a hidden snake maneuvering quietly toward its nest, and launch a preemptive strike. Our God also has amazing vision from His eternal vantage point. He sees us from afar or near, knows approaching dangers as well as our daily needs. He even sees within us, our feelings and our heart, our joys and our tears.
An eagle’s ability to fly so completely free, higher than any other bird, might give it a godlike… perhaps even an aloof…aura. The gods of other religions, from Muslim to Buddhist, are aloof and maintain a distance from their followers. But, our God, like the eagle, has a tender, protective presence with His children. Eagles are faithful to each other, like our God is to us, and partner for life. An established pair will build their nest at elevations higher than other birds. Such height, along with their keen eyesight, gives them a strategic vantage point. Just as our God uses His eternal materials to build our spiritual lives, the eagle uses its keen eyesight and powerful talons to find and transport sturdy building materials to build their long lasting nests. Over time, some nests become enormous, reaching a diameter of 9 feet and weighing as much as 2 tons. But they’ll use that nest for many years. Once the nest is securely built, it’s made very comfortable and protective, using the fur of the animals killed for food, like rabbits, or down from birds, to line it. The female lays 2 or 3 eggs at a time, and both parents share the incubation and guarding the eaglets against predators. While the chicks are small, the parents move about the nest with their talons balled up into fists to avoid harming them. Like our God, the eagle is tender and protective toward its children despite its size and power.
But the danger of providing a comfortable haven, even for humans, is that the young can grow too comfortable, and become totally dependent on their parents’ care. There is no motivation to try out their developing wings, and learn to use their inherent abilities to experience life, to develop as they were born to do, to become mature adults and raise their own families. So, as the young grow, the parents begin to remove the comforts of fur and feathers, exposing the sharp ends of sticks, making it harder and harder for the young eagles to get comfortable in the nest..
One day, the mother will start to flap her wings in the nest, forcing the eaglets closer to the edge of the nest, until an eaglet falls out, plunging toward the rocks and dangers below. But the father has been hovering over the nest, watching the eaglet fall, waiting for it to start flapping its wings and begin to fly. Even if the eaglet fails to use its wings, no harm will come to the falling, terrified eaglet because it cannot fall faster than the father can dive to catch it on his wings and soar back to the nest. Flying lessons continue until one day, the eaglet uses its wings and begins to fly. On this graduation day, the parents will lock talons in midair and do aerial acrobatics to celebrate.
To the young eaglet, its parents seem almost cruel and uncaring as they make the nest uncomfortable and then force the youngster to fall from the nest. But the eaglet was not given birth to live in the nest as a child. It was created to become a beautiful, soaring animal, a king of birds, to find its faithful mate, stir up her own nest, or hover over his young, as each falls, hoping it will fly, but prepared to catch it and return it to safety.
Our lesson from Deuteronomy epitomizes this lesson of the eagle. In this passage, Moses is addressing the Israelites, children of God. They had become comfortable in Egypt, even as slaves but with homes, children, and food. But God determined they were ready to begin their new life, in their own land. But they first had to “fall out of their comfort zone”, travel across the dangers of the desert, learning to depend on God for food and water. In this passage, called the Song of Moses, Moses begins by praising God for His care, but then his tone shifts and he chastises the people for failing to trust God for their care. But even though they had been pushed from the nest and had failed to learn how to fly, God continued to hover over them. The last verse if this passage makes the comparison, “He shielded (Israel) and cared for him; he guarded (Israel) as the apple of His eye, like an eagle that stirs up its nest and hovers over its young, that spreads its wings to catch them and carries them aloft.”
Like the eagle raising its chicks, God wanted His people to mature, use the abilities He had created them with. He would be their God, and they would be able to soar to the great spiritual heights He had always intended. But they had to learn to soar, learn how to face danger… even soar above the storms. Even today, some people prefer to live as canaries, attractive with beautiful music. But canaries are small, live in confined areas, and only fly short distances. Some prefer to be peacocks, self-absorbed in their perceived beautiful lives, but never soar, and are content to live off crumbs on the ground. Some become buzzards with their loud squawking, and living off dead things of life. But eagles are majestic, powerful, free animals that are beautiful to watch in action. What joy they must give their Creator to see them soaring. What joy we can give our Creator to see His children soaring in our faith practices, in praise, in worship, in caring for others. Living in the free, strong, community of faith that soars on the breath of the Holy Spirit to dwell in heavenly heights.
God wants us to be like His eagles. As His children, He feeds us, protects us, even hovers protectively over us. As we mature in our faith, He may seemingly make life uncomfortable for us, not as a cruel or uncaring God, but to help us become stronger to soar above the storms of life. He wants us to be free, but in His freedom, He enables to us to become truly free.
Our reading from Psalms, was written by David seeing God as his protection, his soul finding rest and salvation in God’s Presence. Let’s use this psalm to see the world as a young eaglet might, feeling secure from its lofty, strong nest. Even before the egg hatches, the parents are there, protecting and nurturing the egg, even as our Heavenly Father knew us before we were born, preparing for our birth, watchful over the dangers around us, protecting us. From the time the baby first opens its beak for food, it trusts its parents to fill its needs. The eaglet’s parents continue to watch for close dangers, like snakes hidden and silently approaching the nest, and launch preemptive strikes. Their vision further enables them to identify and provide for its future needs. The eaglet may not even know all its parents have been doing to protect and provide for it, but it trusts its faithful parents. Our God knows our futures, and our needs, and is already preparing for them. Even when the eaglet’s mother forces her chick from the nest, its father is hovering over it ready and fully able to keep it from falling too far. Despite the fear and uncertainty of the eaglet learning to fly, its parents want their young one to learn to soar like the strong beautiful eagle it was created to be. Just as our God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit work together to mold us to the full potential we were created in His image to be.
Our Heavenly Father even sent Jesus into this world to save us from the dangers of this world. He gives us total freedom from sin that can destroy us and ruin our lives. Eagles, despite strong talons and excellent flight capabilities, sometimes try to carry a catch that’s too heavy. Then it must either let it go, or find itself unable to fly. If we are to be free to soar like eagles, we must let go of our sin burden, which is always too heavy for us to bear. If we are to be free to soar like eagles, we must let the Holy Spirit be the wind beneath our wings. Because our God is Who He is….and because Jesus reigns over all this earth, and will reign forever, we shall be like eagles, soaring above this world’s problems, like the beautiful creations we were meant to be. Amen
