The Fifth Sparrow

October 2007

We’d walked past it several times and hadn’t noticed it. We were having too much fun running up and down the sidewalk in front of the neighborhood outside shopping strip to be concerned. This was one of our normal morning activities: go to Barnes and Noble and play with the train set in the children’s department, head to Marble Slab for some ice cream, then walk and enjoy. My boys and I were about half-way done with our single cone dips of chocolate gelatin when Jerry Jr, stopped in his tracks in front of the Claire’s Accessory store. There, lying motionless on the pavement underneath the hot Texas sun right beside the big “Exciting Sale Inside” sign was a little sparrow.

Jerry Jr. called us over to see this bird we’d passed at least three times by now. In fact, this sidewalk was fairly crowded, and we hadn’t seen anyone stop to notice this fallen, feathered friend. It appeared that he’d died alone and no one had noticed or seemed to care … except Jerry Jr. Now his brother Jackson had fallen in step and was right beside him. Together they bemoaned the loss of this little creature and gave him the eulogy they thought he deserved. Each ice cream cone was abandoned on the hot pavement and began to melt into a river of chocolate that ran into the crevices of the concrete. They stooped down low to get a closer look and discuss this tragic fate. Their questions gushed out like a waterfall:

How did he die, momma?

How long has he been lying here?

Where’s his family?

Do they know he’s here?

Mom, how come no one has noticed?

I’d given the standard “I don’t know” response to most of these, but that last penetrating question seemed to require a different response … Jesus’ to be exact:

“…  sparrows … not one of them is forgotten before God” – Luke 12:6

I’ve felt forgotten before, unnoticed and unappreciated. I’ve not just felt it, I have experienced it. You too? Ever felt like crowds of happy, energetic people were passing by on the pathway of life while you lay suffering under the blistering heat of some trial of circumstances that’s left you paralyzed? How come no one has noticed? There’ve been times I’ve longed for soothing attention from some caring soul to remind me that I matter and that I’m worth something; to let me know that I’m valuable enough for someone to care about my issues and concerns. Graciously, sometimes God has shifted someone’s eyes downward in my direction and softened their heart long enough to put down the chocolate flavored cone of their personal happiness long enough to remember me, but not always. Sometimes, I’m left to my own devices, insecurities and all.

“Are not five sparrows sold for two cents?” Jesus asked the disciples, “And yet not one of them is forgotten before God.”

God cares about the sparrows … even the fifth one? The disciples thoughts and questions must have run somewhere along these lines. It would have been easier for Jesus to discuss sparrows in even equations. In the markets of Jerusalem, sparrows were a favorite. They were cheap and easy to come by. A sparrow was sold inexpensively:  two for a penny. Four was the most common purchase at two pennies.  When this transaction was made, the happy business owner would often throw in a fifth one for good measure. It was just a little gift to keep his customers happy. In essence that fifth sparrow wasn’t just cheap like the others had been, he was free. He had no value at all. He was the unnoticed, unappreciated, forgotten fifth one.

The story might not have been as captivating had it not been for that fifth sparrow. Jesus explains the great care of the Father by telling the disciples that an infinitely loving God noticed even this valueless sparrow that had been disregarded by everyone else. He’d seen it when it had been born, captured, and thrown in  with the bunch during an exchange in the hustle of the marketplace. And He cared, even and especially when no one else had.

From their bended position, my children looked at me tenderly as the words of Jesus pierced their hearts “Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear; you have more value than many sparrows.”

Unnoticed yet recognized. Unappreciated yet celebrated. Forgotten yet remembered. Ignored yet specifically chosen.  Under-valued, over-looked, and disregarded yet loved, valued and cared for by the God of the universe. Are you the fifth wheel? Perfect. They might not notice your worth, but God does. He cares for the fifth sparrow and he cares for you and me.