“Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” (Gal 6:2)

We went with our son last week to his new church in Baltimore, called “The Gallery.” The worship team led us with a great blend of contemporary and traditional music (singing “It is Well” brought divine goose bumps). It was highly relational, diverse in ethnicity and age (the name fits), and the worship time was very Biblical. Being with our son and his church family was refreshing. The theme, expressed in one of the worship songs, was that we need to care for one another and carry each other in God’s love.

Afterwards we lounged under some trees by the harbor and enjoyed some peace and quiet together. As I reflected and chewed on the sermon I had just opened my heart and ears to, God gave me a visual expression in answer to the question pounding around in my brain, “What does it look like to care for one another?” A pigeon was perched near us, bound up by fishing line wrapped around his legs. Somehow he had been in the wrong place at the wrong time and was stuck with a mess. Getting anywhere meant an awkward hobble or an embarrassing leap. Some people near us tried to catch him to untangle and set him free, but he would have none of it. He knew he was in bondage, but didn’t trust those giants trying to help.

He did have a pigeon friend, however, who stayed near him. I’m sure that the other pigeon had limited expertise for removing that which was keeping him from freedom. Maybe in the process of being there with support, however, both pigeons could trust in the Creator together with the burden. Maybe that’s what it looks like to care for one another—–proximity, coming alongside to encourage, becoming like others as Jesus did, being even a friend of sinners, living incarnationally with a peaceful presence that builds hope. Maybe there is a strategic element to embracing a burden with someone else, a burden that may not even be our problem but is keeping a friend consumed or even stuck. We may not know how to fix it, but we can always pray with others and look to the God of hope together.

One of the definitions of a pigeon is a person who is easily swindled or deceived (Encarta Dictionary). We all have a bit of pigeon in us, we all get taken advantage of or even deceived—especially if we are serious about loving and caring. It hurts when people deceive us or speak deceptive words about us. It is a challenge of faith to open the heart to people again when you have been taken advantage of, scammed, or been misrepresented and misunderstood by others. It can be crippling, and emotional scars can too easily bring a limp that becomes a familiar part of us. It isn’t easy to trust again and walk with that joyful lightness in our step that God desires for us as part of the abundant life. Yet, God is a powerful Healer of the wounded and the Lifter of our heads. Pigeons were born to fly, not limp around in this fallen world. People are created to soar above the circumstances as worshipers together.

Need a friend? Who are you a friend to? Pigeons have a reputation of being able to find their way back home. Pigeons are also useful for carrying messages. Here is a message to share, from one sanctified pigeon who cares to another, words of truth that help us home in on the depth of God’s love:

“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.” (1 John 4:7-12)

Pastor Steve & Kristi Diehl