June 25, 2023
Genesis 21:8-21
Romans 6:1-11
There were three fledglings in the ‘apapane nest, a sister and two brothers. All three had hatched on the same day, which is pretty common for ‘apapane. All three had steadily grown from the food their parents brought to them each day. They’d just begun to learn to fly.
For whatever reason, and who knows the reasons for these things, the sister grew more quickly than her two brothers. Her wing muscles got stronger faster, and she stood taller than they in the nest and on the branches near the nest. And… she started to take charge.
When father or mother came by at mealtimes, she got to the front first. Her brothers got the same amount of food that she did, so the parents didn’t remark on it, but she increasingly got fed first. When it came time for their first test flights, she summoned more of her parents’ attention than her brothers did. She’d fly a little farther among the branches of the nesting tree so they had to keep track of her. But she’d also sing out, “Look at me!” when father or mother started giving instructions to one of her brothers.
When they settled down at night, her brothers had to be satisfied with what room she left them in the nest. She began to push them aside when she wasn’t comfortable, and she began to order them to do things for her. She was bigger. She was stronger. They did what she ordered them to do.
They weren’t happy about it.
“Don’t complain,” she told them. “I’m the oldest and the biggest. You have to do what I tell you.”
She wasn’t actually the first to hatch, but they didn’t dare to tell her so.
Father and Mother didn’t actually notice all this. When one of them was nearby, they were the oldest and the biggest, and she didn’t try to dominate them. But the moment the three chicks were alone, she was in charge, and when she was in charge, she got what she wanted.
If one of her brothers had flown to a particularly nice cluster of ohi’a blossoms, she’d come along and order him away. If one of her brothers was relaxing in a sunny spot, she’d push him off the branch. If it was raining and one of them found a spot where the leaves kept the drops away, guess who would be dry at the end of the shower?
You guessed it. She would.
It was grandmother who spotted all this, observing from a neighboring tree. She flew over when big sister had taken over a cluster of ohi’a flowers.
“Not like that,” she told her granddaughter.
“Not like what?” said granddaughter.
“Stop bullying your brothers.”
“I’m not bullying them,” she said.
“You certainly are,” said grandmother. “You just took over this flower cluster.”
“I’m entitled,” said the big sister. “I’m the biggest and the oldest. How should I treat my little brothers?”
“Not like that. You all hatched on the same day,” said grandmother, “and soon enough your brothers will catch up to your size and one or both of them might get bigger than you are. Will you be content to be kicked off your flowers then?”
Her granddaughter had to admit that she wouldn’t.
“Treat your brothers the way you want to be treated. Treat them better, in fact. That’s how we build a strong family. It’s how we make peace among ‘apapane.”
She did change her ways, though it took a little while. Fortunately she did it before one of her brothers did, in fact, grow to be bigger than she was – but he had learned that lesson, too, and treated his sister as he wanted to be treated, and even better.
by Eric Anderson
Watch the Recorded Story
First I write the story (you’ve just read what I wrote). Then I tell it without the written copy in front of me. And… things change.
Photo of an ‘apapane in flight by Eric Anderson.
ordainedgeek 
what a wonderful parable … a a memory of how Don (an only child) and I (am only child) were confused when this happened between our two children .