February 11, 2024

2 Kings 2:1-12
Mark 9:2-9

One of the themes that tends to pop up in my stories is something like, “When is it a good time to fly?” Sometimes the birds asking that question are chicks wondering whether they’re ready for their first flight. Sometimes it’s older but still young birds trying to figure out how far they can go. Sometimes it’s older birds trying to balance the needs of nest-building and chick-feeding. Sometimes it’s just a bird thinking, “What does the world look like over there?”

A little group of ‘apapane decided to discuss the question in some detail. They thought that they’d like to become wise birds, wise ‘apapane, wise creatures that would have some good reasons to choose to fly at some times, and not to fly at other times.

“When is a good time not to fly?” asked one of the little flock.

“When there’s an ‘io overhead,” said one.

“Or a pueo,” added another.

“Or the shadow of something big and you’re not sure what it is,” said a third.

“It’s not a good time to fly in a big wind,” put in one.

“I’m not crazy about flying when there’s lightning,” said another.

“What about if you’re lost?” asked one of the ‘apapane. “Is that a good time to fly?”

They thought about it. “If you just stay in place when you’re lost,” said one slowly, “you don’t see anything different than what you’re seeing. I think you have to fly at least a little bit so that you can see new things, which might be the old things you’re trying to find.”

“If it’s a high wind and the tree is breaking, that’s a good time to fly,” added an ‘apapane who had been thinking about this for a while.

“What is a good time to fly?” asked the first bird.

“When the tree is breaking,” said the bird who didn’t want anyone to forget that.

“When the tree you’re in is out of bugs and nectar,” said another.

“When your wings and feathers are ready, and not before,” said one of the younger ones whose first attempts at flapping his wings hadn’t gone well.

“When you want to sing with the birds in another tree,” said a particularly musical ‘apapane.

“When it’s naptime and everybody is singing in your tree,” said an ‘apapane who liked to rest after a meal.

They fell silent for a bit at this point. Suddenly the first bird, the one who’d been asking the questions, the one who really wanted to be a wise ‘apapane, laughed out loud.

“When you feel like it!” she sang, and soared up into the sky.

Flying is all about the practical things, and there are plenty of times when flying is a bad idea, when it’s dangerous. Human beings don’t fly, at least not without an airplane, but we have our own times to stretch our wings, as it were. Be careful and don’t take off when it’s dangerous, friends, but make sure to appreciate the joy when you do.

by Eric Anderson

Watch the Recorded Story

I write these stories ahead of time, but during worship I tell them from memory plus improvisation. So what you hear in the recording does not and will not match what you’ve just read.

Photo by Eric Anderson.