![]() Since the feathers on a pelican’s breast and the tip of the beak sometimes have a reddish tint, the ancients – watching from a distance, we presume – wrongly assumed that the bird was attacking itself and engaging in a noble self-sacrifice.įor thousands of years the outward behavior of the bird fooled people into thinking that these ungainly and awkward creatures were, in fact, amazing examples of sacrificial love and care. Pelicans will feed their young from their enormous pouches, and often will pull their heads back and press that pouch against their necks. Medieval pilgrims would wear a pelican badge on their way to worship, with red gemstones signifying the bird’s allegedly life-giving blood.Īs I said, none of that happens. And so by the second century, early Christians thought, “Hmmm, the baby pelicans would die if not for the mother’s willingness to offer up her own blood…that sounds a lot like Jesus’ death on the cross.”Īnd so one of the leading churchmen of the 13 th century, Thomas Aquinas, wrote a hymn to be sung in praise to Christ after drinking from the communion cup, the lyrics of which include “O loving pelican! O Jesu Lord!” Shakespeare and Dante refer to Jesus as a pelican. ![]() But this was something that “everybody knew” about pelicans back in the day. ![]() Let me be clear: that does not happen! Pelicans do not wound themselves and allow their young to eat of their own flesh. There is a well-known heraldic seal entitled “The Pelican in Her Piety.” Here you can see a mother bird apparently piercing her own breast with her beak and feeding her young with her own blood. There is no scriptural confusion about pelicans – a contrast from the pigeons and doves about which we spoke last week.Īnd yet look at the State Flag of Louisiana. ![]() Pelicans are right there, alongside of owls, cormorants, herons, and bats. The only time that the word “pelican” appears in the Revised Standard Version of the Bible is in the books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy, where Moses is giving the Israelites the complete rundown on all the animals that are considered to be unclean. I know, there are lots of animals that eat other animals, but pelicans are not fierce, majestic birds of prey like eagles or falcons. There was a bird who was hanging out right by the water, and as I was reeling in the fish, he would dive and attempt to swallow them while I had them hooked, but before they left the water. In fact, my last close encounter with a pelican came while I was fishing in Florida. Not because there aren’t other sources of food nearby – but because they are just, well, jerks. If you don’t believe me, go home and do a YouTube search wherein you will discover pelicans – who were built to eat fish – waddling around parks devouring pigeons, patrolling park ponds and swallowing baby ducklings alive, or raiding gannet nests. In all kinds of ways, these ungainly creatures are the class-A jerks of the avian universe. Do you know the kind of person I’m talking about? You know he’s a schnook, but he seems to have snowed over everyone else.Īs we continue in our exploration of Jesus’ command to “consider the birds”, I’d like to introduce you to the Eddie Haskell of the bird world: the pelican. In spite of his good grooming and obsequious manners, Eddie Haskell was up to no good. I was just telling Wallace how pleasant it would be for Theodore to accompany us to the movies.” A typical comment from Eddie might be something like this: “Wally, if your dumb brother tags along, I’m gonna – oh, good afternoon, Mrs. He was a real weasel who would connive situations so that if something went wrong, someone else got the blame. Eddie Haskell was Wally Cleaver’s friend on the 1950’s and 60’s television show Leave it to Beaver. Some of you in the room will understand what I mean when I refer to Eddie Haskell. The series continued on June 22 with readings from Matthew 9:9-13 and Romans 12:9-18.ĭo you remember that one kid at school that all the teachers seemed to love, but was, in fact, a real bully? The kid who you knew to be a schemer and a manipulator, but your parents thought was just the finest example of teen manners? If you read something that seems a little heretical, well, chances are that it’s from me. For the sake of brevity, let me simply say that if you read something that strikes you as profound and wise, it probably comes from her work. To that end, the folks in Crafton Heights will spend ten weeks in the Summer of 2014 considering some of the insights brought forward in that volume and by the creatures and stories featured therein. Some months ago I read Debbie Blue’s Consider the Birds, and for the first time in years, I felt compelled to share some of a book’s insights in the form of a sermon series.
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