Mystical Murmuration

Relevant Scripture

Genesis 1:20 . . . And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky.”

Job 12:7-10 . . . “But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you. Which of all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind.”

John 3:5-8 . . . Jesus answered, “I tell you the solemn truth, unless a person is born of water and spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must all be born from above.’ The wind blows wherever it will, and you hear the sound it makes, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

1 Corinthians 12:12-13 . . . There is one body, but it has many parts. But all its many parts make up one body. It is the same with Christ. We were all baptized by one Holy Spirit. And so we are formed into one body. It didn’t matter whether we were Jews or Gentiles, slaves or free people. We were all given the same Spirit to drink.

Philippians 2:1-2 . . . Therefore if you have any encouragement in Christ, if any comfort from His love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being united in spirit and purpose.

Acts 4:32-35 . . . All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need.

Mystical Murmurations by Jean Wise, February 6, 2014
From healthyspirituality.org website

I first noticed them outside of the car window. The flock of birds moving like synchronized swimmers or a well-choreographed dance troupe, dark flowing against the white clouds.

What music did they hear? Who leads them? Who taught them such grace? I am amazed at the Creator’s wonders found in nature.

I knew this phenomenon of the bird ballet had a name and being a word person knew I had to explore this mesmerizing movement. The result was not disappointment and the name wasn’t either.

Murmuration.

Isn’t that a cool word!

When birds, usually starlings, fly together and swirl in a repeating, coordinated ever-changing pattern – this dazzling dance is called a murmuration. The starlings in a murmuration seem to be connected together. They twist and turn and change direction at a moment’s notice.

Wired Magazine described murmuration like this:

“Each starling in a flock is connected to every other. When a flock turns in unison, it’s a phase transition. At the individual level, the rules guiding this are relatively simple. When a neighbor moves, so do you. Depending on the flock’s size and speed and its members’ flight physiologies, the large-scale pattern changes. What’s complicated, or at least unknown, is how criticality is created and maintained.”

Often they gather as night approaches. In the twilight, the dance begins with a few birds, but gradually other starlings arrive, then more and more, until they all join together in one massive flock. Their movements create incredible patterns, streams, circles, trails. Suddenly they plunge downward then swoop and sail skyward. As they twist and turn in tight formation, amazingly they swirl but never collide.

Scientists don’t fully understand the how and why of murmuration. It’s a mystery. Maybe God is dancing with them and that is unknown, there but unseen.

Psalm 50:11 . . . I know all the birds of the air, and all that moves in the field is mine.

Then I read this poem by Mary Oliver the other day. Amazing, isn’t it as you open your heart and begin to ponder something, God sends his message all over for us to notice!

Oh, I wish we as humans could work together like these birds. Too often we are more like chickens, scraping only for ourselves, ruffling another person’s feathers so we feel better or superior.

Lord I want to dance with you.

I know I can’t change the whole world, but the optimist in me believes if I keep my eyes on Christ, maybe, just maybe, a small movement will grace the sky and inspire others to join in the cosmic dance, led by God.

Lord I want to dance with you. Move when you lead. Soar where you fly.

God turns. He takes the lead in this dazzling dance. My role is to immediately follow.

Lord I want to dance with you.

Move when you lead. Soar where you fly.

May my life be a murmuration with you.

A Murmuration of Saints

by John Pattison posted in slowchurch.com

I recently stayed on the campus of a seminary in Kentucky. On a walk one evening I noticed the seminary had put up a bunch of signs around the campus that said: “Attempt Something Big” and “Change the World.”

There’s nothing wrong with attempting something big, or changing the world, but I believe our primary call is faithfulness to what God is calling us to be and do in any given moment, often with the person and place that is right in front of us. These are small things done with great love, as Mother Teresa said. The work may be humble, and some of the change may be invisible to you, but you never know where your influence is going to stop.

The image that comes to mind, actually, is of those flocks of starlings that shift and undulate and swoop in coordinated patterns in the sky, often in groups of thousands or more birds.

This is called a “murmuration of starlings.” Lately I’ve been mildly obsessed with this phenomenon, watching videos and reading everything I can about them.

Scientists are using computers, advanced math, and systems theories to try to figure out how such large groups seem to share one mind. I was interested to learn that even in a flock of thousands, one bird is really only able to pay attention to its seven closest neighbors. When one bird changes directions, its closest neighbors follow suit, and then the change ripples through the flock as a whole, the way the “wave” ripples through the crowd at a baseball game, though incredibly fast.

In other words, what looks like a mass movement is actually very “local.”

There’s a lot scientists don’t know about murmurations, and there are places where my metaphor breaks down (for example, some of the birds’ actions are a defense mechanism to protect themselves from danger), but I wonder if this is how God might view the Church—or whether it might be a useful metaphor for how we can understand the Church: swooping, in unison, splitting, then re-combining, first in this shape and now in this one, driven by the Spirit and then by fear, but always essentially local: a great flock of witnesses, a murmuration of saints.

This is a gentle reminder that we don’t have to worry about creating a mass movement or making history turn out a certain way. We’re called to be faithful to the decisions right in front of us, which are almost always small and local, but which are linked across the Church in ways that are sometimes intentional and sometimes invisible.

Joyas Voladoras

A Day In the Life of Jesus