We have a family of little blue wrens who come looking for food several times a day. I have found they like a certain mixture which I make and crumble small so that they can pick it up easily. When they hear the screen door open, they flying out of an invisible nowhere, hoping I will spread the goodies around the potted daisy bush and along the pavers near the wall.
If we sit at the outdoor table to have morning tea, they hear us and come around, even flying up on to the table looking for crumbs.
When we return from an outing, they seem to know the sound of the car and will follow it up the driveway so they can be waiting in the right places for a handout.
They know the friendly sounds of our presence.
Similarly the King parrots and the Mountain Lawreys know the sound of the door opening and the rattle of the seed container. They fly down from the high tree to the feeding table, totally undisturbed by our presence.
However, there are other birds who come to hunt our guests away and steal their food. They drop in while we are silently out of sight, thinking we do not know they are there.
When we deliberately bang open the screen door they fly off. When we clap our hands, they shoot away into a high tree. Our very presence puts them to flight.
As soon as the intruders vacate the feeding table, the parrots are waiting to take their places even as the enemy is in retreat.
The wrens keep picking up their special treats without fear and it is because they are familiar with our unique sounds
The birds who know us, they know our sounds and are never afraid of them.
This parable that unwinds itself day after day and we enjoy it because it the same as the parable Jesus told.
His parable was about sheep but it has the same meaning. He said the sheep follow the shepherd because they know the voice of the shepherd. The thief comes to steal, kill and destroy but the sheep will not follow him, they will run away from him. Instead, he said, ‘I am the good shepherd, I know my own and they know me.’ John 10 1-16.
I often wonder, do we know that unique sound, the true voice of the true Shepherd?
By Just a Minute team writer Elizabeth Price.
You can contact Elizabeth direct at mailto:reprice@dragnet.com.au