Don’t tell me that animals can’t talk. 

            Maybe not in words, the way we do. The Oxford English Dictionary lists over 600,000 definitions and word forms. There is no way that any animal – even any human – has a vocabulary that size. 

            But they do have vocabularies. Recent studies of prairie dogs have discovered that they have a wide range of whistles and squeaks, with clear meanings. 

            We can’t hear the differences, or maybe we’re unwilling to hear them. But the computer, endlessly patient, endlessly analytical, has identified specific sounds for different dangers: a coyote, an eagle, a human….

Free lunch syndrome

            At the start of winter, I fill my bird feeder with sunflower seeds. For several days, not one bird came to dinner. Then a single junco arrived, pecked, and flew away. The day after that, a handful of scrappy little finches showed up. 

            The third day, a single quail appeared.

            Now, quail are ground birds. They’d rather run than fly, little legs blurring beneath them like the cartoon Roadrunner’s. And they are not loners. They travel in flocks, so many that sometimes the earth itself seems to be moving. 

            But for some reason, this one flew up to check. Alone.

            And the next day, dozens of quail swarmed over the feeder, climbing over each other, double-deckering on each other’s backs, to get at the treasure trove of sunflower seeds.

            They had to have had a way of passing the good news around. 

            Their own social media? 

            Other examples abound. 

            Killer whales in Antarctica coordinate their efforts to tip an ice floe, so that the seal seeking safety on top the floe has to skid off. 

            Acacia trees in Africa warn nearby trees to increase the levels of bitter tannin in their leaves when giraffes approach.  

            Mother cats have a variety of mews and purrs that clearly convey some kind of instructions to their kittens.

Shaped by experience

            The evidence is there. Over and over. 

            If you can’t see it, there are two possible reasons. Either you’re deliberately ignoring the evidence. Or you’re so hooked on what you were told once, by a teacher or parent, that you’re unwilling to give up that notion, regardless of evidence. 

            A friend of mine asserts, unequivocally, that he has never heard God speak to him. Which is probably true enough, if he expects God to speak to him in English. More specifically, in King-James-Bible English. Using Charlton Heston’s voice. 

            But why should God have to speak in our language, whatever it is? If God must speak English, what would a Hungarian hear? Or a prairie dog?

            I suggest that God speaks the only universal language – the language of experience. 

            God speaks in a lingering kiss. And when the infant cradled in our arms gurgles and coos. When the cat curls up in our lap, and when the first rose of summer opens its petals.

            We learn from our experiences. We fit together the jigsaw pieces of awe and wonder, of pain and loss, to create a coherent picture. 

            Language doesn’t need syntax and grammar, nouns and verbs, subjunctives and pluperfects, to communicate.

            Small children know none of those. But when they reach up and take your hand, they speak volumes. 

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Copyright © 2021 by Jim Taylor. Non-profit use in congregations and study groups, and links from other blogs, welcomed; all other rights reserved.

                  To comment on this column, write jimt@quixotic.ca

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YOUR TURN

The concept of leaving some Christmas decorations up all year seems to be shared by quite a few of you. 

Ralph Schmidt: “I was so pleased to read what you are doing, because so are we.  We have this lovely tree out by the county road and each Christmas we add a few more lights and illuminate our little corner with some reds, yellows, greens, blues and the like.  With COVID, isolation, loneliness, darkness and trepidations about the future we decided if we could provide a little extra light to our and other’s worlds for longer than the season might allow, we were going to do so.  Then we decided to leave the fireplace mantle lights up as well, for us

            “Thus, until the snow melts, the grass grows again and the lawnmower comes out, the extension cords reman and the lights shall shine.

            “It even allows me to smile when I arrive at the corner, in the darkness, and see the lights.”

John Shaffer: “When I was the pastor in Juneau, Alaska, a woman named Abbie Jane Wells left her Christmas tree up all year as her personal witness against war, specifically the Vietnam War.  She lost a few customers in her hair-care business.  When I thanked her for her witness, we became friends.

            “She was pen pals with a wide variety of persons, including Daniel Berrigan and William Stringfellow.  One of her admirers arranged for her letters to be published under the title: ‘The Gospel According to Abbie Jane Wells.’ It was and is worth a read.”

Randy Hall: “Jane and I have the same division of labor.  She LOVES to decorate and I LOVE for her to decorate, for she does it so beautifully.  I do the heavy lifting and tree assembly in addition to the outside decorations.

            “But lately we have begun the process of at least learning each other's chores.  I'm showing her how to change air filters and trip circuit breakers; she's showing me where seasonal things are stored.  The day will come when one of us has to do the things that the other always did.  The sadness of anticipation lends more appreciation of what we now have -- each other.

Diana Cabott: “I chuckled! My husband has dementia and this last year we splurged on a enormous 7-foot tree that barely fits in the living room, but my husband (who was never into Christmas) fell in love with it. However, when it was time to decorate it he became very agitated and said it was his tree and must not be touched. So,,,,some other small trees were put up in other rooms and decorated with wonderful pieces that the family has cherished for years. They have now been packed but I suspect we may not be able to remove the living room tree for quite a while...”

Ruth Shaver: “As I was reading this, the first of my timed strands of indoor white Christmas lights came on. I, like you, feel the need this year more than ever to let the spirit of Christmas linger. I think most of my decorations will come down this weekend. The lights, however, will probably stay until the time changes.”

Isabel Gibson: “After several years wintering in The South, we had Christmas at home. Sort of. No family, no guests. But we did put up a pre-lit artificial tree and hang some ornaments on it. 

            “I find the work of taking them down much greater, which is maybe why they're all still up. (Calling it ‘sloth’ seems unnecessarily harsh.)

            “But the lighted palm trees on the porch are still up because in the dark and the cold I like the little twinkly lights. I will eventually put away the hanging ornaments, but the palms may become a permanent fixture.”

Beth Richardson: “We have always left a couple of Christmas decorations out year-round...and since we now have an artificial tree, I leave it undecorated in a corner of the living room for some green through the rest of the year.”

Pamela Young: “We have had Christmas in our home all year too, for many, many years. 

            “Our decorations include a treasured crocheted doily (gifted by a treasured mother-in-law), the ceramic Christmas tree with lights (made by my loved mom), a framed holiday card (from a daughter who relishes traditions) and our cherub Santa that hints of green, red and white hidden lights (bought on a dime, in a consignment store, and worth every penny). And lastly, there is the stained-glass snowflake purchased at our local ArtWalk whose price I misread without my reading glasses until purchase point...a little explaining required to my awaiting husband!

            “And also treasured are multiple Christmas celebrations in our 24/7 digital screen that brings over 20 years of photos with a single camera chip.”

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Psalm paraphrase

I have a previous paraphrase of Psalm 50:1-6, but the whole thing now feels like a reinforcement of the traditional ideas of God as almighty judge, ready to smack His gavel down on miscreants who dispute his authority. So I tried doing something different. 

The sphere of earth spins on its axis, cycling through space.

Gravity reaches out, tugs the galaxies into orbits. 

Air is invisible to us, but we breathe it anyway. 

Some things are beyond denial, beyond protesting against. 

The presence of God is like that. 

God is everywhere, in everything, in everyone. 

In God, we live and breathe and have our being. 

We are like fish in water, birds in air – 

we cannot see and cannot know the medium that supports us,

lifts us, holds us, lets us live our independent lives. 

But the invisible God draws all things together, 

makes meaning out of chaos, makes connection out of coincidence. 

It’s not up to us to judge God’s presence;

the heavens themselves are God’s witness.

You can find paraphrases of most of the psalms in the Revised Common Lectionary in my book Everyday Psalmsavailable from Wood Lake Publishing, info@woodlake.com.

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TECHNICAL STUFF

If you want to comment on something, send a message directly to me, jimt@quixotic.ca.

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                  I write a second column each Sunday called Sharp Edges, which tends to be somewhat more cutting about social and justice issues. To sign up for Sharp Edges, write to me directly, jimt@quixotic.ca, or send a note to sharpedges-subscribe@lists.quixotic.ca

                  And for those of you who like poetry, please check my webpage .https://quixotic.ca/My-Poetry I posted several new poetic works there a few weeks ago. If you’d like to receive notifications about new poems, write me at jimt@quixotic.ca, or subscribe yourself to the list by sending a blank email (no message) to poetry-subscribe@lists.quixotic.ca (If it doesn’t work, please let me know.)

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PROMOTION STUFF

To use the links in this section, you’ll have to insert the necessary symbols. Some spam filters have blocked my posts because they’re suspicious of some of the web links.

                  Wayne Irwin's “Churchweb Canada,” an inexpensive service for any congregation wanting to develop a web presence, with free consultation. http://wwwDOTchurchwebcanadaDOTca He’s also relatively inexpensive!

                  I recommend Isabel Gibson’s thoughtful and well-written blog, wwwDOTtraditionaliconoclastDOTcom. She also has lots of beautiful photos. Especially of birds.

                  Tom Watson writes a weekly blog called “The View from Grandpa Tom’s Balcony” -- ruminations on various subjects, and feedback from Tom’s readers. Write him at tomwatsoATgmailDOTcom (NB that’s “watso” not “watson”)

ALVA WOOD’S ARCHIVE

                  I have acquired (don’t ask how) the complete archive of the late Alva Wood’s collection of satiric and sometimes wildly funny columns about a mythical village’s misadventures. I’ve put them on my website: http://quixotic.ca/Alva-Wood-Archive. You’re welcome to browse. No charge. (Although maybe if I charged a fee, more people would find the archive worth visiting.)