Bird Devotional 95

Sora, Porzana carolina

“Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field.” Genesis 2:19-20

I have always been intrigued by the process of naming birds. Some birds are named for their appearance, some for their voice, and some for their habits. Other birds were given names so odd they make no sense at all. I wonder, if given the responsibility for naming birds, what sort of job would I do? Would my bird names be any better than the ones we have now? Somehow, I doubt it. The Sora is one of those birds with a name that does not appear to have any discernible significance, and I have tried to discover the meaning behind the word, sora. All I could find was that sora is the Native American name for the bird, with no mention of which of the more than 500 Native American tribes used that word. That ambiguous etymological reference never satisfied me. Finally, I found one source that said the bird is named for its call, “sor-AH, sor-AH.” I had heard the bird’s voice many times in the wild, but it wasn’t until I listened to a recording of the bird’s call that it all made sense. It is quite appropriate that the Sora is named for the sound it makes. Most of the time the voice of this little marsh bird is all the evidence we have of its presence. They spend their days well hidden in the marshy reeds.

Often we think that since God is the Creator of the universe and all that is in it, we humans don’t really have much responsibility in the grand scheme of things. However, God has given us responsibility over many things that are much more important than Adam’s responsibility for naming the birds and animals. In the New Testament, Jesus revealed several areas over which we are responsible. One area is sharing the Good News. He said, “Go and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19). Another area is our relationship with God and our relationship with others. Jesus said, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself” (Luke 10:27). How well is each of us fulfilling the responsibility to share the Good News with others and to love our neighbor? Why don’t we ask Him for His help?

Lord, I confess that I have a hard time sharing your Good News and showing love to others. Fill me with your Spirit and love, that I may fulfill my responsibility to love as you would have me love. Amen.