Longing to Be Free

Poet and educator Archibald Rutledge once told a story about the time he caught a baby mockingbird and tried to keep it for a pet. He put it in a small cage outside. On the second day in the cage, the young mockingbird’s mother flew to her baby with food in her bill. 

Rutledge said he was so pleased. He thought surely the mama would know how to feed her baby better than he did. But the following morning, he found the baby bird was dead. 

When he later shared this experience with a friend who was a well-known ornithologist, the ornithologist explained: A mother mockingbird, finding her young in a cage, will sometimes take it poison berries. She thinks it better for one she loves to die rather than to live in captivity.  

While the story is sad, it also speaks to a deeper truth: every creature longs to be free. It is part of how God created us. As a pastor, I meet too many people who carry guilt and shame around with them like a ton of bricks. They cling to the past and can’t let go.

In the New Testament, in the first letter of John, we read, “If we say that we are without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.” But John doesn’t leave it there. He adds, “But if we confess our sin, God who is faithful and just will forgive us our sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Today, may you bring your past, your burdens, your confession to God. If you need to make amends, do so. But then, may you let go and trust that you are indeed forgiven.

Let us pray: God of grace, we bring to you even now the burdens of our hearts… Help us to trust you – for we know that you are a God of mercy and compassion and steadfast love. May your healing grace wash over us anew. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.