Sermon January 18, 2026 "I Saw a Bird Today" by Rev. Katrina Ross Zezza

Sermon January 18, 2026 "I Saw a Bird Today" by Rev. Katrina Ross Zezza

Someone asked me towards the end of last week if there had been anything that surprised me here, in my first week of being a pastor. That was before we had to close the church two Sundays in a row, due to snow. I can say that was definitely the most surprising thing so far. But before that happened, I told him- only good surprises. Like, as soon as I walked in on Monday morning, the chit chat group gave me coffee, and then I walked into my office and there were flowers waiting for me. I was surprised that I felt so at home here by Thursday. And I couldn’t believe what a rock star our office manager Jo Anna is. We are seriously so lucky to have her. These past two week have been awesome. Even with the curve balls we’ve been thrown. I hope that each of you will reach out to me so we can get to know each other more… Our church is on the threshold of something new, and I think we can trust that there will be more good surprises. 

Today we read in the gospel of John about the first followers of Jesus. The line that stood out to me the most was this part where Jesus speaks and the first thing he says to the future disciples is: “What do you want?” They were following him and so Jesus finally turns around and he says, “What do you want?” or more literally from the Greek, “What seek you?” Which can also be translated as, “What are you looking for?” He knows that they are searching for something, but they don’t know what it is. They have caught a glimpse of God in the person of Jesus, and all they know is that they want to follow him to where he is staying. But isn’t this question at the heart of our faith journey? What are we really looking for? What are we hoping to find? Jesus invites us to come and see. But it isn’t guaranteed that we will get any more answers when we do follow. In fact, the more we learn, the more questions we have. 

Questions and parables are two of Jesus’ favorite modes of teaching, neither of which give us direct answers, which can sometimes be frustrating. Instead they invite us to participate, not for the purpose of transferring knowledge but to elicit new ways of understanding. Most teachers will tell you that a good question is more valuable than a list of answers, because questions invite us to further reflection. Answers close the door and questions open it. 

A faith journey is a journey of having our eyes opened to the mystery of God. Sometimes it just takes a spark to start our journey. But it doesn’t take away the mystery, it opens our eyes to it. We catch a glimpse of God, and we want to know more. A conversation we have or an experience will set us on a path to learn more and grow in faith.

There’s a trend on social media called the bird theory. And I’ll explain it. The idea is that you go up to someone in your life and you say, “I saw a bird today.” That’s it. Just “I saw a bird today” and how they respond is supposed to tell you how in tune you are with each other. Because relationships are built on small moments like this. Of course, there are all kinds of ways that people process social interactions, so the test is not fool-proof. It doesn’t take into the account the full range of neurodiversity. But the idea is that if they say, “Tell me about it”, or they match your energy or they try to understand why you’re telling them, then they “pass” and you are in tune with each other. But if they react with just like “ok” or “cool” without any follow up then they aren’t as in tune with you. And they “fail”. Honestly I haven’t seen many videos of people failing, just the ones who pass. They ask very cute follow up questions like- Aw where? In a tree? Which tree? What kind of bird? What color was it? Did it have a pointed beak or a rounded beak? Do you want to go look around for more birds? We could take a little walk. It’s funny because you can see they are a little confused, you can see in their face that they’re wondering, why is this significant? They are searching for the significance of it. They trust that it must be significant for a reason, if this person is telling them about it, but they just haven’t figured it out yet. So they keep asking questions. The ones I’ve seen are mostly people testing their spouse or significant other. But there was a sweet one of a boy who looked like he was about 10. His mother says, “I saw a bird today” and his face lights up. He comes closer and asks her lots of questions. He says, “Really what color was it?” she says “It was black with a little red on the wings and there was some blue too. He says, “That sounds like a colorful bird. I wish I could see a bird like that.” 

I kept thinking of this Bird Theory trend as I read the gospel passage because John the Baptist basically tells the disciples, “I saw a bird”. When he says that the holy spirit descended like a dove and remained on Jesus when he was baptized. And they are so in tune with him that they have to find out what it means. They know it means something very significant.

In some traditions the season of Epiphany lasts until Ash Wednesday, so we are still in it. In English, the word “epiphany” is often used to mean a sudden insight, an aha moment, that allows a problem to be seen in a new light. In Greek, Epipháneia was used to refer to the appearance of other things- including the sunrise in the morning, and it especially referred to the appearance of a deity to a worshiper. But in the Christian tradition, epiphany is about the appearance of the one God of the Hebrews in Jesus. The revelation of God. That’s why we also celebrate the baptism of Jesus during epiphany, since Jesus was revealed as the Son of God during his baptism.

Being part of a faith community doesn’t mean that we have it all figured out, that we’re unshakable in our faith already, or that we are certain about our beliefs, it means we are seeking God together. That we are living into our faith. We gather because we want to have faith. And it takes practice. We want to follow Jesus. And that is something that we have to discern day by day. There will be times when any one of us might waiver in our faith, but that’s what community is for. If you are having trouble believing. Or having hope. Your community can carry the faith for you, until a time when you can feel God’s hand on your shoulder again. So thank you for inviting me to be in community with you. It is a powerful thing when people take care of each other. With all the violence we’re seeing in the world today, the good news can be found in the connections that keep people showing up for each other, in spite of the efforts of Empire to divide us and make us feel isolated. This is how we can counteract harmful forces, by staying connected to other people. And God is revealed through our gathering. Let’s remember to look around at the beautiful things that we see people doing for one another every day. Both in our own community and in our broader nation. People are delivering food to their neighbors, making space for kids to play and learn, and creating music to brighten up Sunday morning. There is not only cruelty. There is love. Sometimes it’s hard to spot the difference, but other times it’s super clear. We celebrated the life of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King this past week, and the best way to honor him is to show up for others the way that he did. What kinds of things might he have been doing this week, if he were still alive? What can we do to re-humanize each other when the powers that be are trying to de-humanize us? 

On our faith journeys we are formed through relationships, our relationships with God and with one another. My hope is that when one of us says, I saw a bird today, we will have lots of good follow up questions. Looking for the significance of it together. As a community we are formed by one another. As we start this journey together, to seek God, I feel so blessed. I’m looking forward to hearing about each of your faith journeys. What your experiences have been with God, what it means to you to be a part of this community, what your hopes and dreams are. And together we are going to learn about Jesus. Because every day is a new revelation.

So let us pray. O Great Love, you are truly good. Thank you for being the God of love and not cruelty. We are in awe of this journey of faith that we are on as a community. Please help us to remember to listen to each other and to you. May it be so. Amen.