CELERY
Like a Singing Sparrow
While attending Easter Mass early this morning, I was inspired to write this article. Looking back at the piece I wrote seven years ago for White Butterfly, “Easter Thoughts,” I am very grateful to the Lord for helping me better understand Easter’s connection with His Creation.
The image of a singing sparrow came later when I got home and began to gather my thoughts for the article. I imagined the picture I was going to post with it. Having had an affinity for birds for so long, envious of their wings and their freedom to fly, I thought of an eagle I have appreciated for some time, or perhaps a flock of birds soaring through the sky. I came across a sparrow not accidentally, but its characteristic is singing and not flying.
In that moment, the sparrow became a symbol of Easter itself—of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, restoring creation and humanity to their original beauty. We were made in the image of God, human and divine, beautifully woven together. Through Christ’s rising, that image, tarnished by sin, has been triumphantly rekindled. Now, like the sparrow, we are called to sing our song of life and hope, fully alive in the presence of God.
The Original Creation: Humanity in the Image of God
From the beginning, God created human beings in His own image.
“Let us make man in our image, after our likeness…” (Genesis 1:26).
God’s design for us was both beautiful and divine. Humanity was meant to reflect His nature, His love, and His glory. We were created to live in harmony with God, one another, and the rest of creation. The human and divine were meant to meet in perfect union, each person a unique gift and beloved expression of God’s goodness.
Our Loss of Union
Adam and Eve chose a path of separation, seeking knowledge and control apart from God. In this act of rebellion, the image of God within us became marred, and we lost the intimacy with God that we were meant to enjoy. Sin fractured that beautiful union, and instead of reflecting God’s glory, we were consumed with our brokenness, alienation, and death. Yet, even with this fall, God’s love for us remained steadfast, planning and waiting for the day for us to be reconciled to him.
The Death and Resurrection of Jesus: Return of the Image
In the fullness of time, God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to recreate what was lost. Through His death on the cross, Jesus took upon Himself the full weight of our brokenness and sin. He died to reconcile us to God through His resurrection so the image of God was truly renewed to its glory. As St. Paul writes,
“If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17).
Jesus, fully human and fully divine, perfectly reflects God’s image. In his resurrection, the Risen Lord paved the way for us to be restored to that same image.
In Christ, the human and the divine are not just reconciled; they are elevated. Jesus’s death and resurrection bring us back into the fullness of what God intended in the beginning—a life united with Him, transformed by His grace, and made new in His likeness.
Living in Creation: Singing Our Song
Like the sparrow, who sings freely at dawn, we are invited to sing our song of restored life. Once marked by sin and separation, our lives can now reflect the joy, hope, and peace of new life in Christ. As St. Paul writes in Colossians,
“You have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its Creator” (Colossians 3:9-10).
Through Christ’s resurrection, we are made new, and our lives are meant to be an offering of praise to God, just as the sparrow sings, unburdened and free.
We are called to live in the full beauty of God’s image, showing kindness, love, compassion, and grace. The shadows of sin and death no longer bind us; we are made new in Christ. Like the sparrow, our lives can be a song of thanksgiving to God for His great work of recreation. We are free to live fully as human beings and as sons and daughters of God, aligned to His Divine Will.
Our Easter Hope
Easter is a reminder that no matter how small or insignificant we may feel, we are beloved in God’s eyes, and His restoration is real. Just as the sparrow sings its song without concern for the world’s applause, we are also called to live in the freedom and joy of being fully rekindled in God’s grace. This Easter, may we rise with Christ, not just in resurrection, but in the fullness of who we are, our true selves, i.e., God’s beloved creation, reflecting His glory and singing our song of new life.
A Prayer
Lord, I have for so long prayed to fly to you in freedom like the birds in the sky. Grant me the grace, through your Resurrection, to ascend to you anew as the little sparrow which does not fly but sings your glory from where it is, so all may hear – humbly and intimately as you have created each one of us.
such a beautiful Easter Reflection, Celia. thank you for sharing this.
Celia, did you write a Reflection or a Recollection talk? There is so much to absorb in what you posted yet very simply, I believe God’s love and presence has blessed your journey with the powerful soaring eagle in the skies to humble sparrows on the ground.
May the beauty of your life in Him flourish unabated all your days, to be shared with other travellers, always.