Week 36 - The Fifth Sparrow
“Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God.” (Luke 12:6)
I remember reading with sadness the news report about the sudden closure of the Singapore campus of the University of New South Wales, UNSW Asia. Having worked in a tertiary institution before I can empathise fully with what the students and staff members were going through at that moment. The discouragement and the loneliness they were experiencing were conveyed by the empty canteen, tearful students and their statements of regret.
However, amidst the “anger, disbelief, fear, shock and tears,” it is heartening to know that “local and locally based foreign universities cast aside their rivalries to take in students” as reported in Today Online.
When people are in a state of confusion and shock, they need assurance and care. They need to know that there is a way out of their predicament. Above all, they need to know that there is someone standing by them; someone who believes in them and has their best interests at heart.
As Christians, we too may encounter unexpected situations. We may also encounter situations beyond our control. The sudden death of a loved one, the loss of a job, the sickness of a parent, the unexpected souring of relationship with a colleague or a friend: these are some of the circumstances that may overwhelm us. When such things happen to us we are often thrown off guard. Our first reaction could very well be fear. What is going to happen next? We begin to think of the worst case scenario.
Jesus knew too well our tendency to be overcome by fear. In
God cares even for the sparrow which is thrown into the bargain, and which in the sight of man has no value at all. Even the forgotten sparrow is precious to God. Jesus said, “Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father” (
The sparrow was the cheapest food item sold in the market and might have been part of the diet of the poor. Despite the low value of these insignificant birds, not even one of them escapes God’s attention. In the illustration, Jesus implies that God will care for the disciples much more than He cares for the birds. The disciples were far more valuable to God than sparrows (five birds for two pennies).
The word for “penny” is assarion, a Roman copper coin worth about one-sixteenth of a denarius (a day’s wage).
Jesus also states that God knows the number of hair on a person’s head (
Brothers and sisters, what fears do you have? What burdens are you bearing? The Apostle Peter exhorts us to cast all our anxieties on God because He cares for us (
Over the years, I have found this hymn to be of tremendous comfort to me whenever I face discouragement. When His eye is on us, we need not fear. It is enough to know that He watches over us.
Why should I feel discouraged, why should the shadows come, Why should my heart be lonely, and long for heaven and home, When Jesus is my portion? My constant friend is He: His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me; His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.