Foreign Agents

Turkey Vulture

Which one of these three was a neighbor to the man who encountered thieves? ~ Luke 10: 36

It is important to distinguish between the terms non-native and invasive. Some native species are invasive, that is, they multiply rapidly and tend to dominate an environmental niche. A non-native is, as the name implies, not naturally occurring in the area where they are found, somehow they were introduced. Sometimes intentional introductions fail, like the tiny European songbirds that a group intent on bringing every bird mentioned by Shakespeare introduced in Central Park in the 19^th century. Sometimes they are wildly successful like the European Starlings released by those same enthusiasts. And often, like starlings, the non-native species become invasive, taking over from native species, out competing them for resources, in the process creating real harm.

Sometimes introductions are a matter of restoration. Wild Turkeys are an iconic species in New England given their association with the Pilgrims and Thanksgiving. There is no denying that they are as abundant today as they were then, but for a time their population here was zero. All the turkeys filling our woods and fields today are from birds that were stocked from elsewhere.

Some non-native species arrive on their own in response to environmental changes and the natural urge to be fruitful and multiply. Some bird species that we take for granted today were not here fifty years ago. Species like Northern Cardinals, Carolina Wrens, and Turkey Vultures. All of these birds seem to have fit in without pushing others out and the vultures appear to be beneficial. These scavengers, far from spreading disease, help prevent disease by helping to remove carrion. Their amazing sense of smell allows them to detect rotting flesh from up to a mile away. Their perfectly attuned aerodynamics allow them to soar on air as it warms. Their featherless heads allow them to literally dig into their meals with a minimum of mess. Still, they are smelly after they’ve eaten and they are messy, so not so nice to have in the neighborhood. And should they find deceased livestock, they can look more like a culprit than a helper. Thus vultures have gotten a bad reputation. It takes some intention to celebrate vultures, but once you get to know them, you might just like them.

When it comes to our human kin, we have fewer excuses for allowing our suspicions to turn to fears and ostracizing. We can ask questions, we can get to know them, and when we do, the surprise of finding a “good” Samaritan goes away. In the parable, Jesus is exposing that bigotry toward the foreigner, who is assumed to only be capable of harmful or destructive behavior, surely not the self-sacrificing compassion shown to the stranger in trouble. But there you have it, not only are we supposed to understand that everyone is our neighbor, and thus deserving of our caring, but the model of how to be a neighbor is the one we least want to even have as a neighbor.

Prayer: Sovereign One, forgive us for thinking our neighbor was a nuisance when you sent them as a teacher. Amen.