The eagle who was overpowered by the chicken

“Let me pass, I have to follow them, I belong to the chicken.” Little eaglet

This is a story told by Fr Philip Heng, SJ when I joined the “Live in Vocation Camp” during the weekend. It was a very inspiring weekend. I’d cover in details of my experience with the Jesuits in the next post but for now I just want to retell the story that Fr Philip shared with all of us.

There was once an eagle that gave birth to a baby eagle – an eaglet. This mother eagle fed her eaglet day and night with the prey she caught in the open field. Days went by and this little eaglet grew a few inches bigger. From a featherless eaglet, feathers started to grow and soon this little eagle has had all the features of an eagle except that he is still sitting in the nest his mother built.

This mummy eagle knew that it was time to teach this eaglet to fly, so off she soared to the sky with the eaglet sitting on her wings. The eaglet was so amazed with the height of the mountain, the lush greenery of the forest, and they were touching the clouds. Without knowing what was in the mind of his mother, she threw him off her wings. Being thrown off and had no prior experience of flying, he dove all the way down helplessly. He has no total control and just could not spread his wings to fly. The mother was all the time beside him when he dove all the way down, giving him words of encouragement. The mother sensing that her little eagle was at danger picked him up just before the eaglet hit the ground.

The eaglet felt relieved that he thought this was over and his mother was bringing him back to his good ol’ comfortable nest. He was wrong, with the eaglet on his mother’s wings they sped off to the sky. At the top of the mountain, her mother threw him off again. The eaglet, being unable to open his wings, dove all the way down to the deep valley this time. He was afraid. Mother eagle was side by side with him encouraging him. Eventually she picked him up before he fell into the darkness of the valley.

This exercise was carried out again and again until he managed to fly. It took him quite some time to learn how to fly. A courageous eagle was now in the making. One day, mother eagle went out to prey for food. The eaglet, who just knew the basic of flying, was so happy. He kept flapping his wings, playing safe by remaining a few inches above the nest.

Out of a sudden, a strong wing blew. The eaglet having no full control of his flying skills was blown away. He dropped to the ground. In the bushes he met a group of little chickens. They took him and accepted him as one of their family members.

Time went by, this little eagle learned the way the chicken eat, the way they flock together, the way they catches worm, the way they run for cover when preyed by other eagles. Being a male eagle, he learned how the female hen clucks instead of following the rooster cock-a-doodle-doo. He saw himself as a chicken and no longer an eagle.

“Let me pass, I have to follow them, I belong to the chicken.” Little eaglet

One day, mother eagle was soaring in the sky as she still haven’t given up hope to find his son, he saw his son in the midst of the chicken. She landed on the ground to approach her son. Little eaglet told his mother he is no longer an eagle, he insisted that he is now a chicken. He was happy being a chicken. Having no way that she could convince him to go back with her, the mother left him. Yet, she still kept an eye on him in the sky.

The eaglet continued to live as a chicken, and he died as a chicken. He was “chicken” to admit his true identity – the eagle.

My dear friends, are you clucking or soaring?

The eagle resembles God, a caring Father yet always challenging us to achieve our limits. He teaches us and feed us when we are young. He takes us around the globe to see the beauty of the world which He created. He challenges us when we least expect, yet He is all the way staying with us and encouraging us when He gives us these challenges. When He knows we could not make it, he picks us up again. Time and time He gives us challenges.

In the middle of the challenges, some of us succumb with the comfort of the world. Some of us no longer admit ourselves as the eaglet (children of God) despite the fact that we are eagles. Most of us choose to become a chicken. Most of us got deceived with the identity given to us by this world. We no longer seek to discover our true identity not to say remain faithful to our identity. We no longer soar like the eagle though we used to.

My dear friends, do you still choose to cluck instead of to soar?

I want to share with you this song “On Eagles Wings”. This is how much God loves us.