Streaker Bees: Forgetting What is Behind, Straining Towards What is Ahead (10/08/08)

Warren Sentinel "Weekly Pulpit" (10/08/2008)

Have you ever wondered how a swarm of bees is able to navigate from its old nest site to its new nest site? Its a minor miracle that several thousand swarming insects can stick together as they fly from one site to another, with relatively few of them even knowing where they're going. This past week scientists announced that they had made an important discovery about how swarms of bees navigate from one nest site to another.

It turns out that there are bees described as "streaker bees." The streaker bees are scouts who have a very strong sense of where the swarm needs to go. They don't fly at the very front of the swarm leading the way. Instead, they streak through the top portion of the swarm in a straight line, pointing the way that the swarm should head. Once they reach the front of the swarm, they make their way to the back and streak through again and again. Although streaker bees represent less than 5% of the hive's population, the seemingly random swarm follows their lead.

It seems to me that we all need some streaker bees in our lives. We need positive examples of lives that are headed in the right direction that we can emulate. And if this is true of us as individuals, it is certainly true for our churches. Now all analogies break down and I don't want to put too much weight on how bees navigate as a swarm, but I do think some lessons can be learned from them.

This past week the Lectionary Epistle reading came from Philippians 3. In verses 13-14 the Apostle Paul writes, "Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."

The Apostle Paul explained something very relevant to many of our churches in this chapter and that is this: We need to forget what is behind and strain toward what is ahead. Sometimes we, as individuals and as churches, cherish our pasts more than our futures. This is particularly tempting in churches who have seen attendance and active involvement in the life of the church dwindle. It can be very tempting to long for the good old days of yesteryear.

But I believe that our best days are, in fact, ahead of us. Not our easiest days, but our best days. God isn't finished with us yet. He isn't finished transforming our lives and he isn't finished transforming our churches and our communities. Even though church attendance may be declining across our country, more people are actively seeking meaningful spirituality than ever before. Times of change and uncertainty tend to do this.

What our churches and our communities need are a few good streaker bees! We need people who are guided by prayer and the Word of God who are willing to "fly harder and straighter" to help us press on together.