The Blessing of the Animals service was today–it is one of my favorite services of the year.
I chose to do something a little different for this year’s sermon, and I wanted to share it. I hope you like it.
“Apprehend God in all things, for God is in all things. Every single creature is full of God, and is a book about God. Every creature is a word of God. If I spent enough time with the tiniest creature—even a caterpillar—I would never have to prepare a sermon so full of God is every creature.”
Meister Eckhart
A meditation on the Feast of Saint Francis, in six movements.
Movement One: The Pests
Mosquitoes—really, God? Do I have to thank you for mosquitoes? And what about boil weevils—so destructive. And wasps—I don’t know anyone who likes wasps. What good are they? Rats (not the cute white ones, the big sewer ones), roaches, Asian carp, Cain toads: If I were in charge, I would have created a world without these problems, these disease-carriers, these nuisances. But I’m not in charge, you are, O God, and I can’t see the whole picture. So, even if only for today, I will give you thanks for mosquitoes; and ask you to bless them—and keep them far away from me.
Movement Two: The Marvels
The seahorse, the platypus, the mudskipper, the bat. The giraffe, the squid, the nudibranch, the emu. God, how did you come up with them all? If it is true that the world is charged with your grandeur, and that creation shows forth your glory, we can only stand in awe, and praise you for your unimaginable beauty, your endless diversity. Creation is a wonder; and we are a part of it.
Movement Three: The Ordinary
Forgive me, God, when I forget to be astonished by the chipmunks that hide their seeds in my front porch planters—to the deep chagrin of my mums: their soft brown bodies, striped with black and white, and their delicate forepaws. And the deer I see every evening—the fawn, growing fast, and her mother by her side. And the turkeys down the hill, especially the proud males, showing off their feathers. The owls and red-tailed hawks that nest in these trees. Open my eyes to the beauty in the ordinary, that I may not take my daily companions for granted.
Movement Four: The Big Picture
Over and over again, O God, you teach us this secret: there is nowhere we can escape your presence—and why would we want to? The heights of the Rocky Mountains, the depths of Lake Ontario, the length of the Baja Peninsula, the old growth forests of Vancouver Island. We know, oh God, the places where you speak to each of us, the places where you embrace us—only sometimes, we need to be reminded. We know this secret: you are everywhere, in every corner of creation.
Movement Five: The Miracle
Who was it, God: that early human who pondered that crafty wolf hanging around the village, looking for an easy meal, and saw possibility instead of threat? Who was it, that early wolf who looked at that pitiful human—without any fur or teeth or claws—and saw partnership instead of enmity? When I imagine this moment, I see the Holy Spirit moving in and around those two creatures, drawing them together, forging a special new friendship that would change the course of human nature, and create a new species. Thank you, God, for the dogs.
Movement Six: The End, the Beginning
Teach us the truth at the heart of all existence, O God: death is not the end, but a doorway. We need not fear the darkness, the night. With all due respect to the sun, it cannot compare to the luster of a full moon, and the blue-black sky full of sparkling diamonds. Life is a vast web—intertwined, interrelated, stretching out beyond our vision and our imagination. Tugging a fiber here shakes a fiber there. Pain in a far filament brings suffering close. And our joy radiates outward. In your hands, O God, death and life are held together, and we—the whole created family—are held together across time and space in your most powerful love.
Bless us. Bless them. Bless all.
“Apprehend God in all things, for God is in all things. Every single creature is full of God, and is a book about God. Every creature is a word of God. If I spent enough time with the tiniest creature- even a caterpillar- I would never have to prepare a sermon so full of God is every creature.”
Meister Eckhart
