Sermon (Homily) at St. John’s
Church, West Grimstead - Pet
Service – Sunday 14th May 2017
Genesis
6:12-22; 7:24; 8:1-12
Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of
my heart, be acceptable in your sight, O Lord and a blessing to all who hear. Amen
Pets and animals
are, without question, a very important part of life on Earth and their
diversity and abundance is a wonderful illustration of the creativity of God,
our own Creator. Who cannot be amazed at what we see and learn about animals
and plants in such programme as Life on Earth, the Blue Planet and such
like? We also only have to flip through
our bibles to find numerous mentions of animals throughout its pages – Noah’s
animals which we heard about in our bible reading from Genesis this
morning; Abraham’s ram, Joseph’s fat and thin cows in Pharaoh’s dreams, Moses’s
plagues of frogs, locusts and flies Daniel’s lions in the den; Balaam’s talking
donkey; Jonah’s whale, Elijah’s ravens;
David’s sheep, Jesus’s colt on which he entered Jerusalem – all have
great theological significance with Jesus frequently using parables connected
with shepherds and sheep. My favourite
animal story though, is that of Balaam’s donkey in Numbers (Chap. 22).
You can find it in Numbers chapter 22.
It is a slightly confusing story, but at its heart we find covetous Balaam
consumed by greed failing to follow God’s commands. Saddling his donkey, he
goes off to seek honour and wealth. God sends an angel to slay him, but only
the donkey sees the angel standing in the road ahead of Balaam with his sword
drawn. To avoid the angel the donkey turns off the road into the field.
Balaam strikes it viciously. Again the angel moves to block Balaam’s
path. Again the donkey sees him, and this time lies down so that Balaam cannot
move. Again Balaam strikes it. Then, astonishingly, and this is the famous
bit of the story, God open the mouth of the donkey and gives it the power to
speak. The donkey then addresses Balaam, saying “What have I done to you that
you have struck me?” (Numbers 22. 28) And when Balaam persists, suggesting the
donkey is making a fool of him, the donkey retorts, “Am I not your donkey,
which you have ridden all your life to this day? Have I been in the habit of
treating you this way?” “No” replies Balaam (Numbers 22.30). Then, having
opened the donkey’s mouth, the Lord opens Balaam’s eyes. He sees the angel
waiting to slay him and the angel informs him that the donkey is the only reason
he has not been killed. Balaam repents and goes on.
Well, we today live our lives with animals. We keep them as pets. We wear their skins upon our feet. Most of us eat them every day. Some of them – even those we eat – are beautifully cared for, loved and respected right to the end. Many are not. Even household pets are neglected, abused and cast away. If God were to open their mouths; if the animals we live with and depend upon for so much, were to speak to us, what would they say? Like Balaam’s donkey would they ask “What have I done that you treat me this way?”
I am sure that all these animals now with us here today in church are treated very well with much love and respect – and for their turn they can love and respect us.It is a well-known fact that stroking cats, dogs and some other furry creatures can significantly reduce the incidence of high blood pressure which can lead to strokes and heart attack. Our pets can not only help us physically but also psychologically in reducing loneliness and acting as a constant support when fellow humans can so badly let us down.
I own a beautiful female ginger and white cat called Ginny. Three years ago my world was turned upside down by events which were not in my control resulting in me having to leave my home in Winterslow and move into a house in Salisbury. It was a bad time or uncertainty and, at times loneliness. Thankfully, I am out of that valley due to having optimism and positivity and above all having Ginny with me throughout. When I felt down and disoriented, Ginny was there to jump up on my lap or bed – a constant loyal companion. Such devoted companionship deserves the best treatment we can afford. Ginny, although unable to speak like Balaam’s donkey, nevertheless could express her loyalty and devotion which itself made me feel so much better.
Unfortunately, not all animals are so well treated and it’s probably not the mouths of our animals that need opening but our own eyes to what we are doing to God’s created world. By neglecting animals, misusing them or by deliberate acts of selfishness we are in danger of destroying our environment.
Recently a short clip appeared on Facebook about the ecology of part of a Yellowstone National Park in north California. Deer had stripped much of the vegetation of the area with devastating results for the wildlife. Fourteen wolves (not thought of as the most friendly or constructive of creatures) were introduced and these had the effect of reducing the deer population which increased the plant life which led to an increase in the population and diversity of other animal life – mice, rabbits, weasels, hawks; it stabilised the soil which then made it possible for beavers to come back to build dams which then changed the path of the river and produced pools and lakes where water fowl were now able to flourish – all because 14 wolves were introduced into the area at the beginning.
God was at great pains to give Noah clear and precise instructions for the building of the ark and the collection and preservation of the animals. Animals are important to God and that is why we must always respect them and treat them kindly – even if they might one day end up on our dinner plate.
“Do to others as you would have them do to you”, says Jesus in Matthew’s gospel. Surely this must apply to the whole of creation, animals included. In John 10:11 we hear Jesus proclaim, borrowing an image of those who do love and tend for the animals in their care: “I am the Good Shepherd. The good Shepherd lays down his life for his sheep.”
Some people, I know, struggle with the theology of pet services. Some ask if animals have souls and if so what puts humans above them? We read the answer at the beginning of Creation; God created the animals first and then put humans in charge of them. I cannot imagine a Heaven without animals in it. We must always remember that we don’t own this planet – we are just tenants passing through; stewards given responsibility by God to preserve and protect our small blue planet and all of God’s creation here. It’s a massive responsibility and one we should not shrink from. As with the Facebook story, animals can and do influence our lives and ecology. It is right and proper to bless them and look after them.
This not only describes the relationship that Jesus has with us, loving us to the end, forgiving the uninterrupted misery of our sinfulness, dying for us; but is also an image of the attentive self-giving and respect which should mark our attitude and relationship with all of creation, and especially our closest friends, the animals with whom we live our lives and upon whom we depend so much. It is the Christian way: to love our neighbours.
Amen
97/10052017
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