Sermon Preached at the Blessing of the Animals
This is what i put together for the blessing of the animals service I was at this weekend, the 6th of October.
Our pets, as many of you already know, help us remember significant moments in our lives. My wife and I had a chocolate lab named Fran; Fran was the first pet we had as new family living in the world. She was beautiful and gentle and cuddly and so much fun to play with. On September 10th, 2001, the day before the Twin Towers fell, Fran was jumping up and down at our back door, she really wanted to go outside, it was morning, so I assumed she had a full bladder and needed to be let out. When I opened the door, I realized she was not so much interested in finding a fire hydrant as she wanted the rabbit that was hiding somewhere in our backyard. She took off after the rabbit and during the chase leaped over the flower bed in our back yard, in that moment her life changed, our lives changed. She landed on her neck, had somehow paralyzed herself in the jump, and couldn’t move. We brought her down here on the 10th of September and began a long process of rehabilitation that resulted in a very healthy and happy dog. For us, the terrorist attacks on 9/11 will always be remembered along with the day before, when our Fran ended up in a half body cast, leaving us to wonder and fear for her future.
Often I will hear at blessing ceremonies such as this one, that people bring their loved ones because Fido really needs it, he is a little rascal, or last years blessing wore off, and its time for a new one. While I wish I had the kind of power suggested to change the behavior of these animals, in that simple act of blessing, as maybe my colleagues here also wish, I wonder if receiving and gathering these animals together has more to do with discovering the holy, uncovering for ourselves once again, how each animal on this earth, made lovingly and with great care by God, is a divine and beautiful creature. Our pets, our loved ones, those we have today, and those who have journeyed with us along the way and are no longer here, these creatures that love us unconditionally, no matter what, remind us that we also, then, are holy, and divine and full of God. These blessings upon our beloved pets, both present and living, and past and died, help us to see that we do not need to do anything to achieve greater holiness, rather, all we have to do is see that we are holy in order to achieve all that God dreams for us to accomplish.
There is a wonderful children’s book I read to my kids all the time, it is called “How the animals helped God”. It talks about how the animals helped God create humans, and the many ideas they brought to help shape God’s imagination about what humans would be like. Make them loud, make them silent, make them fast, make them slow, the animals say. God takes all the ideas and suggestions from each animal and creates humans. Days like these, are the days that help me realize, we need the help of our beloved animal friends, more than they need ours.
I want to close with a Poem adapted by a friend of mine for the Indigenous Theological Training Institute here in Minneapolis,
Inside an arch, like that of the sky
Inside the shell of old turtle
Inside the body of our mother
Inside our memories waiting to be born again
We hear the sound of flock after flock
Their ancient call of welcome and question.
Seeking relatives before a winter exile
Hiss of water on stone
And the cries of the geese bark an answer
Their touch is deep as bone
Speaking words never written
That always mean home.
Our pets, as many of you already know, help us remember significant moments in our lives. My wife and I had a chocolate lab named Fran; Fran was the first pet we had as new family living in the world. She was beautiful and gentle and cuddly and so much fun to play with. On September 10th, 2001, the day before the Twin Towers fell, Fran was jumping up and down at our back door, she really wanted to go outside, it was morning, so I assumed she had a full bladder and needed to be let out. When I opened the door, I realized she was not so much interested in finding a fire hydrant as she wanted the rabbit that was hiding somewhere in our backyard. She took off after the rabbit and during the chase leaped over the flower bed in our back yard, in that moment her life changed, our lives changed. She landed on her neck, had somehow paralyzed herself in the jump, and couldn’t move. We brought her down here on the 10th of September and began a long process of rehabilitation that resulted in a very healthy and happy dog. For us, the terrorist attacks on 9/11 will always be remembered along with the day before, when our Fran ended up in a half body cast, leaving us to wonder and fear for her future.
Often I will hear at blessing ceremonies such as this one, that people bring their loved ones because Fido really needs it, he is a little rascal, or last years blessing wore off, and its time for a new one. While I wish I had the kind of power suggested to change the behavior of these animals, in that simple act of blessing, as maybe my colleagues here also wish, I wonder if receiving and gathering these animals together has more to do with discovering the holy, uncovering for ourselves once again, how each animal on this earth, made lovingly and with great care by God, is a divine and beautiful creature. Our pets, our loved ones, those we have today, and those who have journeyed with us along the way and are no longer here, these creatures that love us unconditionally, no matter what, remind us that we also, then, are holy, and divine and full of God. These blessings upon our beloved pets, both present and living, and past and died, help us to see that we do not need to do anything to achieve greater holiness, rather, all we have to do is see that we are holy in order to achieve all that God dreams for us to accomplish.
There is a wonderful children’s book I read to my kids all the time, it is called “How the animals helped God”. It talks about how the animals helped God create humans, and the many ideas they brought to help shape God’s imagination about what humans would be like. Make them loud, make them silent, make them fast, make them slow, the animals say. God takes all the ideas and suggestions from each animal and creates humans. Days like these, are the days that help me realize, we need the help of our beloved animal friends, more than they need ours.
I want to close with a Poem adapted by a friend of mine for the Indigenous Theological Training Institute here in Minneapolis,
Inside an arch, like that of the sky
Inside the shell of old turtle
Inside the body of our mother
Inside our memories waiting to be born again
We hear the sound of flock after flock
Their ancient call of welcome and question.
Seeking relatives before a winter exile
Hiss of water on stone
And the cries of the geese bark an answer
Their touch is deep as bone
Speaking words never written
That always mean home.
Comments
Thank you for your thoughts.