Readings for the
Feast of St. Francis: Gen. 1:20-31
October 7, 2001
The Rev. Karen Siegfriedt
St. Jude the Apostle Episcopal Church, Cupertino,
CA
"And God made the wild animals of the earth of every kind, and the cattle of every kind and everything that creeps upon the ground of every kind. And God saw that it was good." Gen. 1
Whenever we read the Bible, we need to put on certain lenses. This is because we are often short sighted and stuck in the context of our own lives. Because of this, we are unable to clearly understand the biblical stories that were written over the centuries. The lenses that we need to put on to fully understand the Scriptures are the lenses of love. Once we are able to read the biblical stories from a place of love, then it is easier to understand what God is calling us to do. And what God is calling us to do, is to expand our circle of compassion.
Today's reading from the Book of Genesis is part of the Creation Story. Since we have learned truths about the origin, development, and nature of this world that go far beyond this text, the Creation Story is not an adequate description of creation from a scientific point of view. This should cause us no distress since the Bible was not written as a science book. The Creation Story is a theological commentary (not a scientific one) about God's intimate hand in creation and how we are to relate to this creation. There are two statements in this story that are the most important to remember. First, when God created the universe, God saw that it was good. If God deemed the physical creation to be good, then we need to embrace this attitude also.
There are threads of belief in various religious traditions which claim that: 1. The physical creation is bad. 2. Since it is temporary, it is not real. 3. Ideas are more important than the body and so and the goal of enlightenment is to shed the physical body for an eternal one. Some of these ideas have even contaminated the Christian tradition. But the Creation Story says "no" to this kind of thinking and says "yes" to the beauty and wonder of creation.
The second most important statement in the creation story is that human beings are created in the image of God. This means that we are holy people, loved by God, and worthy of respect and honor. If anyone tells us (whether through criticism or insult) that we are not worthy of respect or honor, we are to say "no" to that voice and "yes" to God's voice.
St. Francis, was one of those folks who treated all people as being created in the image of God (no matter how physically mutilated, ignorant, or poor they were). He could look at any individual and see the light of Christ within and thus he could genuflect in their presence. Perhaps this is why St. Francis holds a special place in our heart. His circle of compassion increased over the years until such time as he could hold a bird tenderly in his hand, experience tremendous joy, and in that moment of joy, offer praise and worship to God our creator.
Today, on this Feast of St. Francis, we put aside the time to bless the animals who have blessed our lives. It is always a special day for me because I have been blessed with a dog who shows me more about unconditional love than I could ever hope or imagine. Let me tell you a story about my experience with another part of God's creation that touched my life very deeply this summer.
Back in July, a "mourning dove" decided to build a nest on the fence of my patio. The nest was hidden under a branch of a tree that covered the top of the fence. After the nest was built, the dove sat on it day after day. I would eat my breakfast and watch her with interest while she watched back. I wondered whether she ever left the nest in order to get something to eat. One day, a crow flew by. The dove left her nest "screeching", chasing away the crow. It was a close call. I began to debate whether to feed the dove so she wouldn't have to leave her nest and put the eggs in jeopardy. But then I thought, if I put food out, it would only attract the crows and squirrels and alert them to the position of the nest. Week after week, I watched and waited. The mourning dove would actually leave her nest early in the morning for about an hour and half. Then she would return for the long hours of sitting on her nest. Each evening, I would go out to water the plants. She would look at me; I would look at her. I was touched by her gentle presence and I could tell that she felt safe by my presence.
On Saturday morning of week three or four, I ran to the patio window. I was hoping that the eggs would be hatched. The mourning dove was gone. At first, I thought she was off to eat. But then the hours went by and there was no dove. Finally, she returned. She was not sitting on her nest but looking into it. Over and over she looked into the nest, perhaps in disbelief. She looked at me and I looked at her. Sadness filled my heart. After she flew away, I took a stool out into the patio to double-check my suspicion. The eggs were gone, the dove was gone, and so was my relationship with this special bird.
At first I was filled with a deep sadness and then anger. I was angry at the crows or the squirrels who stole her eggs. But then as I examined my painful feelings, I realized that the crows and squirrels needed to eat. Afterall, I eat eggs too. I finally came to the realization that over the weeks of watching my mourning dove, my circle of compassion extended into realm of birds. And because of this compassion, I felt a deep sympathy for her loss.
"God said."let the birds fly above the earth across the dome of the sky.So God created every winged bird of every kind. And God saw that it was good. God blessed them saying, "be fruitful and let birds multiply on the earth." And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day." (Gen. 1)
God has called each one of us to be faithful stewards of creation. This includes the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and every living thing that moves upon the earth. So if God has entrusted these creatures into our care, then what does that say about the way we farm animals and slaughter them? If God has entrusted these creatures into our care, what does that say about our experimentation of animals and raising them for body parts?
God said, "See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food.And God saw everything that he had made and indeed it was very good." (Gen. 1)
| Updated 10/7/01 |
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