God, Animals and Man
Sermon delivered to
The
First Congregational
January 7, 2007
by
Ed Grace
For many a Sunday I have enjoyed listening as so many of you have taken to this pulpit to share your faith and vision. I think we’d all agree that none of us can match Bruce’s insight and ability to convey scriptural meaning in a modern relevant context. Nonetheless, I have been very much enlightened by the individual testimony of so many of you. Testimony of the power of faith and love in your own lives. I would hope, in small measure today, to add to the conversation.
The subject that I will speak to you
on is entitled “God, Animals, and
All faith is based in large part on
personal perspective and I should briefly give you mine. As many of you know I am a veterinarian. My primary focus for many years has been
Emergency Medicine; and while the intricacies of medicine and surgery are
endlessly fascinating, my focus has been drawn more and more in recent years to
the emotional, the psychological and, yes, the spiritual side of events in the
veterinary hospital and how these might relate to our lives as Christians in
the wider world.
Jesus, and the bible as a whole, of
course, doesn’t have a lot to say about animals except to use them as metaphors
for the human condition. There is no
mention of animal rights for
example. Human rights being essentially
non-existent at the time, we’re not really surprised at the omission. Jesus did, however, have much to say about
compassion, love and social justice. One
does not have to read between the lines to see where these issues fit into
God’s plan for his people. The examples
are endless it seems.
We’ve been reading from Luke so we can begin
there. There’s the beautiful passage
just prior to this morning’s reading in which John addresses the crowds that
came out to be baptized by him in order to be saved. The implication being that the crowd expects
the act of baptism alone to be enough for salvation to be achieved. John’s reply:
“You brood of vipers!” Now that
gets your attention doesn’t it!
“You brood of vipers! Who told you to flee from the
wrath to come? Bear fruits worth of
repentance.” And by the way he adds,
don’t even start…don’t begin to say to yourselves…we’re from the right country,
the right family, the right side of the tracks, we have God on our side, “we
have Abraham as our ancestor.” God,
we’re told, is not particularly interested.
No, bear fruits worthy of repentance. And what might those fruits be? The crowd, apparently confused, asks him
just that. “What then shall we do?” His answer is as difficult as it is
direct. “Whoever has two coats must
share with anyone who has none…whoever has food must do likewise.” That’s it.
Compassion, love, and social justice.
How many of us pass John’s test?
What is especially of interest to me is this
question. If we so often don’t pass the
test, why not? What is missing? What is the missing ingredient? Compassion, love, social justice and…what?
I believe the missing ingredient is
connection.
Allow me to tell you a story. Any veterinarian has dozens of stories. It was late at night, as it usually is, and
there was a dog in crisis. The owner,
however, was a bit atypical. First of all
he was a very large man. Leather jacket,
beard,… potentially quite imposing under other circumstances. But this night he was distraught. I didn’t think I heard him right when he
mumbled through his tears…”I can take on 5 guys in a fight.” I listened more intently as he spoke more to
himself than to me: “I’m a Harley Davidson
biker dude. In a bar I can take on 5
guys in a fight….but this dog…” He didn’t finish the sentence. He didn’t
have to. There it was…connection. He was so connected to this other living
being, not other people, not other dogs… but to this dog that he would
have done anything for him. Compassion, connection,
love.
This connection so many of us feel
with our animals is everywhere. The
Hartford Courant’s front page on Christmas Day was dominated by the story of
Roger Slight. Roger Slight, the 54 year old Navy veteran who lived in a
tent off of Route 9 all year with his dog Malachi rather than live without him
in the federally funded housing for which he qualified. And this week, another front page story: This one of Michele Reed. Michele, an occupational therapist who was
badly injured when her car was struck during a police chase of a felony suspect
in July of 2000. Michele Reed who’s
Poodle “Metoo” alleviates her panic attacks related to her post traumatic
stress from the accident more than medication; this to the extent that the
court is allowing her to bring the dog to trial for emotional support under The
American’s With Disabilities Act.
Connection.
As with so many trends the point is not whether we
agree or not with the way things are going.
The point is what do these stories tell us about us? I, for one find it interesting that we are
told every day that we are more connected than ever. Electronically connected. In an instant we can be connected to just
about anyone or anything in the world.
Yet we’re also informed that our top Google News Search last year
was? (Anybody? Darfor?
AIDS? Global Warming?) No, Paris Hilton! On Yahoo, it was Brittany
Spears. No we are not more connected
than ever. Martin Luther King said it
best 50 years ago, “through our technology we’ve made the world a neighborhood
but we have failed to make it a brotherhood.”
Our dogs have not changed. We
have. We have a need to feel connected
and dogs are willing, and quite able I’d add, to fill the void. This connection of which I’m speaking is
important not only because it’s missing in so many lives but because it is so
much a necessary catalyst for change in society. Without connection, real connection, how can
we hope to act with compassion, with love and for social justice?
I believe that it’s pretty clear
that what matters to God as revealed in the bible is action;
specifically our actions. A
little later in Luke, Jesus asks quite plainly, and parents you can all relate
to his comment: “Why do you call me
‘Lord, Lord” and not do what I tell you’! “I will show you what someone is like who
comes to me, hears my words, and acts on them. Their house is built on a rock”… whereas, he
adds, those who only talk the talk have a house built on sand. Words are not enough. Good intentions, knowledge, faith are not
enough. Even prayer is not enough. No we must act. As the radical abolitionist John Brown put
it…”Christianity is not a sedentary profession.” It’s not enough to simply care. It is through action, our actions, that God’s
love in revealed in the world.
I believe there is tremendous power in
connection. The connection can be a
simple one. As I was out for a run this
week, directly across from this church lost in thought, I landed on a stick and
badly twisted my ankle. As I lay on the
ground of her driveway there was an older woman from the house who immediately
offered to help. Can I get you some ice? Do you need the phone? Her offers of help were overwhelming. Why?
Well, I was sitting in her driveway, obviously immobile. I was clearly local and clearly not a
threat. There was opportunity for
connection and once she made that connection she couldn’t help
but help. I believe this is our
nature. Given a baby drowning in
I believe there is another explanation for our
inability to live up to God’s command to act positively in this world and that
is fear. It has been said that there are
only two core emotions really: love and fear.
I’ve thought often of this and it’s a hard idea to refute.
Dr. Martin Luther King, yet again, explains it well
in his description of the parable of the good Samaritan. The story takes place on the road from
Jerrico to
Dr. King, of course, knew a lot about fear. His life under constant threat, his house
bombed, his children in real danger, he knew of fear. And he knew and spoke eloquently of the only
way to effectively fight fear and that was with love. And he was careful to point out that this was
not with a romantic, sentimental love but with the awesome universal power of
love as Christ proclaims again and again.
The love that says even though you are my enemy I see God in you. Martin Luther King was not only the man we’ve
come to celebrate every January and describe with the four words that are now
almost part of his name…Martin Luther King “the slain civil rights
leader.” He was a pragmatist and he knew
that the only was to win his cause was through a complete commitment to
non-violence. It’s worth noting also,
on the eve of his holiday, that his cause also extended far beyond civil rights
to the issues of poverty and war.
It’s a new world of course but the issues are really
much the same. Love and fear. Compassion, connection and social
justice. Terrorism appears to be
new…but what is it really? Terrorism,
and this is my definition, is the strategic use of fear. The strategic use of fear. What Martin Luther King showed us through
non-violent direct action was the strategic use of love…the use of love
as a very deliberate strategy to disarm your opponent. Nelson Mandella used this very same
strategy. After years of apartheid, of
being held as a political prisoner, with every reason to be bitter at his fate
at the hands of the white minority government, upon meeting with his opponent
the President of South Africa, his first words…”this must have been very
difficult for you.” Imagine the effect.
On the eve of his holiday, Dr. King reminds us that,
as he said, “we live in a moral universe.”
That we don’t ignor physical laws and jump off the tallest building in
There are still prophetic voices out there such as
the Rev. Jim Wallis who reminds us in his book God’s Politics that God is
neither a Republican nor a Democrat but that he does have a lot to say about
the poor and our stewardship of his creation.
There are Groups such as Our Voices Together a group of families of 9-11
victims who’s response to their tragedy and our nation’s has been to reach out
to the world with love and compassion to fund positive change for God’s
children, the poor and powerless. I
would invite all of you to join in the conversation which is just beginning.
(Perhaps Bill
Lee, the modern sage and left handed starter for the ’75 Boston Red Sox when
asked about his own vision, ideals, and politics put it best saying he wished
to be conservative toward the earth and liberal toward mankind. That may not be a bad place to start.)
In
my conclusion, I would share this. My
faith is a practical faith. It is part
of a long