Ezekiel 18:1-4,25-32; Psalm 25:1-8; Philippians 2:1-13; Matthew 21:23-32
Mr. Chris Paul, Seminarian
I need to preface my sermon this morning with a disclaimer and warning. You may have come today expecting to hear a sermon from Matthew talking about a father, a vineyard, and his 2 sons. This would follow our lectionary for Proper 21, the eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost, and I’m sure there would be a beautiful sermon from that reading, just not today. Instead, since we have our animal blessings today, I am going to focus on a different chapter of Matthew. Chapter 11, which is the lectionary readings for Saint Francis of Assisi. The lectionary reading devoted to Saint Francis of Assisi is a very beautiful and familiar reading for everyone. One familiar verse goes: Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. I don’t know about you, but it sure seems like lately, there are more and more things going on. More and more distractions in our lives. Our burdens are heavy. Things that fill up our calendars with activities, school work, constant needs with work, groups we are involved with, etc..all buy for our attention and time. Don’t get me wrong, It is great to get together with people at these events and fellowship, but it can also be draining if we don’t take time for ourselves and be fully present in the moments that are presented to us every single day.
Being present and noticing things in our daily lives helps to remind us that there is a God. A God who wants us to slow down and notice all of the little things in our lives. I know that I must sometimes remind myself that I need to slow down. A reminder that God is fully present in my life when times feel crazy. Many of you have heard me talk about this in the past, but I often find those times during sunsets. They have special meaning to me and always seem to be a reminder of God’s presence around me. It is a time to remind myself to slow down and appreciate what is around me. There is beauty all around us that is given to us by God. The problem is that we need to be able to take the time and be fully present in those moments.
I recently had the chance to spend a couple of days at Camp McDowell. Many of you who have been there know it is a beautiful and special place where you can get away from the distractions of daily life and begin to refocus your mind on what is important and what is right in front of you. It was a time of formation with other students from around the diocese, where we got to sit and talk with no worries about what was on our calendar and what deadline was looming next. If you have known me for very long, you will know that I refer to Camp McDowell as my Happy place—a place of rest. It has been a transforming place for so many people, children and adults alike. A place that serves as a reminder to me to slow down and find God again in my life. A place where I can take my heavy burdens and find rest. I am reminded of God’s beauty all around us when I am there. The fact that you can put your phone away, there are no TVs, and put many of the distractions of the world behind you for a little while is a welcome break! And this whole idea of living in the moment brings me to our service today. The day we come together to bless some of God’s creation. Our animals. Yes, all animals. I have to admit, I am not a snake person, but some of you love snakes, so more power to you; I’ll stay a healthy distance right over here! Unless you want to see me run in this robe!! But our animals are perfect reminders given to us by God to live in the moment every day because every single day, our animals wait for that perfect moment of the day—when we come home from being gone. To them, that is the perfect moment, and they are fully aware and entirely part of it. They aren’t distracted by things; they focus and engage in the moment, showing abundant love for us. Our animals show us grace and love no matter what our day has been like. No matter what we have been through or how hurt we may be. We can have a horrible day, and our animals will comfort us. If we are sad, they will comfort us. No matter what, they continue to show us love, and in return, we are blessed by them. They are a part of God’s creation.
They are perfect reminders to us to open our eyes and seize our moments. The love that animals show us is a perfect mirror reflection of the love that God has love for us. It is unwavering and always faithful. One of my favorite images that Jesus has used in a different gospel before is the image of being like a mother hen. This is such a great representation of the love that Jesus has for us. You see, a mother hen will work to collect those she loves under her wings. She does this even if it causes her to lose her own life. That is the lengths she is willing to go to to protect and love those around her. The mother hen, like Jesus, will willingly give up her life to save others. That is what Jesus is offering us. Interestingly, I came across a list of characteristics that a doctor of Veterinary Medicine put together about how animals could teach us about being humans.
- Savor the moment—animals always live in the present moment
- Heed your instincts—Animals use all their sense and trust their instincts. What do we as humans often ignore?
- Keep focused on what’s important—animals remind us how important it is to connect with others, sharing our hearts even if we are tired.
- Don’t get bogged down on words—animals communicate in multiple different ways
- Take time to rest—we are always in a rush, but animals rest as a luxury
- Remember to play—Animals play to invent, discover, and bring joy to their day
- Don’t take yourself too seriously—animals don’t care or are not critical of themselves
- Let go of attachment to being right or wrong—this has a lot to do with ego
- Practice forgiveness—for animals’ continuity, their own life takes precedence over reliving the past
- Love unconditionally—animals pose no conditions for their love for us.
With everything going on these days, One of my favorite hymns came to mind while I was getting ready for today. All Creatures of our God and King. It is such a great hymn where we sing praises and alleluias to our God and King. O Praise Him! So, with everything going on today in our lives, I ask you to take a moment and be wholly present here today and bless all of these precious creatures God gave us. Remove those outside distractions because they will still be there when we are done. And remember, there is a God who is fully present in all our days and all our moments. Good and Bad, God is fully present with us. So, Sing praises daily to our god and king for his creation and blessing us with these amazing animals we will get to love and bless soon.