[Pentecost+10] The Blessing of the Animals

"But ask the animals, and they will teach you;
      the birds of the air, and they will tell you;
ask the plants of the earth, and they will teach you;
      and the fish of the sea will declare to you.
Who among all these does not know
      that the hand of God has done this?
In God’s hand is the life of every living thing
      and the breath of every human being.

-Job 12:7-10 (NRSV, alt.)

Last week, a friend of mine asked whence comes the tradition of the Blessing of the Animals service. Rev. Jeff's answer was in honor of St. Francis of Assisi. I didn't find this a super-helpful answer, though the context was somewhat helpful.

There was also the question of what it means to bless animals, and in reflecting on this I remembered Barbara Brown Taylor's book, An Altar in the World: A Geography of Faith (summer reading sermon series 2010!), in which she says that blessing does not BESTOW but RECOGNIZES that which is already present. In her chapter on Blessing (Chapter 12), she talks about Noticing.

In answer to the question, "Is your job to confer holiness or to recognize it?" (194) she comes down firmly on the side of the latter. It is in noticing, really noticing, things that we are able to bless them.

She says, "you come gradually to understand that the key to blessing things is knowing that "they beat you to it. The key to blessing things is to receive their blessing" (196). And this is true not only of beautiful birds of the air like swans and fish of the sea like koi but also of the skunk who had an unfortunate run-in with your pet dog and the tick you really weren't interested in bringing home with you from Wilderness Retreat.

Barbara Brown Taylor reminds us, "Because God made these beings, they share in God's own holiness, whether or not they meet your minimum requirements for a blessing" (203).

I, for one, have great difficulty accepting every person I meet as a child of God, just as beloved of God as I am; so the idea of extending that grace to all of Creation seems potentially daunting. But on the other hand, there are plenty of non-human manifestations of Creation this is much easier with ;)

Barbara Brown Taylor says, "I could argue with myself on this, but I am not sure that you have to believe in God to pronounce a blessing. It may be good enough to see the thing for what it is and pronounce it good. For most of us, that is as close to God as we will ever get anyway" (199).

to see the thing for what it is and pronounce it good -- that's what God did each day of Creation, right? We know that God is still speaking, and we know that Teresa of Avila said, "Christ has no body but yours, / No hands, no feet on earth but yours, / Yours are the eyes with which [Christ] looks / Compassion on this world." Is the practice of blessing not just Not reserved solely for a select group of people, but actively something we are all called to? A practice we are given as a gift that we may draw closer to God, that we may become more Christ-like?

Barbara Brown Taylor suggests:

Practice blessing something simply because it exists alongside you and find out what your mind does with the exercise.

     Find out what the judge inside you has to say about what you are doing. Who gave you the right to call that dump blessed? Who do you think you are, anyway? Find out how much humility is required, followed by how much mercy. Where did you get the eyes to see the holiness in a dump like that? Who taught you to do that? Notice what happens inside you as the blessing goes out of you, toward something that does not deserve it, that may even repel you. If you can bless a stinking dump, surely someone can bless you.

(203)

If you can bless a stinking dump, surely someone can bless you.

In my email invitation to Bible study, I mentioned that my favorite part of the Book of Job is the creation story in Chapters 38-41.

Jean C. sent me a poem her deceased husband wrote, and it's wonderful.

In it, God's reply to Job begins, "Job, I wish / you could have seen this place / when it was new."

This is not the cranky, sassy God I usually imagine talking to Job on those chapters. This is a God who is so in love with Her Creation -- and who wants all the parts of Creation to love all the rest of it just as much as She does.

This is a God who keeps throwing parties and inviting all of Her friends and trying to make them talk to each other, because "You're awesome, and you're awesome, and so clearly you two should be friends" -- even as the friends in question awkwardly insist that they don't actually like each other all that much and they were doing just fine in opposite corners of the room.

Does the practice of the Blessing of the Animals help expand your heart's grace for all Creation? How might it feel to extend some of that grace to less easy-to-love parts of Creation, particularly people?

You're invited to share your stories in the comments (anonymously/pseudonymously if you wish) or to share other thoughts this Bible passage/Blessing of the Animals service/blogpost brought up for you.

"In God's hand is the life of every living thing / and the breath of every human being" (Job 12:10). And in the hand and breath of every human being is the life of God. May you be a blessing to all you touch, and may you find the grace to recognize the blessings you encounter on the way.