October 10, 2004

Glynn Cardy

Blessing of the Animals     Ordinary Sunday 28     2 Tim 2:8-15     Luke 17:11-19 

One of my companions in life was Jonathon the cat. He was black and white and playful all over. Aerial gymnastics were his specialty. When I first met him he was standing on two legs reaching up trying to snare a blowfly. Suddenly, without warning, he propelled himself towards the windows, missed the fly, and was left hanging two metres off the ground, claws imbedded in the expensive drapes. The lady of the house was not impressed. Jonathon and I became playmates. Anything was an opportunity for high jinks - Christmas trees, the laundry chute [read luge], chandeliers... Jonathon's imagination was boundless.

Jonathon died. I don't know how. Probably riding the long curved drainpipe once too often. "Is Jonathon in heaven?" little Mary asked me. "Heaven is where God is," I began, "and the God I believe in loves to play. I think Jonathon and God were made for each other."

On the front of our order of service we see the hand and the paw reaching out to each other. When we touch and nurture animals we touch and nurture part of ourselves. Animals can help us to become more human. Humans and animals have an investment in building a world where hand and paw touch gently and gracefully. Our picture of the hand and the paw, however, gains its humour in its reference to Michelangelo's painting in the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, Rome, where a very European male, Adam, representing humanity, is reaching out to touch the hand of a bearded gentleman, representing God. So, the hand on the right is God's, and the paw on the left is that of humanity! The artist is therefore intimating that the animal is more open than the human to the presence of God.

A dog has owned me for most of my life. Dogs can be, and often are, good and devoted friends who will come to one's defense. Indeed Christian art made the dog the symbol of faithfulness in all its aspects, devoted guardian and defender of the flocks. Personally, after spending time under canine tutelage, I am somewhat skeptical of these ideals. Undoubtedly faithfulness does feature, but so does a good food fling with any gullible neighbour. In terms of being a defender, although one of my friends was persistently a doorbell for many years, he seemed to apportion his most aggressive barking, much to my embarrassment and others' amusement, to people in uniforms, particularly police. As for "guarding" sheep well! What can one say? My biceps were well exercised restraining him.

Faithfulness, however, has a lot to do with being true to your self, and God within. The dogs in my life have been faithful to their spirituality of play, generosity, loyalty and goodwill. So to the four-legged and two-winged animals amongst us I urge you to continue to be faithful. Continue to have fun, let go and let be, celebrate life without feeling embarrassed or feeling guilty for "wasting time". You teach us humans that the intensity of living is more important than its duration. You teach us also that play is an adult thing to do and needs no justification.

To the two-legged animals of my own species, let us learn from these fellow mammals about play, time, and faithfulness. The Genesis reading says that we were created good, as a blessing. Do you believe that about yourself? It is hard to believe in the goodness of animals if you don't believe in the goodness of your own self. Those of us who put the food in the dish are also entrusted with the power to preserve and sustain the whole animal world. One of the values of the human world is that of use and usefulness. Of what use is an animal? Of what use is a sick animal? If an animal can't comfort or protect is it to be thrown away like a piece of mechanical junk? St. Francis of Assisi once wrote, "Blessed be the one who loves his brother as much when he is sick and can be of no use, as when he is well and useful." Francis presumed that love and respect are the right of everyone, unlike some values of today when love and respect have to be earned, and when the paw has to do something profitable.

The paw and the hand can both respond to the invitation to be faithful. To be faithful to the divine Spirit that flows through them. To be open to the possibilities of a better world where animals and humans receive the love and respect that is rightly theirs, and those with hands enjoy the affection and trust of the pawed.

The cat Jonathon's paws often got him into trouble. His worst offence was his ongoing duel with the needle arm on the turntable. As the LP rotated, with Jonathon's eyes following its motion, it seemed that the needle arm was an interfering hand that needed swatting. The resulting screech from both the vinyl and the listeners was enough to make him rapidly retreat but not deterred from re-trying to defeat this thing at a later time. Jonathon's commitment to his spirit of play was total and uncompromising. He was yours faithfully, Jonathon.