The annual Blessing of the Animals service at St. Peter's in Kaikōura was delightfully chaotic. Human voices rose up in song alongside dog voices and cat voices. Tulip, the cat, followed me to church and taunted the dogs who were present.
We opened the service with the following words from Meister Eckhart, a thirteenth century Christian mystic:
Apprehend God in all things,
for God is in all things.
Every single creature is full of God, and is a book about God.
Every creature is a word of God.
If I spent enough time with the tiniest creature – even a caterpillar
I would never have to prepare a sermon
so full of God
is every creature.
As an eco-church, we take seriously what's written in the book of Job: "But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you. Which of all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this?"
Indeed, we learn about God not only through the book of the Bible but also through the book of creation itself.
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We have invited these writers to share their experiences, ideas and opinions in the hope that these will provoke thought, challenge you to go deeper and inspire you to put your faith into action. These articles should not be taken as the official view of the Nelson Diocese on any particular matter.
The annual Blessing of the Animals service at St. Peter's in Kaikōura was delightfully chaotic. Human voices rose up in song alongside dog voices and cat voices. Tulip, the cat, followed me to church and taunted the dogs who were present.
We opened the service with the following words from Meister Eckhart, a thirteenth century Christian mystic:
Apprehend God in all things,
for God is in all things.
Every single creature is full of God, and is a book about God.
Every creature is a word of God.
If I spent enough time with the tiniest creature – even a caterpillar
I would never have to prepare a sermon
so full of God
is every creature.
As an eco-church, we take seriously what's written in the book of Job: "But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you. Which of all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this?"
Indeed, we learn about God not only through the book of the Bible but also through the book of creation itself.
Check out other articles in the
series below.
More articles in the
series are to come.
