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But these are words that we need to hear afresh. Until recently human
actions have been trivial by comparison with the forces of nature. That
has now changed. The human race now has the power to affect the world in
ways hitherto unimaginable. We can and are changing the face of the planet
including forcing the extinction of thousands of species of plants and
animals.
This careless regard and wanton destruction of God’s creation is not
new. Although Britain was the first country ever to legislate against
animal cruelty in 1822 it is a sad fact that last year the RSPCA received
over 100,000 (117,356) complaints of cruelty involving well over half a
million animals with more here in the North East then in any other region
(35,280). Here in the York area there were 3,278 complaints with 3,216
animals rescued or collected into safety. But sadly advice on how animals
should be treated which was offered to owners by the RSPCA was ignored on
27 occasions. In each of these instances the RSPCA had no redress in law;
the animals could be abused with impunity. That is why we welcome the
Animal Welfare Bill to be introduced in the autumn.
The theological justification for caring for God’s creatures and for
those who are weaker and more vulnerable than human beings is rooted in
this icon of Jesus as the one who serves not just his disciples but the
whole panoply of creation. The primary chapters of the New Testament
testify to his role in creating and sustaining the universe and everything
in it.
John 1
“All things came into being through him, and without him not
one thing came into being”.
Colossians 1
“All things have been created through him and for
him”.
Hebrews 1
“He sustains all things by his powerful word”.
Given these verses it is a wonder that the church has been so slow to
see and to act upon the connection between Christ and all that he has
created. Barry Miles has produced some excellent examples of Animal
Advocates in his booklet but for all the talk about the church being
prophetic the prophetic voice has come from outside the walls of the
church. Sometimes it has come with an extremism that has been offensive
and counter productive.
I would like to add my voice to the appeal for those who stole and
desecrated the remains of Mrs. Gladys Hammond to return them to her grave.
There is no justification for this kind of behaviour, which brings the
cause of animal welfare into disrepute. Nevertheless, there is no doubt
that we should all question whether we have as a society that promotes the
live export of animals and factory farming extended that duty of care to
animals which should be central to the Christian faith.
For me the servant relationship between Jesus and the animal creation
is most beautifully illustrated in the nativity and by that simple act of
him being laid by Mary in an animal feeding trough. Such an act was full
of irony. Here in Bethlehem the town with the name “House of Bread” is
born a child who would one day say to the world “I am the Bread of life”.
To emphasise this extraordinary metaphor he would invite them to eat bread
blessed with the words “This is my body”.
But long before he instituted the service of Holy Communion for the
human family he sent a signal to the animal kingdom. As he lay in the
manger in the House of Bread he gave a sign to the world of animals that
it was there in him, in that feeding trough, that they too would find the
one who serves, feeds, sustains and redeems them and the whole of
creation.
It is remarkable how deaf we have been to the song of the angels. It
was they who said that this would be the very sign of salvation! “This
will be a sign ….. you will find (the saviour) lying in a manger”. The
baby in a trough! The child who sustains and saves the whole of creation -
beginning, yes, beginning with the animals! This is the God who serves and
feeds the birds, who reveals himself first in a manger, a feeding trough,
a sign of how he provides for all this creatures.
This picture of the baby Jesus metaphorically feeding the animals
before growing up and going on to feed the human family sets the scene for
some of the dramatic images in the Revelation to St. John at the end of
scripture.
At the door of Heaven we see around the throne of God the four
creatures full of life: the lion, the ox, the human being and the eagle.
These four lead the worship of God:
“For you created all things, and by your will they existed and were
created”.
Although in the west we have seen the lion, the ox, the man and the
eagle as symbols of the four evangelists in the east Christians see them
as speaking for all of creation.
Bishop Kenneth Stevens has shown how (following the Jewish Midrash on
Ezekiel) the Eastern church saw the lion, the ox, the man and the eagle
each praying for their particular order in creation. The lion on behalf of
the wild beasts, the ox on behalf of the domesticated animals, the eagle
on behalf of the birds and the man on behalf of humanity.
The fact that the whole of creation and not just a company of
individual souls is involved in the worship of God is made most powerfully
in the following chapter. The chorus of worshippers is described vividly
by the apostle John:
“Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth
and in the sea, and all that is in them singing”. (Revelation 5 v13)
What is so delightful in this picture in Revelation is that the
togetherness of all the creatures in creation is heard in their choral
singing. All the creatures human and animal give voice to their deepest
and common allegiance. To whom do they render their worship? “To the one
seated on the Throne and to the Lamb”. The visionary images given to John
the Divine are themselves telling. They give allegiance and render worship
to the one symbolised as an animal! Did that not in itself challenge all
disregard of the animal world so elevated here.
But notice now the twist in the tail. The Throne is a symbol of
Lordship, the Lamb is the symbol of servanthood. Jesus, the holy Lamb of
God, is the one who comes among us to serve. To serve the whole of
creation, to feed all the creatures of the Creator, to sustain and redeem
the world.
Can anyone who takes the Bible seriously and as authoritative in
matters of faith and conduct deny that the role of Christ in the salvation
of the world involves redeeming not only human nature but also the whole
of nature and “all things” that have come into being through him and for
him? Let such faith inform our lives for the sake of every creature, for
the wholeness of creation and for the glory of our Creator. |
