You are a Caretaker of Creation and Creatures
Saints Francis & Clare
Saints Francis and Clare, brother and sister, are known for the simplicity of their lives, devotion to Jesus, and reverence for creation and all creatures. For them, creation and creatures were the handiwork of the Creator God who was the parent of Jesus. It is fitting, on their feast day, to bless our pets and rededicate ourselves as caretakers and caregivers of God’s creation and creatures. Pet parenting is an expression of the role Clare and Francis believed God assigned us at the beginning of time. When God created the world, God endowed us with divine traits. God did this to equip us to partner with God. We are created to work alongside God as caregivers and caretakers.
The creation story in the Bible has features found in the Babylonian, Egyptian, Greek, and Indian creation stories. These narratives have a common flow: first there is darkness, then comes celestial light; afterwards, dry land is separated from water; last, human beings are created; and when the work of creating is done, the gods or God rests. The gods or God bring the world into existence by word or thought. Before creation, the world is a watery chaos. The chaos is ordered into heaven and earth. Human beings are created from the dust or clay of the earth. Humans are infused with divine traits. We are created with a purpose: to serve the creator and creation.
For thousands of years, religious leaders grappled with the failure of humans to serve the creator and fulfill our purpose. Human beings persistently and consistently misused their divine qualities, abusing or neglecting their sacred duties. These failures frustrated the gatekeepers of the religions. They generated worship, instructions, and rules to inspire and guide humans to fulfill their divinely appointed purpose. The lesson from the Acts of the Apostles (4:32-35, 5:1-11) read today describes the frustration of religious gatekeepers. The Book of Acts, found in the Christian Scriptures, chronicles the activities of Jesus’ disciples. This passage decries the failure of two human beings, Ananias and Sapphira, to hear and heed God’s call to be caretakers and caregivers. It is a cautionary tale. This warning was told and recorded for the early Christian community to elucidate the consequences of failing to partner with the creator to care for creatures and creation. Failing to share God-given resources we acquire using the time and talents God grants results in death. To this day, human beings ignore, reject, or struggle to accept this consequence. Global warming, largely caused by first-world countries like the United States of America, causes wildfires, floods, and droughts. In Nepal, over 1,400 people were killed and more than 5,700 remain missing following catastrophic flooding triggered by the melting and collapse of a glacier. The Acts story is sickly humorous, but there is nothing funny about what happens when we neglect animals, nature, and human beings.
While I do not have the power or authority to reverse global warming, craft federal laws, or influence the policies of businesses, I do have time, skills, and resources from God. I use what God has given me to care for the cats my children begged me for and then proceeded to ignore shortly after their arrival. I make time to drive my daughter, who asks for a dog every time she comes home from school, to the Animal Rescue Fund to care for homeless dogs. I recycle and drive carefully to avoid hitting deer. I donate 10% of my income to Christ Church, give to other charitable organizations, and save money for my retirement and my children’s get-out-of-my-house funds. I organize every congregation I serve to pay attention to and care for their surrounding communities. I use my role as a religious gatekeeper to craft sermons that remind worshipers that we are created to love God, the world, all creatures, and each other.
In the first hundred years after Jesus’ earthly ministry, there was no SNAP, Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare, veterans, or disability benefits. To ensure everyone had access to food, clothing, work, and housing, early Christian communities decided to “hold all things in common” (Acts 4:32). Ananias and Sapphira withheld what God gave them, putting themselves and others at risk (Acts 4:32-35, 5:1-11). The person in the crowd who asked Jesus to settle an inheritance dispute in their family ignored God’s call to be a caregiver and caretaker. Jesus responded by telling a parable about the futility of amassing wealth for ourselves (Luke 12:13-14). This parable reminded listeners they were created to share. The parable confirmed they were created to partner with God to take care of others. Amassing things for our own protection and benefit is futile, because we cannot take it with us! (Luke 12:13-21).
My cats and children, the congregations I serve, the salary I earn from Christ Church, and my life partner of 26 years are gifts from God. God endows me with skills, grants me time, and gives me people and things for their benefit and mine. Like me, each of you has been given the capacity for love, attentiveness, and generosity. Please share these resources you have from our Creator with the communities, people, and creatures around you. Do this because you can. Do this to avoid the consequences that result from neglecting, abusing, and misusing creation and creatures. Be the caretakers and caregivers God created you to be.
