The Wisdom of Creation

Our pet companions, like St. Francis, preach the message of God's unconditional love (with or without words)—will we follow their example?

Lamentations 1:1-6
  Psalm 137
2 Timothy 1:1-14
Luke 17:5-10

©2025 The Rev. Seth Olson

 

Holy God, open our eyes to see your glory in all creation, our hearts to rest in your Son, Jesus Christ, and our lives to be filled with your Spirit. Amen.

 

Growing up my family had a dog named Galahad. Sadly, we eventually gave him away because my dad figured out, he was allergic to canines. It made me sad and I pined for a dog for several years after that. 

 

A few years later, my parents decided to file for divorce. When my mom sat down to tell me the news, I was silent for a very long time. And, the first thing I said to her, the very first thing I said in response to this devastating (but not unexpected news) was: “Does this mean we can get a dog?” 

 

A month later for my 11^th birthday, I received a springer-spaniel runt of the litter puppy whom I named Merlin, and he was truly a magic dog. He was mischievous—eating whole sticks of butter, stealing hot dogs out a hot pan, and one time climbing up on our kitchen table to take a nap. But, he was also one of the most compassionate creatures I ever have met. 

 

When my mom or I was sad, Merlin would come up to us, sit down, and paw at us. It was almost like he was trying to pat us on the back or to place an encouraging paw on our shoulders. Merlin knew instinctively just how to show up, to be with us regardless of how we were feeling, and in his witness of his Creator, helped me to know that I do not carry my burdens alone, that the God of Creation is with me, as evidenced by this furry creature. 

 

That’s a glimpse of the Gospel today. Jesus says: “Come to me, all you that are weary and carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. My yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

 

St. Francis of Assisi whom we celebrate in this service lived those words. He was born into wealth, with every opportunity for comfort and power. But he heard Jesus’ call in a different way—he heard the invitation to lay down those heavy burdens of ambition and privilege, and to take on instead the lighter yoke of humility and love. He chose simplicity. He chose service. He chose joy.

 

And Francis saw something that most of us overlook: that all of creation is part of God’s family. The sun and moon, the birds and beasts, even the wolf he famously befriended—he called them brothers and sisters. Not because it made for sweet children’s stories, but because he truly believed God’s love bound all life together.

 

That’s why we bless animals today. Not just because they’re cute (though we all know they are). We bless them because they help us glimpse the goodness of God. They show us loyalty, joy, comfort, and rest. Wouldn’t we all be better human beings if we just napped a little more like our dogs or cats or hamsters or snakes? If we were loyal like dogs, cunning like cats, friendly like hamsters, and ever evolving like snakes?

 

And, there’s something more, our animal companions invite us back into relationship with all of creation. They remind us of our place in the family God made. This family of all Creation spans from microscopic bacteria to the vast expanse of interstellar space. Goodness that’s wild, right? 

 

Now, going back to our passage from Matthew. In this Gospel, Jesus promised an easy yoke—he did not promise that discipleship is effortless. And, we can see that in the life that St. Francis led. 

 

Francis’ life was not easy—he suffered, he gave up wealth, he faced ridicule. When we picture him preaching to birds or an apex predator, it wasn’t just because he loved them—it was also because his message of God’s radical love and our need to reform the Church was not met with applause from other human beings. Often they ran such that only the other creatures of God were left listening. 

 

But in all of this Francis was joyful, because he walked in step with Christ. His yoke was lighter than the burden of chasing wealth or status, because it was carried in love.

 

And maybe our pets are some of the best preachers of that truth. A dog wagging its tail at the door, a cat purring in your lap, a bird singing in the morning—they remind us of God’s tenderness and joy. They live fully in the present moment, and in that way, they invite us to rest in God’s presence now and always.

 

So today as we bless our animals, let’s also receive their blessing. Let’s hear again Jesus’ invitation to rest, to live simply, to walk in love. And let’s remember Francis, who saw the whole creation as a choir singing praise to God.

 

Because in their eyes, their wagging tails, their songs and their purrs, we catch glimpses of the Kingdom of God—a Kingdom where the yoke is easy, the burden is light, and all creation rests in God’s love.

Amen.

 

Lenten Discipline: Take On Your True Identity

The view from the pulpit at All Saints' Church, Birmingham

I am so excited to begin serving here at All Saints! As we saw in today’s Gospel lesson though beginning a new ministry can be challenging. Jesus fresh out of the baptismal waters began his ministry by confronting several temptations. Speaking of temptations…

What’s your Lenten discipline? Are you giving up something tempting? Maybe you are abstaining from chocolate or beer. If you are you can bring those to me by the way! Are you taking something on? Maybe you are reading Mary Bea Sullivan’s Living the Way of Love with many others here at All Saints. Or, perhaps like Jesus you are giving up the temptations to turn a stone into bread, rule over all the nations of the world, and prove your invincibility to anyone nearby. On the surface our Gospel lesson for today might appear to simply be an outlandish, God-sized template for Lenten disciplines, but friends there’s more here.

To more fully experience the shimmering treasure that lies beneath the surface of today’s Good News let’s turn to a conversation partner in the form of another Scripture lesson—one that we didn’t even hear today. I know, I know… the audacity of me as a new preacher on my first Sunday using a story you didn’t even hear in church. Well, this story you may have heard, it’s one about Adam and Eve. In the Hebrew Scripture we discover our prototypical human parents experiencing and succumbing to their own temptations. The tempter in that story was a conniving serpent who beguiled Eve then Adam to eat some forbidden fruit. Y’all remembering all this so far? Well, what we do not talk much about is a small detail from that ancient tale. 

When God discovered that Adam and Eve had eaten that fruit and were no longer naked and innocent, God was actually coming to walk with them in the cool of the evening. “They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze” is the way Genesis put it (3:8). While the story does not explicitly state this, what we observe in this evening stroll is God’s desire to connect with us humans from the very beginning. God’s yearning was to be with Adam and Eve in the verdant garden. What a fantastically beautiful image of Creation! 

Of course, when God came to be with God’s children God did not find them in their initial, virtuous state, but rather God found them hiding in their shame. They were just like children who know they have done something wrong and then go hiding under the bed so that their parent, guardian, or family member will not find them. But, God always does find us. Still, the detail worth noting on this First Sunday of Lent is that God’s hunger was to be in relationship with humans just as they were created. So now, let’s zoom back out for a second to see this story in its full effect.

Adam and Eve were made (just like the rest of us) to be in relationship with God. That’s who they were. It was their identity. However when presented with another alternative—to have the knowledge of God, to know good and evil—they choose not to live as their true selves. Instead, they decided to take things—and a thing, fruit from the tree—into their own hands. Now, we may say, “Silly Adam. Silly Eve. I would never do that. I wouldn’t disobey God. I wouldn’t blame my spouse like Adam did. I wouldn’t trust a talking snake like Eve did.” And, maybe you wouldn’t. But, this story is not simply about a couple who had a weak moment a long, long time ago. This is a story about you and me and every other human that has ever lived. Well, save for one, but we’ll get to Him in a moment. 

The temptations that Adam and Eve felt are the same temptations that every one of us feels when we find ourselves putting something else in the place of the One who creates, redeems, and sustains everything! So yes, you hopefully don’t listen to talking snakes, but I know I sometimes do listen to some other voice that says, “Go ahead, take that bite, do that thing where you’ll be put in God’s place. God’s not even watching.” And, in those moments I forget my true self. We forget our real identity that we are God’s beloveds made innately good, originally blessed. This is when temptations seem so very well…tempting.

When we do not feel and know that we are enough, when we forget we are God’s beloved children we so easily fall into temptation. We become Eve all alone believing the lie that something other than God will make us whole. We become Adam ashamed blaming someone else for our own choices. We can even become that talking serpent seeking attention manipulating others for our own gain. These temptations we face not only during Lent but throughout our lives. So, even as we give up chocolate or beer or something else, might we also take on remembering our true identities, rediscovering our true selves? How might we trust more fully that we were made to walk with God in the cool of the evening?

Well, as we zoom out even further and move from one story of Creation back to today’s Gospel lesson, we see one who trusted his identity. Jesus knew for certain that He’s God’s Beloved. What might we learn from, as last week’s Transfiguration story put it, God’s chosen one? Jesus trusted that He was the Christ, the ultimate Beloved One of God. He was certain of this. And through His living, His teachings, His dying, His being resurrected, His uniting earth to heaven he showed us our true identities too. We are God’s beloved ones—regardless of who we are, where we’re from, what we’ve done, or anything else. Jesus knew his identity so firmly that no temptation could sway Him from it. And, we can learn from Him how to trust God in this same way! To do this, let’s look at the three temptations He faced.

Jesus’ first temptation had to do with his physical state. The devil suggested Jesus turn a stone into a loaf of bread. But, Jesus knew that our physical reality is not everything. We know the truth that we are God’s beloved ones not only because of the food we consume or the clothes we wear or the street we live on… It’s not just about being #blessed. Or as Jesus said, “One shall not live by bread alone…” But the power for us comes in the next bit that was left out. “One shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” We are sustained in who we are not simply by food, but by God speaking us into being!

Jesus’ second temptation had to do with both power and worship. In this moment the devil offered Jesus the glory of all the kingdoms of the world and authority over them. To gain these Jesus would have to worship the devil. Jesus did not let this offer sway him though. Why? Knowing that he was God’s beloved meant that even gaining the whole world would not be worth losing his true self. As Matthew’s Gospel account puts it: “For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life, their identity as God’s beloveds?” (16:26, italicized section added)

Jesus’ third temptation had to do with mortality. Noticing all the Scripture Jesus was quoting the devil got wise. He took Jesus to the top of the Temple and tempted Jesus to throw himself off. Then came the verses about how God’s angels would protect Jesus and that he would not dash his foot upon a stone. (Just an aside here, note that even the devil can quote Scripture, so remind this to those who try to weaponize the Bible to advocate hate). This third temptation was not about avoiding death for we know what Jesus eventually faced even in the same city. No, this was a test to see if Jesus would trust that his identity as God’s beloved one would stretch even into death. In response, Jesus said “Do not put the Lord God to the test.” Jesus trusted His relationship with God because Jesus knew who He was. He knew who God was. He knew they were united in love. And, ultimately He knew that He was God’s beloved through ups and downs, through trials and temptations, through life and death. Jesus was God’s Beloved, and we are too. We too are God's beloved children. And while we often forget this reality, this season is the perfect time to internalize this truth, to write it on our hearts, to let it steep into our souls.  

This Lent may we remember our truest selves. May we know that God’s Word sustains us, that nothing is worth forfeiting our identity as God’s beloveds for, and that nothing will ever separate us from this truth...we are all God’s beloveds. Amen.

New Name

January 2, 2019—Transferred Feast of Holy Name

Numbers 6:22-27

Psalm 8

Philippians 2:5-11

Luke 2:15-21

Do you have a good nickname? What about growing up? Did you have a name that only your family or close friends called you? I marvel at how these names sometimes stick. Kim and I call (our son) Teddy by many different, ridiculous names. For example, we started off calling him bubby, but that quickly got shortened to bub, then it got lengthened to bubs, and now I often call him the bub-i-nator! What about you? Do you have a ridiculous name? Do you have nicknames for those closest to you? A What about a profound name?

How about with God? What does God call you? By what name does God call you?

There’s a hymn within the Alleluia III Hymnal entitled “I Will Change Your Name.” It is a favorite within the Cursillo community of Alabama. The lyrics in that song speak powerfully of conversion. Just take a listen:

“I will change your name.

You shall no longer be called

Wounded, outcast, lonely or afraid.

I will change your name.

Your new name shall be

Confidence, Joyfulness, Overcoming One,

Faithfulness, Friend of God, One who seeks My Face.” 

(D.J. Butler, 1987 Mercy/Vineyard Publishing)

Wow! In this song, God is committed to changing our names. Instead of us calling ourselves wounded, outcast, lonely, or afraid; God will change our names. But, why does this matter? Well, it matters because what we call someone matters. And, more importantly what God calls us matters. The Genesis 1 Creation Story tells us that when God speaks God creates. So, what God calls you matters, which is why what God called His Incarnate Son mattered too—and it’s why we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Name (transferred to) today.

In Luke’s sharing of the Good News of the Christ, we discover early on that God, the Father, is going to have an idle role in the proceedings. Via angelic messengers God bends the ear and the heart of Mary. She learns from Gabriel that she will bear God’s Son, and that this child will be the Son of the Most High God. Additionally, she discovers that she shall call him Jesus—and His Kingdom will have no end. But, what’s with this name? Why does it matter? Couldn’t he have been called Billy Joe or Steve?

Often we forget that Jesus’ name was not really Jesus. It was, but it wasn’t. Jesus is a Romanized version of a Hebrew name—the name Joshua. Jesus’ name would have sounded like Joshua in His own day. What’s so important about this? Well, Joshua means “God has saved” or “God will save.” When Mary heard that she was to name her child Joshua she was learning that through this child God would save humanity. I think it’s tough being a parent to Teddy—I can’t imagine what Mary must have felt in that moment, but I digress. Mary and Joseph naming their child Joshua might not seem like a big deal now, but it was.

On the eighth day of his life Jesus/Joshua would have been circumcised, as a marker that he was part of God’s People. Then, he was given his name, which was both a way of giving him his identity, but also for his parents it was a way of taking part in the creative act like God speaking things into being in the creation stories of Genesis. God’s naming Joshua/Jesus such was pointing to what this child from Nazareth came to show us—that God saves. What about our own names? What do they show us?

You may not know what your name means. That’s alright, you can always google it. My name in Hebrew means, “the chosen,” but in Egyptian means, “the devil,” so it could be a mixed bag. Rather than getting caught up in what you are named now, perhaps it’s time to ask God what your new name might be—like what those song lyrics tell us. Through Jesus/Joshua of Nazareth who was the Christ we know that we have been shown the pathway to healing, wholeness, and salvation. God is calling us to walk that pathway of life.

From being wounded, outcast, lonely, or afraid you are called to step into newness of life, as Christ transforms you. God is calling you by a new name. You are Confidence, Joyfulness, Overcoming One, Faithfulness, Friend of God, One who seeks God’s Face. In this New Year, trust in the one who saves and ask God what your new name might be.