Homily
Homily
On behalf of the Stewardship Committee of Christ Church Aylmer, it is our pleasure to welcome you to our commemoration of St. Francis of Assisi and this year’s Blessing of the Animals.
Everyday we witness intelligence all around us, acted out in ways that seem mysterious to us. The intelligence that the creatures of the earth possess is truly inspiring. Long ago this intelligence was respected by Asian leaders; so much so, that they would evacuate cities if the animals indicated danger. Many lives were spared from disaster because these leaders paid attention to the animals’ ability to know when an earthquake would happen. In the most recent tsunami of South East Asia it was reported that no wild animals died. Isn’t that incredible?
Animals constantly give us signs of what is about to happen in our world and often doing so with admirable behaviour.
At this time of year we hear the sound of Canadian geese honking overhead; flying off to their winter grounds, taking turns leading, helping, listening and communicating to each other with a level of compassion, dedication and understanding that has become a world-wide model for humans to attain.
This time of year sees the Sockeye Salmon swimming thousands of miles and battling all obstacles to get to the exact stream that they were born. Isn’t that incredible?
The Monarch butterfly travels hundreds of miles from eastern Canada to Mexico to find not only the same area that it came from, but the same branch of the same tree. Isn’t that incredible?
Gee, how many of us have a hard time finding our cell phones or even something as large as our car in a parking lot? Look at the size of us big humans and then look at the size of a Monarch butterfly. We all know that our brains are a lot bigger than theirs. Hmmm. Isn’t that something to think about?
Many of us also have witnessed this intelligence in cats and dogs and have countless stories to tell.
Here’s a true story about a dog called Nanu. He lived in the Maritimes with his favourite person, Tanis. He loved running and playing in the marshes every evening while she walked behind, often gazing at the stars. It truly was one of Nanu’s greatest joys. However, Tanis often wondered what was happening everywhere else. She was bored with small-town life by the sea and felt that she needed to go and see the world; but what about Nanu?
Tanis put an ad in the paper looking for someone suitable to take him and after a little while a very nice young couple answered it. They were scientists that worked out in the woods about forty miles from her place. Tanis thought that would be a perfect life for Nanu way out in the woods with wonderful people like that.
The couple came over a few times to get acquainted with him and then the day arrived for the big move. After a last walk on the marsh and lots of hugs, Tanis said goodbye to Nanu; sad to see him go but confident that he’d have a wonderful life.
In the evening of third day after that, Tanis got a call from the couple. They asked if Nanu had come home. They said that he had broken free the day before and took off. They were worried for him and hoped that he would show up somewhere soon.
Tanis was stunned. What had she done? She just gave away her best friend and now he was lost and might die out there in the woods.
Sadly Tanis went out and sat on the front porch. There she sat thinking about what was happening; feeling worse with every passing hour. All evening she was there, and there was no stopping her tears. Her roommates tried to get her out of the night air but she would not go in.
She prayed over and over that Nanu would be safe and that he would forgive.
Just after midnight, literally drained from crying so much, she knew she had to get some sleep. Just as she was about to get up, she saw something move in the shadows by the road. In a flash she was knocked over backwards by a creature that had jumped on her and started licking her face. Yes, you guessed it – it was Nanu, full of mud but safe and sound. He had found his way home across 40 miles of woods, rivers and roads! Isn’t that incredible?
Tanis postponed her plans to travel and started life fresh with Nanu. Every evening playing on the marshes with him became one of her greatest joys and she saw the world through new eyes.
I hope you will think of the story of Nanu – and remember the lesson that he taught Tanis - to delight in each day with that kind of joy and love this earth as much as you can.
If you are lost, of course you can look to the stars for direction. You can also look into the eyes of the animals and you will see everything that you need; alertness; sincerity; joy, hope, love and faith … absolutely everything you need to guide yourself home.
Isn’t that incredible?
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