Skip to main content

Jesus and the Animals: The Message is Primary

On Christmas -- please remember the significant place of  animals in the  story of Jesus's birth.  He was born in a manger alongside the animals....no greater, no less.  Whether you accept the story of Jesus as religious doctrine or you appreciate it as relevatory myth, the lesson is clear: the animals, too, are sacred.


Considered either fairy tale or filtered word-of-mouth history, the story presents a Divine lesson whether we claim Christianity as our personal faith or not.  The lessons of Jesus evident in the actions and statements attributed to him have retained strength over the millenia.  They contain an inescapable truth that some still don't promote:  those whom society regards as throwaways are indeed primary in the eyes of God.  I see no greater evidence of this than  the words attritubed to him when he delivered what's come to be known as The Sermon on the Mount: 


Blessed are the poor in spirit,
    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn,    for they will be comforted.



Blessed are the meek,    for they will inherit the earth.



Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,    for they will be filled.

Blessed are the merciful,    for they will be shown mercy.


Blessed are the pure in heart,    for they will see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers,    for they will be called children of God.
10 

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.


It doesn't matter to me whether a human being, an ordinary teacher, a radical rabbi, a messiah, a streetcorner prophet, or a Gallilean wood worker shared these cautionary insights. The words, reminders of what we should nurture as we progress in life, provide an instruction manual for how to live for the benefit of all beings.

ALL creatures, not just the two legged opportunists who have exercised a vile superiority over other species. The beauty of the manger scene and indeed of Christmas eve readings and services is undoubtedly the peace and harmony that reigned in that manger when the child was born. The specific location places the Divine on equal footing with all earthly creatures, most importantly the animals, whom we know to be innocent. Therein lies the equivalency. Jesus did not "lower" himself to be born. The animals, pure in spirit, pure in heart, accepted him into their domain. Even though the entire manger story has of late been regarded by many theologians as literary invention, I respect its educational and moral merit. Because I have to.






Merry Christmas to all who honor the tradition. And to those who honor other traditions,or no traditions at all, peace.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Why I Chose Animals

I suppose my mother had something to do with me loving animals. From the time I was five, she was bringing home creatures small enough to go undetected in our Brooklyn apartment: turtles, tortoises, and a half-moon parrot with whom I bonded so deeply that the memories of having to give him up (I had severe allergies) still fly at me like unwelcome shards of glass. I remember crying in the back seat of the car, my father double-parked with the engine running while my mother returned the bird to the pet shop. When she came back outside, she was holding a large tortoise, waving it at us, a permission seeking gesture for my father, who banged his hand on the steering wheel and yelled, "Goddamn it, Rhoda!" But we won. The tortoise came home with us. The parrot story goes deeper than simple loss of an amusing companion (which is never simple, anyway). At the time, I was five and silently enduring molestation at the hands of my paternal grandfather. I won't delve into the psyche

God's Covenant with Animals in the Old Testament

What is our human responsibility to the earth and its non-human inhabitants? Traditional Biblical scholars would say one of master-servant and ecologists would say one of caretaker. However, using either frame, neither movement has responded in full view of the evidence presented throughout the Bible that God clearly included animals in covenantal relationships with Biblical scholars neglecting the sanctity of animals and secular environmentalists neglecting God. A closer look at the Old Testament reveals that God designed humankind’s role in relation to the animals as one of stewardship rather than domination. Traditionally religious people often cite Scripure justify a master/servant relationship between humans and animals rather than one of partnership, but deeper investigation invites us to see texts rich with references, both literal and figurative, to the partnership between humankind and the animal world. From Genesis through Prophets and Wisdom Literature, the writers of the Ol

Animals, Divorce, Picador: Living in the Moment

I once heard George Carlin say dogs can't tell time; they don't differentiate between one minute and one day, so when we leave them, upon our return we get the same exuberant greeting whether we were gone for three hours or three seconds. This merits some thought. Is it that animals don't recognize time or that they don't worship time the way we do? We obsess over time lost and time coming; we struggle to retrieve the past, seeking some previously missed key to consequences we endure in our ongoing life sagas. Or we project and fantasize about the future, what will be, what could be, what we want. Doing so, we miss the present moment, the essence of a happy life. The Buddhists teach us that by living in the moment, we have no expectations and feel neither sorrow nor disappointment. So sensible. So difficult. Do our animals experience disappointment and resentment? If they do, such states are momentary. I am still winding through my fresh divorce, which I know in my hea