Saint Francis and the Song of All Creation

The Feast of Saint Francis invites a different way of looking at the world. Creation can teach people about God, and animals can bring real comfort and companionship in lonely and suffering places. The story behind Doctor Dolittle, written amid the trenches of World War I, shows how animals can become a source of comfort when the world feels full of carnage and difficulty.

Genesis presents animals as creatures God intends to save and bless. God’s covenant after the flood repeatedly includes “every living creature,” so the rainbow becomes more than a beautiful picture. The rainbow reminds the earth that every living creature has a space before God. Animals belong alongside human life for companionship, food, work, travel, and the shared flourishing of creation.

Dominion does not mean that human beings get to do whatever they want with the earth. The Christian should be interested in harmony with the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and the whole created world. Creation does not exist for unnecessary or excessive exploitation, but for a mutually beneficial relationship between God’s creatures and God’s creation. Care for animals and the earth flows not from worshiping creation, but from worshiping God.

Colossians names Christ as “the image of the invisible God” and the firstborn of all creation. Christ holds all things together. Jesus is the glue, the mortar, the grout for the animals and waterfalls, hills and warthogs, peacocks and worms, whales and human beings. Creation is not its own final destination. Jesus is creation’s source, heart, and end, and to look rightly at creation is to look at Christ.

Francis found a tablet in the natural world on which the likenesses of Christ were written. A lamb called to mind the Lamb of God, and even a worm called to mind Christ’s suffering. Francis’s famous address to the birds came after he received clarity that God had called him to proclaim the good news. The birds, animals, rocks, trees, oceans, mountains, and all creatures are summoned to praise and love their Creator.

Psalm 148, Psalm 19, and Revelation place human praise inside a much larger song. The heavens declare God’s glory, every creature sings to the One on the throne and to the Lamb, and Sunday songs become one small part of creation’s vast chorus. Christ holds it all together, and creation’s song offers comfort, hope, joy, and a summons to return good care for the creatures entrusted to human hands.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Every living creature belongs before God Genesis makes God’s covenant broad enough to include every living creature, not merely human beings. The rainbow therefore bears witness to God’s care for animals and the whole earth. Human affection for pets can become a small but real reminder of that larger covenant love. [47:24]
• 2. Dominion means stewardship, not exploitation Dominion has often been twisted into permission to use the earth without restraint. God’s intention is a relationship of care, work, and shared flourishing between human beings and creation. Christian worship of God should produce gratitude and responsibility toward the world God made. [49:46]
• 3. Christ holds all creation together Colossians refuses to separate Christ from the material world. The same Lord who saves sinners also sustains waterfalls, animals, trees, clouds, and stars. Creation becomes spiritually meaningful when it leads the heart beyond itself to Christ, its source and end. [51:31]
• 4. Creation joins the praise of God Francis’s call to birds and creatures reflects Scripture’s wider vision of a praising world. Rocks, trees, oceans, animals, and human voices belong within a vast chorus directed toward the Creator. Human worship becomes humbler and fuller when it recognizes that it is not the only song God hears.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [44:35] - Saint Francis and the Natural World
• [45:46] - Animals as Comfort and Companionship
• [46:48] - Noah, the Ark, and Every Living Creature
• [49:46] - Stewardship Rather Than Exploitation
• [50:34] - Caring for Creation Because of God
• [51:14] - Christ Holds All Things Together
• [52:32] - Finding Christ in the Creatures
• [53:29] - Francis Preaches to the Birds
• [56:22] - All Creation Praises Its Creator
• [57:30] - Widening the Horizon of God’s Love
• [58:53] - Scripture’s Great Song of Creation
• [60:13] - Joining the Song of Every Creature

Bible Reading

Genesis 9:12-16
“And God said, "This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” [47:33]

Colossians 1:15-17
“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” [51:22]

Psalm 148:7-10
“Praise the LORD from the earth, you great sea creatures and all deeps, fire and hail, snow and mist, stormy wind fulfilling his word! Mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars! Beasts and all livestock, creeping things and flying birds!” [59:00]

Observation questions

1. In Genesis 9:12–16, what phrase is repeated to show the wide reach of God’s covenant after the flood? [47:33]
2. What examples are given of the different ways animals live alongside human beings—for companionship, food, work, and travel? [48:34]
3. According to Colossians 1:15–17, what does Christ’s relationship to creation reveal about who he is and what he does? [51:22]
4. In Psalm 148:7–10, what parts of the created world are called to praise God, and what range of creatures and places does that include? [59:08]

Interpretation questions

1. God’s covenant includes “every living creature,” not only human beings. What does this suggest about the value animals and the rest of creation have before God? [48:15]
2. If Christ is the source, heart, and end of creation, how does that keep Christians from treating nature either as worthless material or as something to worship? [51:54]
3. Dominion is often understood as permission to use the earth however human beings want. How does the call to harmony and mutual benefit give a different meaning to human responsibility? [49:46]
4. Psalm 148 places human worship within the praise of animals, skies, seas, weather, and mountains. How might that vision make a gathered church’s worship both more humble and more joyful? [58:39]

Application questions

1. When have an animal, a pet, or time outdoors brought comfort during a lonely, stressful, or painful season? How might that experience become an occasion for gratitude to God rather than something taken for granted? [46:17]
2. The rainbow can remind believers that every living creature has a place before God. What might help you notice God’s care for creatures more often in your ordinary routines? [48:21]
3. Where might your household be tempted toward wastefulness or unnecessary consumption? What is one realistic change that could reflect stewardship rather than exploitation? [50:16]
4. Caring for creation flows from worshiping the Creator, not from worshiping creation. What practices help you enjoy the goodness of the natural world while keeping Christ at the center? [50:40]
5. Christ holds together both human life and the whole created world. When you are outdoors or encounter an animal this week, what could you do to let that moment turn your attention toward Christ? [52:03]
6. Human praise is one small part of creation’s larger song. How could remembering that affect the way you approach Sunday worship, personal prayer, or singing? [58:39]