All creation bows
God waited patiently in the days of Noah, during the building of the ark …
And baptism, which this prefigured, now saves you. 1 Peter 3:20-21
Read Genesis 8:1—4
I must think of my baptism tonight. I must relive it. Here I have been carried through the waters that threatened me, the threat of overwhelming death. Of course I have been accompanied by Jesus. I have been carried through by him. He has surrounded me as the ark to deliver me. If I do picture that ark, I picture it full. I can feel the fur of fellow creatures, domestic and wild, and I look into their trusting eyes. I am on board with them. I smell the farmyard, hear the tree-top call, and realise I am part of a promise to all that were on that ark. My baptism is a sign that I am on the premises of what is beyond anything I can picture, but promised nevertheless. I am part of the promised renewal of all things.
Lord of all creation and of all creatures, you have made my life to be a life of participation with all creation. I thank you for the creatures who have shared my day. Usually I hear more than I see. The air fills with their warbles and whistles, with chirping and cackling, yelps, warning growls, or bleating. I suppose this reminds me tonight that, in a way, I am still on the ark. I am not floating alone. I am not isolated. I have more than human company. The very creation around me is companionable. Through it you minister to me. If I recognise beauty it is because your creation has taught me. I know the one who is called ‘the firstborn of all creation,’[1] and, knowing him, I cannot think of his purpose being complete without the very creatures joining in the hymn of praise.
[1] Colossians 1:15