It Is Good!
In the beginning, God called the world into being, and called it “Good.” In our first creation story in Genesis, there is a natural order to it – first the separation of light and dark – and God called it Good. Then came the separation of earth and sea – and God called it Good. God created plants and then the animals – those that fly, those that creep along the ground, those that have two or four legs or many more. And God called them all Good. And then…God made humans out of the same dust of the earth, calling us into being and God called us Good too.
In this first creation story, God said to the first humans, “be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.” Our human interpretation of that very first command has gotten us and the world into a lot of trouble. We carried out the first command really well – be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. But the next two have gotten us into some trouble. What does it mean to “subdue” the earth and “have dominion over it”?
Too often this commandment has been used to justify ravaging the earth and all its creatures for the resources that we as humans want – without a corresponding care or work to replenish them. The ELCA has a social statement about Creation Care that says:
“Made in the image of God, we are called to care for the earth as God cares for the earth. God’s command to have dominion and subdue the earth is not a license to dominate and exploit. Human dominion, Genesis 1:28; Psalm 8 a special responsibility, should reflect God’s way of ruling as a shepherd king who takes the form of a servant” .Philippians 2 And, as the second chapter of Genesis clarifies, “our role within creation is to serve and to keep God’s garden, the earth.” ‘To serve,’ often translated ‘to till,’ invites us envision ourselves as farmers or gardeners while ‘to keep’ invites us to take care of the earth as God keeps and cares for us, Numbers 6:24-26 as a parent cares for a child.” 1
Farmers, like my father, a farmer, care for the earth and the creatures in their care. In the spring, my dad planted corn or grain and clover in strips along the rolling hills of our farm in Wisconsin. This prevented erosion – the clover grasses held the dirt from washing away even during the hardest rainstorms. The crops were rotated year by year to replenish the soil – what the corn took out of the soil was replenished by the grasses the next year. We fed these plants to our cows and then, we shoveled out the manure from the cows and spread it back on the fields which also replenished the soil. We benefitted too: we milked the cows and took some meat for our use. It was a relationship of mutuality – the cows were fed, the earth was renewed and we ate well.
If you remember the movie, “Finding Nemo” in addition to being a delightful comedy/ adventure movie about a personified clownfish searching for his son Nemo, we also learn a bit about marine biology. There is a symbiotic relationship between clownfish – also called anemone fish - and their sea anemone hosts. The long tentacles of the anemone are covered with poison stingers which protect the fish from predators, and in return, the fish help keep the anemone clean. The two creatures are co-dependent upon each other, they need one another to live and to thrive. 2
Today, we remember and celebrate our mutual and symbiotic relationships with animals. According to my research, dogs were domesticated 15,000–30,000 years ago, when humans discovered that they could be trained to hunt, herd, and guard. Cats were welcomed into homes at least 9,000 years ago to catch mice and other rodents.3 Since then, we have expanded the number and kinds of creatures that we welcome into our home for companionship and delight – rabbits and birds, lizards and fish and a host of other creatures - even if they don’t hunt or catch rodents. In fact, I’m guessing that you prefer that they don’t bring you their catch.
Today we bless those creatures with whom we live and we remember and give thanks for all of God’s creatures, the earth and sea, sky and space. For, in God’s beautiful, connected web of creation, God has made all of these creatures and continues to create and renew the face of the earth. And God has – and continues to proclaim, “It is Good.” Thanks be to God. Amen.
1https://www.webofcreation.org/LENS/socialstatementelca.html
2https://asknature.org/strategy/intricate-relationship-allows-the-other-to-flourish/
3https://a-z-animals.com/animals/lists/animals-with-a-symbiotic-relationship/
Faith-Lilac Way Lutheran Church + Blessing of the Animals April 26, 2026 + Pastor Pam Stalheim Lane