October 13, 2024 homily on Psalm 148 by Pastor Galen
Psalm 148
In verses 7 and following, the psalmist commands all of creation to praise the Lord, saying,
Praise the Lord from the earth, you sea monsters and all deeps, fire and hail, snow and frost, stormy wind fulfilling his command! Mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars! Wild animals and all cattle, creeping things and flying birds! (Psalm 148:7-10)
Surely the earth and sky and sea and their inhabitants don’t need our encouragement to praise the Lord, do they? Surely the mere fact of their existence is a testament and witness to the majesty and creativity of our Creator God. And yet, by exhorting all of creation to praise the Lord, the psalmist reminds us of the reality that each and every one of God’s created beings has a unique role to play in giving God honor and glory and praise. We as humans are not the “be-all and end-all” of creation. The world and everything in it, ourselves included, were created for the purpose of giving God praise.
Colossians 1:15-20 highlights the reality that the world and everything in it were created by and for God’s glory, and that through Christ, God is working for the redemption and restoration of all of creation. Verse 15 states that Jesus “is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation, for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through him and for him” (Col. 1:15-17). And then verse 19 picks up, “ For in [Christ] all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross” (Col. 1:19-20).
And so this morning we gather together to praise the Lord along with all of God’s creatures and to witness to the reality that through Christ God is reconciling all things.
St. Francis and the Birds
When I think about commanding all of creation to praise the Lord, I’m reminded of St. Francis of Assisi, also known as “St. Francis” who lived about 800 years ago and is known as the patron saint of the environment and of animals because of his love for all of God’s creatures. St. Francis was inspired by Psalm 148 to pen the words to the poem which was later set to music, “All Creatures of Our God and King.”
There are many myths and stories surrounding St. Francis’ love for animals, including the legend that St. Francis tamed a wild wolf that was terrorizing a village by simply speaking to it. Francis asked the wolf to stop eating people, and not only did it obey, but it became the village pet!
But one of my favorite stories is about how St. Francis preached to the birds.
The story is told that St. Francis was walking from one city to the next to acquire more members for his new religious order. He noticed on the way a multitude of birds gathering in the trees and he was inspired to preach to them about their duty to always praise God and to be thankful for their wonderful clothes, their independence, and God’s care.1 “The birds listened to Francis’ homily and flew away, forming the shape of a cross. Francis marveled at their beauty and joined them in praising God.”2
Calling all of Creation to Praise the Lord
This morning, let us join all of creation in praising our Creator and Redeemer. May we commit to preserving and protecting the world and the animals that God has entrusted to us, so that every creature can fulfill its purpose of giving praise to God, and so that future generations can look at creation and God give praise.
May we, like St. Francis, and like the psalmist who wrote Psalm 148, invite all of creation to join us in fulfilling the purpose for which we were created—to give honor and glory and praise to our Creator.
Amen!
Hampden United Methodist Church 