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Creational Devotional |Day Five
Day Five: Abundant, Living
Creatures
(Part I)
Today’s Reading
(Genesis 1, verses 20-23)
And God said, “Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures
and let birds fly above the earth across the dome of the sky.” So
God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves,
of every kind, with which the waters swarm, and every winged bird of every
kind. And God saw that it was good. God blessed them saying,
“Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds
multiply on the earth.” And there was evening and there was morning,
the fifth day.
Prayer
(From the Wisdom of Solomon 11:24-12:1)
Dear God,
“you love all things that exist, and detest none of the things that
you have made,
for you would not have made anything if you had hated it.
How would anything have endured if you had not willed it?
Or how would anything not called forth by you have been preserved?
You spare all things, for they are yours, O Lord, you who love the
living.
For your immortal spirit is in all things.” Amen.
Meditation Options
(1) Activity and reading for children to adults.
(Please bring paper and crayons or any other creative medium with which
you may feel creative. In your gathering place – after reading the
Genesis reading and the prayer – please read the following:)
From Psalm 104: 24-26
"O Lord, how manifold are your works!
In wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.
Yonder is the sea, great and wide, creeping things innumerable
are there,
living things both small and great.
There go the ships, and Leviathan that you formed to sport in
it."
Throughout the centuries, people have often wondered what a “Leviathan”
might be. Some think that it’s a huge sea monster, others think that
it’s maybe a whale or a hippopotamus. The Genesis reading for today
tells how God created this Leviathan as well as all the other living creatures
in the sea and in the air. The reading from Psalms tells us that
God made these creatures, big and small, “to sport” in their environments
(the water and the sky). What does “to sport” sound like to you?
(Please take a minute to think/talk about this question.) To me it
sounds like God wants these creatures to just have as much fun as they
possibly can. This makes sense to me because if God loves all of
creation, I would think that God would want all of creation to have a great
time living in relationship, like friends and brothers and sisters, with
other creatures who were having a great time.
Please take some time to draw a picture of what you think a “Leviathan”
might look like if she or he were playing in the water. Please also
draw other creature friends who live in relationship with your Leviathan.
When you’re done, please show your creation to others in your family.
(2) Reading for older children to adults.
(From Fyodor Mikhail Dostoevsky, in The Brothers Karamazov,
David Magarshack, tr., vol. i, Harmondsworth, UK: Penguin Books, 1969;
reprinted in Andrew Linzey and Tom Regan, eds., Love the Animals: Meditations
and Prayers, New York: Crossroad, 1988, p.12)
“Love all of God’s creation, the whole of it and every grain of sand.
Love every leaf, every ray of God’s light! Love the animals, love
the plants, love everything. If you love everything, you will perceive
the divine mystery in things. And once you have perceived it, you
will begin to comprehend it ceaselessly, more and more every day.
And you will at last come to love the whole world with an abiding, universal
love. Love the animals: God has given them the rudiments of thought
and untroubled joy. Do not, therefore, trouble them, do not torture
them, do not deprive them of their joy, do not go against God’s intent.”
Growing Prayer
(One person:) Dear God,
As the winds continue to caress the waters of creation,
As the waves of the sea crash loudly,
As the hills and trees stand strong together,
As the sun, moon, and stars shine brightly,
And fish and birds play in the water and the air,
All expressing thanks to You,
So we thank You for Your continued presence throughout the entire family
of creation.
(Everyone:) And God saw that creation was good! Amen.