Finding Creation Spirituality (15): "Bible stories and butterflies."

[Matt Henry]

Every night my wife and I alternate in putting our two sweet daughters to bed, which is of course a multifaceted ritual of pyjamas, teeth-brushing, face-washing and teddy-bear relocation. The better part of the time is reading stories and singing songs. Each one of the girls picks a story, and we sit on the bed and read one, then the other, and follow it with as many songs as it takes to take them off to their dreams and rest (for the younger, this can be a whole concert).

A couple of nights ago, the elder picked a small cartoon-y Bible storybook, about Jesus feeding the 5,000; the younger grabbed a book about a butterfly. Now, let me say as a disclaimer before I poo-poo the Jesus book, that we have many Jesus books because we're big fans, and we hope our daughters will think his an acquaintance worth making. (We hope also that they'll make the acquaintance of Gandhi and Buddha, and whilst we have no such books for their age, we do have plush dolls of both of these guys, with the coolest little flip-flops on Gandhi's feet.) Alas, I digress.

Both of the books I read that night to my girls are of miracles. One is about a miracle that they have witnessed themselves many times in our gardens, and the other makes no sense to them at all. The Jesus book, endeavoring I suppose to be "faithful" to its Biblical source was dry and dull and devoid of imagination; the butterfly book was a delectable treat of glitter, dancing, joy and gratitude. It echoed in me as I watched them bored by the first and thrilled by the last, that notion that to bore someone with a story and call it worship is sinful. The wonderful Jose Hobday (who passed away some months ago) used to say that we should practice our stories so that they are worth telling. It felt like the particular Jesus story this night had suffered from some other fate than practice - perhaps petrification?

I found it an experience of the wisdom of Creation Spirituality mostly though, in the notion of the priest/geologist Thomas Berry (who also passed away recently) that we ought to put the Bible down for twenty years in order to study creation. His was a sentiment that is in common with Aquinas, Hildegarde and Eckhart (and surely others) who beg us to notice that the Divine's self-revelation can never be captured by words, but comes through the whole of creation.

My daughters embodied that wisdom to me that night, as they were so lifted up by the delightful miracle of a butterfly's beautiful life, that the idea of a free fish sandwich - even from Jesus - didn't arouse much hunger.


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See also...
Finding Creation Spirituality (14) "The Blessing Seed."
Finding Creation Spirituality (13) "Raging prophet / responsible po...
Finding Creation Spirituality (12) "Climbing walls and postmodernity."
Finding Creation Spirituality (11) "Via Negativa -> Via Creativa...
Finding Creation Spirituality (10) "Originally Blessed"
Finding Creation Spirituality (9) "Indigo Girls Mystic Prophet"
Finding Creation Spirituality (8) "Our Creation Story"
Finding Creation Spirituality (7) "Chocolate Bunnies"
Finding Creation Spirituality (6) "Meep meep"
Finding Creation Spirituality (5) John Muir walked away into the mo...
Finding Creation Spirituality (4) Science in the Whitehouse
Finding Creation Spirituality (3) Crayola
Finding Creation Spirituality (2) Australian Bushfires
Finding Creation Spirituality (1) Film: As it is in Heaven

[Bill Gordon]

Matt-- this is beautiful!!!! It is so great to see you honor the writer in you in this way, and I hope that one day it will lead to a published compendium of these observations! Thank you for sharing it with us. I remain, as you know, a bit of a fan of yours for your insights. Please keep putting these out there.

[Tammie Fowles]

Love this piece Matt -- sweet and wise -- actually very much like how you strike me :)

[Mary Plaster, M.A.]

Butterflies seem to be flitting all about these days!

[George Polley]

Putting the Bible down for 20 years in order to study creation seems a good idea to me, Matt. I'm working on a short story about a "blessing place", a place where creation opened a door through which I was able to see the whole ancient history on which I was standing. The incident took place 40 years ago this past summer, in southwest Minnesota. It has taken me this long to write it. Thanks for sharing your daughters wisdom with us.

George

[the rev Carl Freeman Reynolds]

We have de-miraculised (?) so many of the supposed biblical miracles that we miss the point of the original story altogether. Consider this: in Jesus' day there were no corner stores or any fast food restaurants, or refrigeration. When somebody went on a day trip they took the food they needed with them; in that area, around the Sea of Galilee, usually dried fish and some bread. This gathering of the 5000 (i.e. lots of people) was rather impromptu and lasted longer than perhaps people thought it would, so Jesus knew that everybody didn't have something to eat. When Jesus had his disciples share what they had brought with them, this inspired everybody to share what they had too...and there was more than enough to go around. That sharing is the miracle...not making fish and bread appear out of thin air. It is more than a viable miracle to inspire strangers to share like that.

[Sara Damewood]

Delightful blog, Matt. Thanks for sharing.

[Lamar Davis]

I keep saying it over and over again that my children have been my greatest teachers.... especially on this subject of butterflies. Beautiful Matt. Thanks for inviting us in for a bedtime story.