I am John Berry, the Director of the Smithsonian’s National Zoological Park and I am deeply honored to be able to speak to you on this Sunday where we honor one of the great conservationists of history, St. Francis of Assisi. My topic is a simple one: why should anyone, including believers, care about conservation and our animal world?

There are many good reasons to become involved with conservation and supporting the rich biodiversity of our planet. Some are both practical and selfish. The best example is that six out of ten of the most recent major drug treatments for soft cancers came from compounds discovered on coral reefs. In addition, penicillin, less than 100 years old in terms of our usage to fight infection, is increasingly losing its effectiveness as bacteria evolve faster than new strains of this critical drug. Recently, scientists have found that the sweat of the giant Nile hippo, the third largest land animal, may hold the key to a whole new class of antibiotics. The Komodo dragon is also being studied for the exact same reason, in that its mouth, one of the most bacteria laden places on earth, and able to kill its prey through massive blood poisoning, somehow does not impact its own system. These species therefore, may in fact be the key to the very survival of our own species, as they help scientists to uncover entirely new approaches to fight infection.

But far more wonderful to me when searching for what should motivate our engagement in conservation, are the reasons of faith, which touch far deeper chords within our hearts.

From the very beginning, when the Spirit of God moved upon the waters, the marvels of creation in all of their wondrous beauty were looked upon by God and blessed as “Good.” Noah was called upon to protect all of creation – two by two – and nothing was seen as unworthy of admission to God’s ark.

The natural world is a constant source of joy in scripture – from the Old Testament’s dance of the morning stars to the appreciating glance of Jesus upon the lilies of the field, who rate higher than all of the wealth of Solomon in his eyes, we begin to see that there is something very precious here indeed. This joy and awe range from the ostensibly insignificant – the grass of the field and the feathers of a sparrow’s head, to the leviathans of the deep, used to humble Job and bring Jonah to the shores of Ninevah.

I do not think it is by accident that the animal kingdom is inextricably caught up in the glorious story of redemption – from the very first announcement in Bethlehem of the good news of the Savior’s birth and those first breaths of the incarnate God witnessed by sheep and oxen, to the triumphant entry into Jerusalem upon an ass, animals are certainly players upon Christ’s stage. And where many of us reflect God’s broader purposes in using both “he and she” as references during our recitation of the Nicene Creed, I would be remiss if I did not note the potential of meaning in God’s Holy Spirit appearing not as a “he or a she” at Christ’s baptism in the Jordan, but instead in the form of a dove. Perhaps our notions of conservation would be far deeper and more world changing if we recognized the joy, grace and very presence of God as truly running through all of the goodness and marvels of creation.


In the last chapter of John, the risen Christ grills Peter three times: “Simon, son of John, do you love me? Yes Lord, you know that I love you. Tend my Sheep.” An analogy for humankind? Maybe. Or maybe a word chosen with greater care – to capture an even broader responsibility of stewardship?


I am not arguing here the limits or extent of salvation – I will leave that for theologians – I only wish to deepen our sense of appreciation and responsibility beyond the narrow boundaries of our own species.

“This is the sign that I am giving for all ages to come, of the covenant between me and you and EVERY LIVING CREATURE WITH YOU: I set my bow in the clouds to serve as a sign of the covenant between me AND THE EARTH.” Genesis

Today, more species are being lost than in any comparable period since the last great Ice Age. And the majority of this loss is due to human related causes which are leading to far more extinctions than otherwise would occur naturally. Three things are driving this: loss of habitat, loss of water, and the careless introduction of non-native species , which often become invasive and overwhelm local species , unable to evolve as fast as our planes, trains and automobiles.

If there is to be a future for wildlife, and if our generation is to be able to withstand God’s accounting on the Day of Judgement as to the status of our planet’s natural manifest, our generation must begin to live more humbly and carefully. We can create wildlife reserves and we can connect them with corridors, IF we are willing to admit that we must share berths on this ark of a planet. We can begin by building communities sensitive to how we locate growth and agreeing to share the land by leaving enough habitat to protect our fellow animal travelers. Water is becoming ever more scarce, and as we fight over who will enjoy this most precious of all resources, central to life, we must be certain to make water for fish and wildlife a foremost part of this tense and increasingly difficult equation.

We can, with God’s grace, perform miracles. Our parent’s generation bequeathed to us cleaner air and rivers than were given to them, and eagles, pelicans, alligators and bison, all once perilously close to extinction, now range again in wonderful abundance.

We are called to take up the same challenge – to leave, as the ancient Greeks once pledged, our children and grandchildren a world not only not less, but richer and more abundant than was given to us.

This is an ancient song that God calls us to sing. God calls us to care.

Pslam 96: “Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice: let the sea and what fills it resounds: let the plains be joyful and all that is in them! Then shall the trees of the forest exult before the Lord, for God comes, God comes to rule THE EARTH.”

Amen