In the Old Testament, Elijah encounters God at the entrance of his cave, not in the earthquake or gale of thunder, but in the smallest– almost imperceptible breeze. If God who is almighty and more marvelous than the morning star, cloaks that glory within a breeze, then we – so distracted with the flash and bustle of modernity, must begin any search for the God of creation with extreme care and great humility.
I propose that in order to truly celebrate the vision and passion of St. Francis and his attention to the many marvels of God’s love and presence in creation, we must begin our search apart from the charisma of the panda or elephant – marvelous though they may be – and away from the roar of the lion and cry of the eagle.
Instead, let us begin our search for the God of creation amidst the dust – that from which we came and shall return – and the teaming, but silent, foundations of the pyramid of life upon our planet.
Here in the grass, what Walt Whitman refers to as the “handkerchief of God” let us seek to lift a corner and see what we will find.
We, approximately 43,000 species with backbones, are an all too proud lot. We tend to overlook the greatest volume of creation – the nearly one million described species of invertebrates carrying on the bulk of work required to make our planet habitable.
If that didn’t inspire humility, consider that there are 7 times the number of beetle species alone, than all of vertebrate species taken together.
More impressive than sheer numbers of species is the sheer body mass. E.O. Wilson has found that a hectare of Amazon rainforest might hold a few dozen birds and mammals – but over one billion invertebrates, and they make up 93% of the dry weight of all the animal tissue in the hectare. Clearly, we are guests in an invertebrate world. And we could not live apart from these small marvels. The plankton, corals, crustacean, algae and bacteria, recycle dead vegetation and animal matter and make the nutrient cycles which support all plant and animal life. Unlike us, they work cradle to cradle -- reusing, recapturing and recreating life in an endless cycle of rebirth.
Our modern world recoils with fear from bacteria – unaware that life itself is impossible without them. Microbes within us -- 128 species of bacteria in our stomachs alone, digest our food and combat infection. We are only beginning to uncover how important microbes both within and without are to our survival. Scientists are finding that each crevice of skin harbors its own unique, site specific community. The bacteria of your forearm is actually different from the adjacent elbow and even from your right forearm.
We are only now beginning to appreciate just how complicated, inter- reliant and connected these thousands of microbial communities are – and how delicate their balance.
Much of vertebrate life emerges from a germ-free amniotic sac into a birth canal that immediately “baptizes” the new born with bacteria. This welcome embrace is one of the mother’s greatest gifts – and studies have shown higher rates of allergies and complications when it is deprived, as in caesarian birth.
Of course there are bacteria which are unwelcome and can cause illness. Medicine and health research is now recognizing that our strategy of using broad spectrum antibiotics – killing the good with bad – may be very counter-productive, and so more refined and targeted approaches are required and counseled for the future.
Widely used antibiotics in animals we rely upon for food can also upset the balance of our bacterial world in ways we are only beginning to understand. And though largely invisible to our eyes, these tiny creatures are equally vulnerable to extinctions and disruptions by humans as our fellow larger invertebrates.
We need to appreciate that this unseen world is not all bad – and our effort to achieve “sterility” everywhere may in fact be unhealthy. Anti-bacterial soaps should only be used in hospitals – if anywhere, not in your house. Studies prove plain old fashioned soap works just as well in removing invading and dangerous microbes, without killing good bacteria on your body, in your house and more importantly, in our rivers and streams.
Consider avoiding “antibacterial” products. They increase the resistance of bad bacteria and because they rely upon synthetic products, like Triclosan, they both persist down your drain and into our waterways, showing up in our world’s food chains.
Some convert to dioxin when either exposed to sunlight or heat. Triclosan is one of our most recurrent pollutants and is found in over half of tested water from streams and rivers, as well as in the flesh of wild fish and sadly, now in human breast milk.
We must appreciate that bacteria are what makes life possible. Consider our soil, it is made fertile by bacteria – and their thread like filaments near roots allow plants to absorb nutrients. It is not plants such as clover, soy and alfalfa that fix nitrogen in our soil, but the bacteria colonies located in and around their roots. Cooperation and collaboration are the rules in this unseen world. So not only are bacteria essential to our health and survival, but maybe God has hidden in these small marvels of creation a reflection of the values commanded of us -- that is, cooperation and collaboration, otherwise known as “charity.”
We should demand that our government impose tight control and strict regulation over our use of fungicides, pesticides and synthetic fertilizers which can cause irreversible damage to the delicate balance God has ordered, sadly often even before we understand how important and marvelous that balance is.
That care and balance also apply as we move from the invisible to the visible world. Some of the most beautiful creatures of our invertebrate world are our butterflies, bees and native pollinators. Most of our fruits, vegetables and seed crops require pollination. So too do the fruits, nuts and berries required by birds and wildlife for survival.
They are declining across our world, and it is happening because our tendency is to over react to one problem, unaware of our impact on another. Our fear of Japanese beetles and grubs in our lawns and pests in our crops, have us applying millions of tons of pesticides aimed at one or two invertebrates – but hitting thousands, upon thousands, killing or impacting the good with the bad. If instead of making war against weeds and pests in our backyards, we were instruments of peace, miracles would happen to rival those of St. Francis.
If you are willing to tolerate some dandelions, Japanese beetles and a little black spot on our roses, I promise you, we will be rewarded with more bumble bees, butterflies and fireflies, not to mention box turtles and spring peepers.
God calls us to care – without fanfare or thunder. God calls us to appreciate what a fine and care-filled tapestry the knitting needles of evolution have wrought through the ages.
God calls us to conserve each detail so beautifully bestowed in abundance throughout this precious tapestry of life. May we, like St. Francis before us, treasure this handiwork of Heaven, repairing our sinful tears and holding every glorious thread intact – until we can return it whole, to the artist who created it.
Amen.