Animals and matter
"The Hebrew concept of 'covenant' (Gn.9:11) is grounded in a distinctive
world-view. After the destruction caused by the Flood, YHWH affirms the covenant for life, including animal life (Mark's gospel also mentions animals). The covenant is made with every living creature (v.9). An excessively anthropocentric view does not appear to value other forms of life in God's plan. Our viewing the human race as master of Creation has made us forget the significance of Creation and the respect we should have for it. We tend to a world view that what is not human seems to be outside of the history of salvation. From this contempt for animal life, we move to a religious under-estimating of respect for our own physical and material life. Thus, the human body also turns out to be outside of God's purpose. Reducing ourselves to a bodiless spiritualism, we can too easily lose interest in so many other people's daily needs for food, health and housing. Such needs cease to challenge us because these imperatives come precisely from aspects shared with animal life which we consider of so little value. In destroying creation - for supposedly religious reasons - we are destroying ourselves and we fail to understand the meaning of our incorporation in the risen Body of Christ through baptism (1 Pt.3:21)."
This aspect of this week's text echos a some thoughts I've had lately while discussing with friends.
