Puppy bladders don’t care. They are small, and they don’t care if there is a global pandemic. They don’t care if you have to write an urgent email. They don’t care if you have to make that phone call. Or read the latest news report. They just know that if you don’t take the puppy outside RIGHT.NOW there will be an even more urgent task to attend to.
How are you doing? How are you holding up in the midst of the physical distancing we have been asked to do? I know many of you are sad we can’t gather together for worship until mid-May. I’m sad, too. I know you are grieving that we can’t celebrate Easter together. Me, too.
What’s keeping you sane right now? For me, it is the urgency of taking a puppy outside for a needed walk. It turns out I need those walks just as much as she does. She also wakes up early for that first walk of the morning, and it turns out that my prayer life desperately needed that too.
The other day, we woke up at 6, went for a walk, the sky gradually lightening as the sun arose, and suddenly, the birds began to sing. A great chorus rose up around us, all the birds greeting the new day with their individual song, coming together as a great cloud of witnesses. The puppy’s head came up to listen, and so did mine. And it made me think of the canticle we read for worship on Sunday, Canticle 21, the Te Deum.
You are God: we praise you;
You are the Lord: we acclaim you;
You are the eternal Father:
All creation worships you.
The glorious company of apostles praise you.
The noble fellowship of prophets praise you.
The white-robed army of martyrs praise you.
The glorious company of birds praise you, Oh God. The playful, active puppies with small bladders praise you, Oh God. All creation praises you.
It can be hard to find praise, or blessings, when we are in the midst of sadness, or grief, or lament. We are in the season of Lent, a time to be more somber, more penitent. And yet, we offer our praise every Sunday. Canticle 21 is the suggested canticle to be read during the season of Lent. The wisdom of the Book of Common Prayer knows that even in Lent, even in lament, our hearts desire to praise God.
Listen for the birdsong, friends. Creation reminds us that new life is coming. We won’t be quarantined and socially distant forever. Easter is coming, and we will find ways to celebrate Christ risen from the dead once again.
If you will excuse me, I have to go walk the puppy.