Long before the “Word became flesh” (John 1:14) in Jesus, God’s first “word” manifested as creation itself. From the creation account of Genesis 1, one might suggest that our animal brothers and sisters bore silent witness to God With Us before the human species came to awareness of the same. Might the animals have something to teach us now? Poet Kelly Chripczuk shares how our furry friends may have naturally offered the most appropriate response to that which we celebrate this week:
Legend claims at midnight Christmas Eve animals received the gift of speech,
but I imagine it was the other way around that first starlight night.
Animals didn’t gain but humans lost, for once, their words.
Speechless, they welcomed the Word in silence, led by the animals in a chorus of mute wonder.