My Xmas message of this year is that Jesus ended speciesism at the moment of this first breath
And you might ask; How Kay how is that possible. Are you drinking again?
And I say not...well I might have had an eggnog or two but that never stopped me
I believe that the end of Speciesism is the most overlooked Xmas message the first message from Christ it's no mistake Jesus was born in a barn in a manger that held food for all sorts of animals
Let's start with the definition of SPECIESISM
Speciesism is a form of discrimination based on species membership. It involves treating members of one species as morally more important than members of other species even when their interests are equivalent. More precisely, speciesism is the failure to consider interests of equal strength to an equal extent because of the species of which the individuals have been classified as belonging to.
In other words if you are called "animal", people have the right to kill, eat, experiment on you make you into circus entertainers and it goes without saying that the smaller you are the more pain can be inflicted upon you, and if you can't scream like a rabbit I can put bleach in your eyes and watch to see what happens.
Speciesism, is the message of the Old Testament. When it comes to animals they are a sacrifice for God to be slaughtered on a altar and burned so that he can smell the sweet smell of burning flesh and be appeased.
But the New Testament has a very different message and it starts with the birth of Jesus. It starts with the Savior of the World, the King of Kings who is seated at the right hand of the Father. The first message Jesus, the son of God, gives to the world is that he is one with all creatures great and small. It's not the wet nurse, or relatives in attendance. The barn animals surrounded him and protected him with their energy and warmth. They were the many species chosen by the will of God to witness his birth and not humans.
We know for sure there were sheep but as is the nature of barns it was probably full of other great creatures like donkeys, horses, cows, goats, maybe even chickens but also the small creatures who lived in that barn; the mice, swallows, spiders, flies, cockroaches, rats, mites, worms and perhaps a possum.
As Jesus stirs in his mothers womb there is no room at the Inn and the place God chooses for him to be brought into the world is a barn and his cradle a manger where creatures great and small are not to be sacrificed but witnesses to the most important moment in the Christian faith. The lord of God did not raise his hand against his animal friends but welcomed them as his brethren.
And that's how Jesus ended speciesism!
And on this holiday season I pray that all humans (great and small) hear the first and most important message that Jesus gave to us.
AMEN
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