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A Snake Friend Saved from Hell
Originally published in Catholicism for the Modern World on Medium. Go read the best new online Christian journal!
You, Oh Lord,
laid the foundations of the Earth…
you covered it with the deep waters as a garment…
You send the springs into the valleys…
they give water to every creature in the field…
the Earth is satisfied with the fruit of Your work…
The young lions roar after their prey,
and seek their food from
You, Oh Lord.
(Psalm 104, verses 5 — 21, paraphrased)
Here’s something different. Not my usual theology thing, but I have a lot of different aspects of my life that I hope to share through my internet presence.
One of them is artistry!
I do a bit of drawing when I’m not doing philosophy.
Rusty's Rescue
Below is an artistic tribute to a new friend: Rusty the Kenyan Sand Boa (on Instagram as @RustySandBoa)
He’s the newest addition to my friend’s fledgling animal rescue. Rusty joins my dear Opossum friends, Elvis, Franklin, and Wednesday (on IG as @elvisfranklinbros).
I know I usually write about Christian theology. Depending on how you look at it, Rusty’s rescue either has nothing to do with Christianity, or a lot.
He was left for dead as a classroom pet.
By the time my rescuer friend found him, he had literally gone months without water. Rusty had multiple layers of old skin stuck on him (that’s a medical emergency for snakes)
The world left him for dead.
But God did not, working through the love of certain humans.
My friend found him buried in moldy old substrate and took him home for some life-saving care.
As part of his recovery, Rusty needed an eye surgically removed. His medical bill was crowd-funded.
Art can be a Solution to Theodicy
I was determined to help make something good out of this terrible situation. So I added Rusty as a character to The Orthodox Snake cartoon universe:
Rusty the Perpetually Winking Boa! 😉
He also has the power to make objects (like teacups) magically levitate, according to my head-canon. He doesn't have hands, so how else is he going to have tea?
The art below is my small contribution to making some good out of a truly horrible situation.
God brings good out of evil (Genesis 50:20 + Romans 8:28). And since Christians are called to union with God, we need to do what we can to achieve that mission in cooperation with Him. God gave us mercy first—the least we can do is share it.
Sometimes we can assist in God’s mission through good philosophy. Other times the best assistance is good art.
Here’s one of those times when God is best served through art.
A Prayer for the Creatures Forgotten
I have a custom prayer I started making a few years ago, once I adopted Sweet Potato, my pet albino Ball Python.
I wish all creatures got the same love Sweet Potato gets. Every creature ought to get the same love Sweet Potato gets, and more. So I added this to my litany of prayers:
"God bless those creatures who are at the mercy of other creatures, and suffer because of it."
Stories like Rusty’s rescue prove to me that God is listening to those prayers, even when things seem horrible beyond repair. God can renew any creature—no matter how much they've suffered—into a living sign of the Good that outlasts everything else.
We’re glad you exist, Rusty! God grant you and your family many blessed years.
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Look at the birds of the air…
They neither toil nor sow nor reap,
yet not even King Solomon in all his glory could compare…
and Your heavenly Father keeps them fed.
(Matt 6, verses 26–29, paraphrased)
If this story of divine mercy through art resonated with you, imagine the stories we could craft together!
Whether you're ready to share your own stories of hope and redemption, or craft compelling copy for a mission-driven brand celebrating grace in unexpected places, let's see if we'd make a good team! ⬇️
Comments are welcome. I read everything, but my charism is writing, not debate. So I respond selectively, only when conversation clearly serves truth and charity. If you don't receive a response, please don't take it personally. Time and energy are precious resources, and I steward them toward the essays themselves.
All comments go through moderation.
If you'd like to engage more substantively, consider writing your own response essay and contacting us through email or social media. I'd be honored to read it and potentially feature it as a guest essay.
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~ Dr. Boaz
The Serpentine Byzantines
Joint Dr. Boaz, the Human
Sweet Potato, the Ball Python
We're a small team comprising a human and a snake.
Joint Dr. Boaz has a Joint PhD in Healthcare Ethics and Theology. He lives a 2nd life as a professional dancer. He's also a parish cantor, visual artist, and gaming streamer.
Sweet Potato is a male albino Ball Python. Born and raised in Florida, he's also traveled across the USA via road trips and even a flight! He's been blessed by a priest and once completed an entire Paschal Fast without eating a single meal.