St. Francis of Assisi
St. Francis of Assisi is someone I have been drawn to since I became a Christian. He is known for many things. He was never ordained as a priest and was never received into a monastic order. Though, he did found an order that became the Franciscans.
He was likely the one who invented the Christmas Creche to help us see the poverty and simplicity that God chose for the Incarnation. Because God became poor, Francis cared for the poor and tended to lepers.
At a time when the church was marked by grandeur, wealth, and power, Francis rejected the wealth of his family and entered into a life of poverty. He would work as a simple day-labourer for food, or beg for it.
As far as we know, he was the first to have experienced the stigmata, which is the supernatural manifestation of the wounds of the crucifixion on his body.
At a time when the church was consumed by politics and corruption, Francis was a man of honesty and integrity. Once, when those who were caring for his health were tending to a wound on his side, they tried to convince Francis to sew a bit of fur to the inside of the course fabric where his habit rubbed against his wound, and was causing irritation. Francis finally consented, but only if they sewed a piece of fur on the outside of his habit of an equal size. For him, it would be hypocrisy and deception to outwardly display an uncomfortable and repentant habit, when he is hiding comfortable fur on the inside.
During the crusades he is said to have walked into a Muslim camp seeking to either convert them to Christ, or to be martyred. He neither converted them, nor did they kill him. Instead the Muslim leader seemed to befriend him.
He is attractive because of his extreme dedication to Christ, and because even in his poverty he found intense love and joy. He seemed to mirror the character of Christ. He was medicine for the Medieval Church.
One of the other things he was known for is his love and appreciation for creation. There are many stories about Francis’ special relationship with animals, which is not uncommon to hear about when reading about the saints. He was said to have preached to the birds and the birds seemed to pay attention. He was said to have made peace between a wolf and the town that lived in fear of him. … One of his most well-known writings is The Canticle of the Creatures, where he describes various elements of creation as his family members. He calls the Sun his brother, and the moon his sister. The wind is his brother, and the water is his sister. Fire is his brother, and the earth is his mother. He even praises God through his sister Bodily Death. Francis praises God for all these family members, and even praises God through them. … Francis didn’t see the rivers and the trees and the animals as mere resources to exploit. The world was populated with his family- creations of God, just like him. Francis is often spoken about as the patron saint of environmental issues for obvious reasons. Last year (2019), the national Anglican Church adopted the Season of Creation, which starts on September 1st and ends on Francis’ feast day (Oct 4th).
When it comes to caring for our world, we can benefit greatly from learning from Francis. He teaches us that we human beings are not the only creatures that God thinks about. Francis believed that the Gospel was for all creation in a mysterious way- The Gospel of Mark 16:15 says, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation”. So, God’s care is for all creation, not just humanity. And there are other places in Scripture we can go see this same message. For example, in Romans 8 Paul says that the creation is groaning in expectation for the children of God to be revealed (8:19,22). The creation is yearning for its renewal. … When God renews a human being, He does not destroy that human being and then replace them with a different human being. God is renewing creation in a similar way. So, the way we treat this earthly creation matters. In a way, God is trying to get us back to the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve were originally intended to be the care-takers of the garden. They were to tend it- to help it unfold into all its potential. The creation is also the art of our Creator and so caring for it is a way of honouring God. Some of us need to be reminded of our original calling to tend to the earth.
Francis also reminds us that we are not aliens to this world. When we step on a mountain, he is our brother. When we kayak down a river, she is our sister. We are not aliens who don’t belong- who’s feet and breath are damaging and poisonous to our world. We are not aliens on this planet. We belong here. This is our home. For those who tend to think of human beings as an alien cancer on the planet, Francis reminds us that this is our home. … Genesis tells me that I was made from the earth. In Genesis 2:7 we read,
One of the other things he was known for is his love and appreciation for creation. There are many stories about Francis’ special relationship with animals, which is not uncommon to hear about when reading about the saints. He was said to have preached to the birds and the birds seemed to pay attention. He was said to have made peace between a wolf and the town that lived in fear of him. … One of his most well-known writings is The Canticle of the Creatures, where he describes various elements of creation as his family members. He calls the Sun his brother, and the moon his sister. The wind is his brother, and the water is his sister. Fire is his brother, and the earth is his mother. He even praises God through his sister Bodily Death. Francis praises God for all these family members, and even praises God through them. … Francis didn’t see the rivers and the trees and the animals as mere resources to exploit. The world was populated with his family- creations of God, just like him. Francis is often spoken about as the patron saint of environmental issues for obvious reasons. Last year (2019), the national Anglican Church adopted the Season of Creation, which starts on September 1st and ends on Francis’ feast day (Oct 4th).
When it comes to caring for our world, we can benefit greatly from learning from Francis. He teaches us that we human beings are not the only creatures that God thinks about. Francis believed that the Gospel was for all creation in a mysterious way- The Gospel of Mark 16:15 says, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation”. So, God’s care is for all creation, not just humanity. And there are other places in Scripture we can go see this same message. For example, in Romans 8 Paul says that the creation is groaning in expectation for the children of God to be revealed (8:19,22). The creation is yearning for its renewal. … When God renews a human being, He does not destroy that human being and then replace them with a different human being. God is renewing creation in a similar way. So, the way we treat this earthly creation matters. In a way, God is trying to get us back to the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve were originally intended to be the care-takers of the garden. They were to tend it- to help it unfold into all its potential. The creation is also the art of our Creator and so caring for it is a way of honouring God. Some of us need to be reminded of our original calling to tend to the earth.
Francis also reminds us that we are not aliens to this world. When we step on a mountain, he is our brother. When we kayak down a river, she is our sister. We are not aliens who don’t belong- who’s feet and breath are damaging and poisonous to our world. We are not aliens on this planet. We belong here. This is our home. For those who tend to think of human beings as an alien cancer on the planet, Francis reminds us that this is our home. … Genesis tells me that I was made from the earth. In Genesis 2:7 we read,
“Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.”
In Hebrew, God made “Adam” from the “Adamah”. It is a play on words. “Adam” means “human being”. “Adamah” means “earth”, or “ground”. ‘Adam’, the first human being, represents all of us. We are all made from the earth. Through a process, God made me from the dust of the earth. All the atoms that make up my body are from this earth, from the time I was born. I belong here. I am from the ground in the same way a flower is from the ground, or a bird is from the ground, or a frog is from the ground. The atoms in my body came from this earth. This is my home. God made me a part of this place. … The trick is how to live here well- in a way that honours God and serves my fellow creatures. So there is a lot we can learn from Francis about how to be a creature, and how to treat our fellow creatures in ways that honour our Creator.
The thing that fascinates me most about Francis is his amazing determination to live out the teachings of Jesus as literally as possible. The Danish Philosopher Soren Kierkegaard once said this:
Francis, if he ever erred, it was in following Christ’s commands as literally as possible. If we take the Gospels seriously, we do have to admit that Jesus told at least one person to literally sell everything and follow him. Francis took that word to apply to him as well. We get around it by saying Jesus was speaking to that rich young ruler not me. Francis took it as a personal word to him. Francis heard the words of Jesus and said, "I think he really meant what he said".
Francis is so attractive because in his obedience and imitation he reflects Jesus. Near the end of his life Francis received the stigmata- the supernatural wounds of Christ on his hands and feet. His Christ-likeness was even found on his physical body.
Francis really truly believed in a God that loved him with an eternal love. He knew that he was in the hands of a just and good God. Francis knew that even if he died while following God, it would be alright because he was in the hands of an infinitely loving God. I think Francis knew what Jesus meant when he said “my yoke is easy, and my burden is light”. Francis released the anxieties and fears of the world as he embraced Jesus and Jesus’ way of life. The life Francis lived might seem to us to be a heavy yoke- a hard way of life, but I think if we asked Francis, he would tell us that he took off the heavy yoke when he took off the anxieties and the fears most people live with on a daily basis. Francis led a joy-filled life embracing the teachings of Jesus. It doesn’t make sense to the world, but Jesus said this was knowledge hidden from the wise and intelligent.
I think the main lesson we can learn from Francis today is to learn to love God recklessly, and to let that love spill over to everyone and everything around you. The more you love God, the more love you will have to give. In that love Francis learned to trust and follow the words of Jesus- without fear. Francis found joy there. He found that it led to a face to face encounter with the living God.
The thing that fascinates me most about Francis is his amazing determination to live out the teachings of Jesus as literally as possible. The Danish Philosopher Soren Kierkegaard once said this:
“The matter is quite simple. The Bible is very easy to understand. But we Christians are a bunch of scheming swindlers. We pretend to be unable to understand it because we know very well that the minute we understand we are obliged to act accordingly. Take any words in the New Testament and forget everything except pledging yourself to act accordingly. My God, you will say, if I do that my whole life will be ruined. How would I ever get on in the world? Herein lies the real place of Christian scholarship. Christian scholarship is the Church’s prodigious invention to defend itself against the Bible, to ensure that we can continue to be good Christians without the Bible coming too close. Dreadful it is to fall into the hands of the living God. Yes, it is even dreadful to be alone with the New Testament.”I don’t think I would go as far as Kierkegaard, but I think I know what he is saying. What Jesus asks of us is often challenging and difficult, and so it’s easier to discuss it than obey it. We are maybe guilty of spending more time trying to find a way to wiggle around it, than trying to figure out how to obey it. Maybe I can find a way that I can be excused from forgiving that person, or dealing with my anger. Things are so much different now, we can’t really take his word literally. The world is complicated. They are nice words, but no one really takes them all that seriously.
Francis, if he ever erred, it was in following Christ’s commands as literally as possible. If we take the Gospels seriously, we do have to admit that Jesus told at least one person to literally sell everything and follow him. Francis took that word to apply to him as well. We get around it by saying Jesus was speaking to that rich young ruler not me. Francis took it as a personal word to him. Francis heard the words of Jesus and said, "I think he really meant what he said".
Francis is so attractive because in his obedience and imitation he reflects Jesus. Near the end of his life Francis received the stigmata- the supernatural wounds of Christ on his hands and feet. His Christ-likeness was even found on his physical body.
Francis really truly believed in a God that loved him with an eternal love. He knew that he was in the hands of a just and good God. Francis knew that even if he died while following God, it would be alright because he was in the hands of an infinitely loving God. I think Francis knew what Jesus meant when he said “my yoke is easy, and my burden is light”. Francis released the anxieties and fears of the world as he embraced Jesus and Jesus’ way of life. The life Francis lived might seem to us to be a heavy yoke- a hard way of life, but I think if we asked Francis, he would tell us that he took off the heavy yoke when he took off the anxieties and the fears most people live with on a daily basis. Francis led a joy-filled life embracing the teachings of Jesus. It doesn’t make sense to the world, but Jesus said this was knowledge hidden from the wise and intelligent.
I think the main lesson we can learn from Francis today is to learn to love God recklessly, and to let that love spill over to everyone and everything around you. The more you love God, the more love you will have to give. In that love Francis learned to trust and follow the words of Jesus- without fear. Francis found joy there. He found that it led to a face to face encounter with the living God.
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