Christ at the Center
Today we celebrate the blessing of the animals in honor of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals and creation.
St. Francis, who’s feast day is observed on October 4th, to commemorate his death, was born into a wealthy family in Italy in 1181. He enjoyed the “good life” during his early years until he began to have strange visions that made him question how he was living his life. He made a pilgrimage to Rome, living among the poor people, praying to God and asking God to shed God’s light on his path.
While praying one day at the chapel of San Damiano, outside of Assisi, he had a vision of Jesus Christ saying to him “Francis, Francis, go and repair My church.” Francis thought Jesus meant he was to physically repair the chapel in which he was praying, since it had fallen into ruin. So Francis sold some cloth his father had given him and tried to give the money to the chapel’s priest. The priest refused the money.
At this point, Francis separated himself from his family and wandered off by himself. He soon returned to take shelter at the chapel at San Damiano. His father was not too pleased with Francis’ life choices and began legal proceedings to disinherit him. Legend has it that Francis responded to this action by stripping naked in the street and renouncing his father.
Francis continued to wander through the hills of Assisi, relying on the generosity of others for simple clothing and food to eat. Over time, he collected stones which he used to repair the chapel of San Damiano and several other ruined chapels.
He also began to take care of some lepers living in the leper colony near Assisi. Leprosy was a contagious and deadly disease in the centuries before antibiotics; yet, Francis served the people with love and compassion, following the example of Jesus Christ. Christ was at the center of all that Francis believed and everything that he did.
Francis was particularly drawn to the words Jesus spoke to his 12 disciples as he was sending them out into the world to proclaim the good news that the kingdom of heaven has come near. Jesus told the 12 “You received without payment; give without payment.” (Matt 10:8)
In time, Francis began preaching the good news to others and encouraging them to lead a life of poverty and charity, keeping Christ at the center of all that they did. More and more people gathered around Francis and adopted the spiritual practices – the rule of life – he was teaching. This led to the founding of the Franciscan Order in 1210, a monastic order of men dedicated to centering Christ in their lives through prayer, contemplation, serving others, and working for the community.
The Franciscan Order continues in the world to this day in the form of 3 different orders – the Orders of Friars Minor (OFM), a monastic order for men; of which the Archbishop of Boston, Sean O’Malley, is a member (which explains the brown robe he wears, even under his more elaborate vestments); the Order of Saint Clare, a community for women; and the Third Order of Saint Francis, a religious affiliation for laypeople living in the secular world who vow to live according to the spirit and rule of the Franciscan Order. Both the Episcopal/Anglican Church and the ELCA offer Third Order Franciscan communities.
So, the influence of St. Francis and his teaching is still present in the world today, nearly 1200 years after his death.
The rule under which St. Francis lived was simple – put Christ at the center of all that you do.
A saying attributed to St. Francis is this: Preach the gospel…and use words if necessary. Preach the gospel – the good news that Christ gives new life to all the world through his death and resurrection. Preach the gospel….and use words if necessary. Preach the gospel – generously and freely – by the way you live.
Live a life of poverty and charity; prayer and contemplation; work and serve other people for the good of all people. Every person reflects the image of God and all creatures are created by God (as we hear again this morning in the beautiful story of creation). We are all connected through God’s love and mercy and grace. Live in right relationship with God and your neighbor and all of creation. Take care of the earth – the trees and the land and the birds and the animals – over which God has given us dominion and made us stewards.
What then can we learn from St. Francis today? It is this –
Strive to keep Christ at the center of your life and live the gospel in all that you do. In living the gospel – in sharing God’s love and grace and mercy – you can make a difference in the world. You can bring goodness and peace to the people and place where your are. You can offer healing and hope to this broken world, this world that is desperate to hear the good news of new and abundant life given to all people by the grace of God through Christ Jesus.