Photo: Statue of St Francis in the Children's Sculpture Garden at the Cathedral of St John the Divine, New York
Sunday 3rd October 2010: Feast of St Francis
It’s great to be here. I’ve been in Toronto since 9th September and this last week I’ve spent in New York – so the last week has been a bit of a blur doing the relentless round of Museums and Art Galleries as well as some very fine eateries. So it’s good to be back in Toronto for a rest! But it’s particularly good to be able to share with you in worship this morning here at St Chad’s – and especially as we celebrate the feast of St Francis, which actually falls tomorrow.
For the past 10 years I’ve been a member of the Third Oder of the Society of St Francis. Most religious communities have a system of oblates or friends – but what makes the Franciscan third order distinctive is that whereas other orders (like the Benedictines) have included people outside the ‘walls’ of the community as a later development, Francis founded all three orders himself from the very beginning. He established the first order for men living in community as friars, the second for women in community (often known as the ‘Poor Clares’ after Francis’ close companion and co-founder), and the third order was founded when he started to get complaints from married folk, or those who were for other reasons unable to give up their responsibilities to join him as disciples.
I’m often asked why I became a Franciscan – and there isn’t really a short answer to that question! It’s for many reasons, but often people have assumed it’s because I’m a particular fan of animals! I hadn’t appreciated how big the service of animal blessing at this time of year is, both here in Canada and clearly as I observed this past week, in the States too. And of course that’s the thing St Francis is best known for – his particularly close relationship to all kinds of creatures (whether he was preaching to the birds or reprimanding a savage wolf that had a habit of eating villagers!) But there is a real danger that if we get too fixed on to the animals, furry and adorable they may be, we miss the point of St Francis’ deep and profound spirituality which goes to the heart of the Christian Gospel.
The readings for this morning have I guess been chosen to reflect aspects of St Francis’ character and spirituality. The first from Genesis points us to his delight in creation, which flowed from God’s delight in creation. That in itself is a vital corrective for our thinking about the world around us. We can have too keen a sense of the world’s brokenness and our own failings that we forget that God looked at what he made and thought it was good – and God still does, and so must we.
The second reading from Galatians points us to his devotion to the cross of Christ. I regularly go on retreat to a Franciscan monastery in the UK near Worcester. After Night Prayer the brothers all kneel in the chapel facing a huge sculpted crucifix as one of them says: Having in mind Saint Francis’ devotion to the passion of Christ, and looking upon the figure of the Crucified, with arms outstretched, let us pray to the Lord.
And there we kneel for a time in silence, looking at the crucified, and with our bodies making the shape of the cross – a gesture which literally embodies St Paul’s words in Galatians: I never boast of anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
Such was his identification with the passion of Jesus, at the end of his life Francis is believed to have received the wounds of Jesus in his own body – and indeed some would suggest from St Paul’s own words at the end of the passage we heard read, that the apostle had experienced the same thing as well: I carry the marks of Jesus branded on my body.
Our third reading, the gospel passage, beginning as it does with Jesus saying: ‘I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants...’ points us in the direction of simplicity and humility, expressed by Francis and those who followed his example, in a life of poverty. But think back a few moments to my warning that if we get stuck on ‘Francis and the furry animals’ and the focus on creation, we are in danger of missing the heart of his spirituality altogether – and if we pay close attention, the words of Jesus in Matthew’s gospel will keep us on the right track. Jesus goes on to say: All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
Perceiving that close bond of Jesus with the Father, and our close bond through him, is the thing central to Franciscan spirituality.
As well as being asked why I’m a Franciscan, in the last few weeks in particular I’ve often been asked what my impressions of Toronto or New York have been and how it compares with London – and again there’s no short answer! But friendliness is certainly high on the list in a way that is very different from London. I remember the first time I went to visit my wife’s parents in the midlands back in the UK. We were walking along and the man coming towards us smiled broadly and said ‘Hello, how are you?’ as he walked past. ‘Who’s that?’ I asked. ‘I don’t know’ said Linda. ‘But he spoke to us....’ I replied, bemused and still not getting it. Because in London that doesn’t happen! Generally speaking, you don’t talk to people you don’t know.
More and more our humanity is being privatized – whether we are living in gated communities or just not speaking to the people who live around us. And it’s not just London. I’m sure you can think of examples where you live. We have become consumers of the world and each other, and if we are not careful, as a consequence our children are growing up in a world where we don’t know how to deal with difference. Where we make everyone else the ‘stranger’ to fear or at least treat with a suspicious indifference.
This time last month, before I left the UK, I took part in a two day conference of members of the Third Order in London led by an American Franciscan by the name of Richard Rohr. It was a great couple of days, and I’ve heard him speak on a few occasions. But he identified Francis as one of the few human beings in the history of the Church thus far who ‘got it’, who understood what it was all about. (and as a general rule the Church needs to be reminded constantly that much of the time we’ve not got it right rather than assuming we have!) Francis naturally transcended the barriers which we put up between ourselves and God, ourselves and the world, and ourselves and each other. To be honest, I think if Francis were here today we’d probably think he was mad. But because he was so focused on Christ and his close relationship with God he was able to perceive that all things are being drawn back to that close relationship with Jesus and the Father – and so there are no real barriers, because we along with the whole of creation have a shared relationship within Godself.
The way Francis expressed that was to name everything ‘brother’ or ‘sister’ – the sure antidote to slipping into a way of living that treats others as ‘things’ to be consumed or used, rather than cherished and respected. Brother Sun, Sister Moon, Brother Wolf, Sister Death. Nothing was an ‘it’, or an object. Everything in creation was in relationship. Since Francis, probably the best way that has been articulated since is in the words attributed to Chief Seattle in the 1850’s writing to the American government about their taking of land:
“This we know: the earth does not belong to man, man belongs to the earth. All things are connected like the blood that unites us all. Man did not weave the web of life, he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself. One thing we know: our God is also your God. The earth is precious to him and to harm the earth is to heap contempt on its creator. One thing we know - there is only one God. No man, be he Red man or White man, can be apart. We ARE all brothers after all."
The life of St Francis, which we celebrate today, reminds us of the deep truth that we are all connected – because of our common relationship to God our creator, and so when we withdraw from others in fear, or when we turn in on ourselves in selfishness; when we abuse and misuse the riches of God’s creation or simply take it for granted, we do damage not just to others but to ourselves, and we dishonour not just others but our Creator.
So what would it mean for you this week to discover how many ‘brothers’ and ‘sisters’ you have? You could even name them. And what difference will it make remembering that in Christ, you and I and all things are connected, loved and held. For ever. Amen.