St. Francis Feast Day
St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Canton OH
October 4, 2015
The Rev. Barbara Bond
What about that Pope Francis? Didn’t he give us all a stir?
Pope Francis spent several days in the United States last week, and everywhere he
went, he preached the gospel of peace. Like his namesake St. Francis, the Pope
preaches also by his chosen lifestyle of simplicity. He has eschewed the trappings of a
fancy papacy, and lives in a simple guest house, not a palace, drives some little Fiat,
and attempts to show respect for all God’s creatures. The pope has gone out of his way
to meet and greet the poor and disadvantaged. He has tried to stay out of the American
culture wars, although without complete success. But he is consistent in his lifestyle and
his message. From all appearances, Pope Francis is the real deal.
He chose the name of Francis out of respect for our saint of the day, Saint Francis of
Assisi, who also lived a counter-cultural lifestyle. The 13th century saint was raised in
the well-to-do family of a cloth merchant, and when Francis had a conversion
experience, he famously threw off all his clothing, along with all the privilege that went
with it. He wanted no impediments to serving Christ. He embraced Lady Poverty as his
bride. He has been admired ever since, if not actually imitated. The challenge of
throwing off our metaphorical clothing is immense, yet many of us long for a simpler life.
It takes great intentionality to resist the temptations of our material world. Most of us
fail. I know I do. But I give three cheers for the pope who is able to imitate his
namesake.
What can we learn from our 13th century saint that we can indeed imitate? If we can’t
throw off all our stuff, what can we do positively, to get us in touch with the saint’s
teachings?
I take much comfort from St. Francis’ integration with nature. His famous writing, the
Canticle of Creation, beautifully read by Elizabeth Mapp this morning, greets all aspects
of nature as brothers and sisters. Brother Sun, Sister Moon, Brother Wind, Sister
Water, Brother Fire, Sister Earth our mother, and Sister Physical Death. St. Francis
embraces all of creation, every creature under heaven, with love and admiration. Would
that we could embrace our own earthly environment with such respect.
St. Francis is the perfect saint for stewardship of the earth. Stewardship means taking
care of something. In Jesus’ day, stewards were overseers of lands, vineyards, wine.
Remember the wine steward at the wedding feast of Cana, who was so concerned
about quantity? In the famous Old Testament story of Adam and Eve, God made the
couple stewards over the Garden of Eden and all the creatures in it. In an unfortunate
translation from the Hebrew, we have heard that God gave the couple “dominion” over
everything, which we have interpreted as “domination,” alas. I think the story’s intent
was to encourage respect and care for all creation.
We can be good stewards in many ways. For instance, many people join environmental
groups like the Sierra Club, to encourage respectful use of our natural resources. We
can be good stewards of our educational resources, and oversee how money is being
spent on our children, youth and college students. We can be good stewards of the
funds of this parish, with the vestry directing wise use of our building, our funds, and our
human resources. Anyone who oversees a budget, whether her own individual budget,
or that of an organization, knows how to be prudent and caring.
As we look at our resources, we realize that everything comes from God. We can track
all the gifts of life to God’s mercy and beneficence. We have a natural desire to say
“thank you” to God. We can do that by giving back, returning to God from all that God
has given us.
Last Sunday we held a Ministry Fair, and many of you signed up to participate in the
ministries of the church. This is giving of yourself, through time and talent. And
everything we give, gives back to us. The longest list of signatures was for the
Elizabethan Revels – a project that gives us so much fun and enjoyment that we benefit
enormously from every minute we contribute. All giving is really two-way: God gives to
us, we give back to God, and in the giving, we receive again and again, in so many
ways. We receive much joy from being generous.
I have had times in my life when my resources were severely limited – probably all of us
have had that experience. One time is indelible in my memory. I was in my final year of
seminary, living on almost nothing. My mother had died the previous year and had left
a small inheritance for her three children. My portion was $14,000, which arrived just in
the nick of time to pay my tuition. I looked at the amount, did the math, and knew that
the first expenditure had to be giving back to God. I wrote a check for $1400 and
dropped it in the alms basin of the church I was attending, St. Mark’s Evanston. I think
the counters were startled that day. But I felt good. I have never forgotten how good
that felt, and I have strived ever since to give at least 10 percent of all I receive. It is a
good exercise, and makes me feel good. I recommend it as a faithful practice.
All things come of thee, O Lord, and of thine own have we given thee.