Wednesday, October 4, we Franciscans celebrate the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi.
Years ago, at a festive liturgy in New York City, the archbishop was the principal celebrant. He had had a very grueling day. But he still had our extravaganza liturgy at 5 pm. The choir sang all the hymn verses, the Gloria, the Credo and so forth. The homilist spoke for forty-five minutes. And the pastor introduced to the archbishop everyone in the long offertory procession with a commentary about each.
After communion, the exhausted archbishop was about to conclude the endless liturgy, when lo and behold music began and a woman in a flowing gown did an elaborate liturgical dance, which to the archbishop resembled Salome in the bible dancing for King Herod. The now irritable archbishop leaned over to the pastor and deadpanned, “If she wants your head on a platter, she’s got it.” Moral of the story: timing is everything.
The word of God carries us back in our imaginations to the sixth century before Jesus to the prophet Ezekiel. The Hebrews were blaming God and everybody else but themselves for their misfortunes—the occupation of their land by a foreign power, the destruction of Jerusalem, their deportation to Babylonia. They’re ready to put God on trial. C.S. Lewis wrote about this tendency in his book “God in the Dock.” The Hebrews forgot that maturity begins where blame ends. We have to take responsibility for our lives. Ezekiel here describes God bestowing life on a repentant individual, a person living a God-centered life.
Ezekiel may be asking us, “what kind of life are we living?” A God-centered or self-centered life?
Paul challenges the Christian community at Philippi in Greece to assume the mindset of Jesus, to be at peace with one another and to serve one another humbly. He then quotes a stirring early Christian hymn about Jesus who, though one in glory with God, emptied himself, becoming one of us. He even died crucified like a common criminal. And because of this, God greatly exalted him. This ancient hymn celebrates two central truths of our faith: the mystery of the incarnation, the birth of the God-man and the mystery of the resurrection. In the tragedy of Good Friday there was the triumph of Easter.
In the Gospel according to Matthew, Jesus tells a parable or story about two sons. One is smooth-talking but doesn’t do what he’s asked; the other is perhaps argumentative but eventually does what he’s asked. Jesus makes his point: sinners initially said no to God but then had a “change of heart” and pursued a God-like life. But you, the religious leaders, Jesus says, say yes to God but continue “unrepentent” in your self-centered attitudes and behaviors. Jesus concludes that God forgives us unconditionally if we repent, if we have a change of heart and pursue a God-like life.
I've been reflecting these last few weeks on the spirituality of holy men and women whose lives and writings can lift us out of our routine into a deeper life with God. I conclude this little series with Francis of Assisi whose feast day we celebrate Wednesday.
Who was Francis? This patron saint of animals and the environment has been portrayed as a hippie flower-child, a peacemaker, a mystic, a reformer, a poet. But, who really was this 13th century founder of the movement known as the Franciscans?
Francis came from a middle class Italian family. He went off to the wars in that region, and failed miserably. Then one night he had a dream which compelled him to return to Assisi. He began to wrestle with the fundamental questions of life: What am I living for? What is the purpose of my life?
In silence and in prayer, Francis began his own search for God. Eventually he gave up everything he had; and in that experience of nothingness he found everything – God – an all good God who became flesh in Jesus of Nazareth, and is alive by the power of the Spirit.
Francis began to pursue the Gospel way of life in a literal fashion. In time, men and women began to gather and form what we know as the world-wide Franciscan movement. Clare, a holy woman of Assisi, became a close friend and confidant of Francis, and she with her companions consecrated herself to God as “poor ladies” or Poor Clares in prayer and service while living a cloistered life.
Does the 13th century Francis have anything to say to us in the 21st century? Of course! We can summarize his message in three incidents.
First: in 1206, as Francis prayed before the crucifix in the tumbledown chapel of San Damiano, outside the city walls of Assisi, he heard Jesus on the crucifix whisper: “Francis, rebuild my house which you see is falling into ruins.” Francis began to renovate the building, and eventually renewed the Church in the high middle ages. Francis at San Damiano challenges us to build up the relationships in our household, workplace, parish and community. How? Begin by being faithful in our commitments to one another, and courageous in trying to do the right thing. Above all, by praying that God will sustain us in our daily lives.
Another incident which captures the message of Francis was his encounter with a leper. As Francis rode on horseback one day, he saw a man with leprosy. Francis started to ride away. But no! Francis slowly dismounted and embraced the leper. He saw in that person the broken image of God. We instinctively may want to get away from some people as Francis was tempted: to ride away, so to speak. Francis’ embrace of the leper challenges us to help the needy, to practice the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. There are so many ways in which we can become healers, peacemakers and comforters. All we have to do is “just do it.”
A final incident took place at La Verna, not far from Florence, Italy, in 1224. Francis was praying to God and suddenly he experienced the marks of the crucified Jesus in his hands, feet and side. This captures the depth of Francis’ prayer life: such a close friendship that God gifted him with the stigmata. Francis challenges us to intensify our own life with God, especially in prayer.
May Francis of Assisi —who made the person of Jesus Christ his way, his truth and his life, who realized his own absolute poverty and thus his utter dependency upon God, who found the image of God everywhere and in all creatures, who embraced the brotherhood of man and the Fatherhood of God, and who cared especially for the needy--inspire us to deepen our life with God, build up the relationships in our family and communities, and reach out with helping hands as near and as far as we are able.
I pray that this prayer of St. Francis may be ours as well:
“Most High, glorious God,
enlighten the darkness of my heart
and give me
true faith, certain hope, and perfect love…
that I may carry out
Your holy …. will. Amen.”
