The Feast of St. Francis of Assisi Walking the Walk

If you are a pet owner you know the benefits of having a pet.  Mine would be a lonely place to come home to if it were not for my dog Jewel and my lovely Siamese cat, Jasmine there to greet me at the door.  Their companionship is a part of my life.  Seniors’ residences acknowledge the benefits of having pets.  When we go to Villa Forum to take services we are often met by a lovely dog who wanders the halls and makes friends with residents and visitors.  He makes people feel at home.   

There are also spiritual benefits to consider.  Pets teach us so much about love given and received.  They love unconditionally.  They respond to our moods.  So it is little wonder that St. Francis of Assisi is one of the most beloved of saints, for he is known as the patron saint of animals.  We bless our pets in remembrance of his love for all creatures.  

His connection to animals comes from the many stories that centre on St. Francis and his love of nature.  Francis loved the larks that flew over his hilltop town.  He even allowed himself to be ousted from his small hovel by a donkey in need of shelter.  One of the most famous stories is about his relationship to the birds.   

One day he was walking through the Spoleto Valley with some of the brothers.  He spotted a number of birds of all varieties.  He left his friends on the road and ran out into the field among the birds.  He greeted them, expecting that they would fly off.  Instead they drew close, even letting him touch them.  Echoing the words of Matthew, he told them to continue to praise the creator who gave them feathers for clothes, wings to fly and everything that they needed to sustain them in life.  He walked amongst the birds and gave them a blessing, making the sign of the cross over them.   

In reflection to his friends later on he wondered why he had never preached to birds before.  After that he made it a habit to seek out animals of all kinds.  He would invoke them to praise their creator God.  Animals understood and responded to his preaching.  There was a rabbit that had been caught in a trap that was brought to St. Francis.  He advised it to be more careful in the future and then released the little animal.  It hopped right back onto his lap.  He took it into the woods and set it down, only to have it follow him back.  Finally one of the brothers had to take it deep into the woods and let it go.   

Even fish were known to obey Francis.  If a fish were caught in his presence, Francis would return the fish to water, warning it not to be caught again.  The fish would often linger near the boat listening to Francis preach.  When he gave them permission to leave they would swim off.   

His Canticle of the Creatures that we sang as our opening hymn, “All Creatures of our God and King”, is testimony to his love of all that God created.   

But there is so much more to St. Francis.  The readings from scripture open up the many facets of his wonderful spiritual walk with God.  Both the passage from Job and the Psalm acknowledge speak of the awesome power of God shown through God’s creation.  Francis knew that awesome power of our creator God.  His affinity with nature came from that deep love of God.  Like the birds and animals with whom he communed, he lived a life unburdened by possession.  He searched for perfect joy, not by owning things, but by owning nothing.  His thankful heart did not come about by having possessions, but by abandoning things and embracing God.  His call to us, “Don’t worry! Be happy!” speaks to our materialistic society of a more fulfilling, happier way to live.  Joy for Francis lies in not having to worry about wealth.  Even at the darkest times of his life, times of pain, he felt that sense of divine joy.  Can that empower us to walk through the dark times of our own lives?   

In Galatians we are reminded that salvation comes at a great price.  Christ died for us on cross.  Francis walked closely with Christ.  He lived his life seeking to be Christ like. He prayed that God would allow him to share in everything that Christ had undergone.  “Let my body share the pain that Christ suffered,” he prayed.  “Let my heart share the love that Christ felt for the whole world.”  He literally carried the marks of Christ in his body.  Open wounds appeared on his hands, feet and side.  These wounds are called the Stigmata, the wounds of Christ.  It is impossible for us to understand that kind of ecstatic experience, but it attests to the relationship that he had with Christ.  It is the relationship of one who walked the walk.   

The Gospel speaks to us of a faith dependent not on our intellect, but on our experience of God.  We don’t need great intelligence or education to be close to God.  The Bible stories are meant to connect to our story.  The Acts of the Apostles and saints of the Church continue to be enacted in our communities through our actions.  We need to allow the Spirit of God to work in our lives.  Francis made those connections in his life.  He possessed great charm.  He was attractive to people.  People took to him.  They may have been startled by what he had to say, but they were drawn to his child-like curiosity, to his sense of humour, and to his sense of joy.  They listened to him and responded to his preaching.  More importantly they responded to the way he lived his life, to his close relationship to Christ.   

Francis had a wonderful sense of our need for reconciliation.  That too is reflected in the gospel.  “My yoke is easy, my burden light,” Jesus says and Francis understood.  He preached about reconciliation.  He lived it.  It is reflected in the prayer attributed to him that we use as our prayer.  “Make me a Channel of your peace.”  It is a prayer for a forgiving heart.  What difference might it make in our lives to say it every day?   

Francis’ adoration and service to Jesus was so complete that in him we see Christ.  We see all that we are meant to be.  We strive as a congregation to walk that walk with St. Francis.  In our worship we respond to our awesome God who created us, who redeems us, who sustains us even in our darkest hours.  In our service we try to emulate Christ, to be more Christ-like, to see Christ in others.  We reach out beyond our four walls into the community.  In our fellowship we strive like Francis to be a welcoming and nurturing community of faith.   We pray for peace in our world, in our lives, and in our hearts.