Today is the Feast Day of one of the most popular and beloved religious figures saints who ever lived, St. Francis of Assisi. It’s almost overwhelming to try to talk about his life and what he means to people. And I think he’d be a little perplexed, a little sad about that maybe. And his advice would be to “keep it simple.” He’s been described as the person who changed the church and the world. That description would most likely just make him laugh. Possibly because of such a grandiose description but also because of his great capacity for joy. He was one of the most joyful people that ever lived.
When we look at his life I think it uncovers secrets to joyfulness. So here’s just a quick biography: he was born about 1182 in Assisi in the Umbria part of Italy. He was the son of a successful businessman, a cloth merchant. And Francis knew how to spend his wealthy father’s money. Francis was the life for the party always picking up the tab for his friends drinks. Everybody loved St Francis.
It wasn't just enough for him to be the life of the party. He got caught up in the excitement of the military rivalry between Assisi and another town, Perugia. He wanted to be a knight in shining armor just like a lot of his friends. He went off to battle – and it turns out that he wasn’t much of a soldier. He was injured and captured. He spent quite a bit of time as a prisoner of war. This experience changed him profoundly. After he was released, he was no longer the party boy.
He actually wanted to go off to war again to go on a crusade, but he became ill and had to return home. In his eyes, this was another failure on his part. There is a famous story where he retreated to a cave to escape from the world. When he finally emerged from the cave, he stood on his hands. A lot of the stories about Francis seem bizarre and this one is – but in a good way. Standing on his hands, he saw the world upside down. He had this new perspective on everything. From the upside down perspective, if that were right side up, it looked like everything on earth was hanging by a thread, like it's just about to fall off and scatter into the cosmos. to see everything that's hanging by a thread from the hands of God as a gift falling in your hands have that's how Francis lived saying I'm just giving it all up and when you just give it all up you start
To sum that up with one word, it's dependence. He saw the dependence of everything on the will and grace of God. Francis decided he would live that way – always with a desire to be dependent not on the things of the world for protection or happiness. But in faith he rejected everything in the world for constant dependence on almighty God.
Virtually all the stories we hear about Francis, everything we know about his life, occurred because he relied not on his own accomplishments but on God. And this gave him joy.
This new lifestyle choice came to a head when he gave away quite a lot of cloth that his father entrusted to him to sell. Francis gave it to the por rather than selling it for the significant profit it would bring. His father was so enraged by this that he threw Francis in jail. When went to a trial in front of Bishops and a judge - instead of saying hey I'm sorry I messed up, he tore his clothes off. And standing naked in a court, he renounced his inheritance and proclaimed, “God is my father now.”
He then began a lifelong passion of caring for society's castoffs, the sick and poor, including lepers. He lived in utter poverty and even went without shoes. But his humbleness, extraordinary kindness and love for humanity attracted the attention of other young men and they also chose to give up worldly pleasures and follow him to spread the gospel and serve the poor. Eventually, as the brotherhood grew, its members traveled to other parts of Europe to preach, including France, Germany, Spain and England. A separate order for women was formed, now known as the Franciscan Nuns or Poor Clares. Brothers of the order he founded and guided tried to get him to write a rule of life. He didn't want to do. “It's just the gospels,” he told them.
Francis is probably best known for his special close relationship with animals especially the birds. Francis’ first biographer, relates that once when Francis was traveling, he came across a “great multitude of birds” and ran toward them. After he greeted them and saw that they didn’t fly away, he was filled with joy and he proceeded to preach a sermon to them, in which he told them they should acknowledge the gifts they had from their Creator and praise him. After mingling with them, he blessed them and made the sign of the cross, then “gave them permission to fly off.”
So close was he to creation that he liked to refer to animals as his brothers and sisters. Legend has it that wild animals had no fear of Francis and even came to him seeking refuge from harm.
Francis died on this date in 1226, exactly 800 years ago. Why is his legacy as strong as ever? Well there are some lessons we can learn from his life to give joy and meaning to our own:
First, look at the world with a fresh perspective. When Francis first turned his life over to God, the Church was a very wealthy entity. Devoting his life to Christ in the traditional way at that time would have allowed him to live quite comfortably. Instead, Francis chose to take the Gospel literally and led a life of poverty in the name of the Lord. By determining what was right for his own relationship with God, Saint Francis inspired others and spread the Word throughout the world. “If God can work through me, he can work through anyone.”
Second, assist those that Suffer. One day during Francis’ early devotions to God, he came across a leper while he was riding his horse. The young Francis would have looked down in disgust and rode on, the Francis who was dedicating his life to God stopped and dismounted his horse. Francis gave the leper a coin and kissed his hand, and then received a kiss in return. He felt filled by God’s grace and a few days later visited the hospice of lepers bringing monetary donations and serving them with humility.
“Men lose all the material things they leave behind them in this world, but they carry with them the reward of their charity and what they give. For these, they will receive from the Lord the reward and recompense they deserve.”
And last, speak and practice peace where there is violence in the world.
At one point, Saint Francis wanted to be known for his conquests on the battlefield. Then God spoke, and Francis rode away from battle and started his relationship with Christ. The experience of violence and its consequences, turned his head and heart to peace. On his first visit to the Holy Land, Francis entered an area that was being fought over. But he did not encourage the conflict between religions. His goal was to be a force for peace to the land. He knew that despite differences, individuals can find common ground in God. The prayer of St. Francis which our choir will sing today and we will say together starts with a plea to God: “make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love.”
The legacy of Francis is that real joy in life comes through releasing self-reliance and letting the joy of God’s creation settle into you. Most of us are not called to live as radically as St Francis. But even a modicum of letting go of self-reliance allows us to live life with that upside down, God holding all type of freedom where everything is a gift. Amen.
