Prayer:
Let us pray. Most Gracious God, grant your people grace to renounce gladly the vanities of this world; that, following the way of blessed Francis, we may for love of you delight in your whole creation with perfectness of joy. O God, you have made us and all living things. You are even more wonderful than what you have made. We thank you for giving us these pets who bring us joy. As you take care of us, so also we ask your help that we might take care of those who trust us to look after them. By doing this, we share in your own love for all creation. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.
Today we officially end the season of creation for 2023 with a liturgy to mark the feast of St Francis and at 9am - a service of blessing for all pets. As many of you know I have a high regard for those Saints of the Church who have gone before us, and I urge us all to be familiar with the liturgically calendar; so as to be inspired and challenged by the faith and actions of fellow disciples. Fellow humans as flawed and as courageous as we are. For example, if we were paying attention in the last week, the church universal has commemorated Sergius of Moscow, abbot and teacher, on Monday, Lancelot Andrews, bishop of Winchester, on Tuesday, Vincent de Paul, priest and worker with the poor, on Wednesday, the Feast of Michael and All Angels on Friday, and Jerome, priest and biblical scholar, yesterday.
Of all the saints and holy men and women of ages past, there are really only two which absolutely terrify me! They are Mother Theresa and Francis of Assisi. Both express in their lives an absolute trust in the providence and love of God which while admirable, is terrifying because it shows what can be done when one truly let’s go and let’s God be the source of one’s life. And while I realise deep down here that that is what God calls each of us to do, I don’t know whether I really want to let go that much.
But before I move onto reflecting upon Francis, I do want to talk about a fantastic novel I have recently read for a book group of which I am a part.
In her wonderful novel, "Gilead," the author Marilynne Robinson tells the story of Rev. John Ames, a dying Presbyterian minister writing to his young son, so that he will remember his story long after he is gone. The book takes the form of an extended letter, really, and is itself a blessing of gratitude, and the generosity borne of gratitude. In one passage he recalls blessing a cat in his early days as a young pastor. This memory leads to an especially lovely passage:
I still remember how those warm little brows felt under the palm of my hand. Everyone has petted a cat, but to touch one like that, with the pure intention of blessing it, is a very different thing. It stays in the mind. For years we would wonder what, from a cosmic viewpoint, we had done to them. It still seems to me to be a real question. There is a reality in blessing, which I take baptism to be, primarily. It doesn't enhance sacredness, but it acknowledges it, and there is a power in that. I have felt it pass through me, so to speak. The sensation of really knowing a creature, I mean really feeling its mysterious life and your own mysterious life at the same time.
What wonderful writing this is, in an equally wonderful book, holding together as it does what I believe to be the deeply needed threads for today of blessing and gratitude. We bring our pets here today for God’s blessing in gratitude, appreciating deep down the mystery of creation, and our place in it, and the connections between each aspect of that creation.
But, what of Francis, the man who is recognised on this day.
Francis grew up in relative wealth and was a bit of a wild child. He was known for drinking and partying. He became a soldier and was captured and imprisoned. It was during his time in prison that God came to him in visions. When he was released, he renounced his old life and chose to answer God’s call to live in poverty and work to repair the church.Some folks who knew Francis before his jailhouse conversion, thought he’d lost his mind. The fact that he’d walk away from power and luxury proved this.
Most of the time, when we choose to stand with the marginalised, the poor, the suffering, when we choose to stand with those with whom Jesus stands — when we eschew violence and greed and harm in favour of peace and generosity and healing, we are called mad. The choice Francis made, was to answer the call of God and that call is rarely something that can be understood within the value system of this world.
But Francis call got stranger still. If his friends’ thought Francis was mad when he chose to live in poverty, you can imagine what they must have thought when he began preaching to the birds.
Francis believed that nature was the mirror of God. He called the animals his sisters and brothers. There are many legends about St. Francis and the animals, but one of the most famous is when he strikes a deal with a wolf. The wolf and townsfolk we’re going after each other. The wolf attacking, then the townsfolk, then the wolf. And the violence was escalating until Francis interceded. The townsfolk agreed to put out food for the wolf and in return the wolf agreed to quit attacking them. Pope John Paul II said Francis “offers Christians an example of genuine and deep respect for the integrity of creation … As a friend to the poor who was loved by God’s creatures, St. Francis invited all creation — animals, plants, natural forces, even Brother Sun and Sister Moon — to give honour and praise to the Lord. The poor man of Assisi gives us striking witness that when we are at peace with God, we are better able to devote ourselves to building up that peace with all creation which is inseparable from peace among all peoples.” Ours is a faith that calls us to grace, mercy, gentleness and peace. Doesn’t that extend to our relationships with our non-human sisters and brothers, to the very earth, all of which is God’s creation — all of which God saw and God said was good. That right relationship, that calling to mercy, gentleness and peace, is contrary to a system that says everything must have economic value, that every life must turn a profit, that even creation is a commodity. But our faith — that good news — is, and should, be contrary to that system. So, as we bring our pets for blessing today we are not only giving thanks to God for the connection with them – we are being reminded by the Saint of Creation – Francis – that our call is so much deeper – a connection with all creation – and we are urged – if we dare – to follow the way of total abandonment – to be truly agents for the Kingdom of God – the kingdom of Shalom – true peace which brings life to all.
The Lord be with you.