Sitting with St. Francis

The deeds you do may be the only sermon some people will hear today.  St. Francis of Assisi

 

What sermon is your life preaching this week?  Ouch, that is a tough question.  In some ways, I am not sure.  Life can be so busy it becomes a blur.  We race and rush from one thing to another, so we don’t pay attention to ourselves or others.  What sermon is your life preaching?  Not just with words, but Francis is clear that how you show up matters.  Do you sigh and roll your eyes at meetings?  I do.  Do you wait on the edge of your seat when someone is talking so you can quickly jump in with your story?  I do.  Do you have your plan for today and ask God to keep up with you?  I do.  Connect the quote from today to the prayer from yesterday.  St. Francis gave us a sermon in his prayer.  Am I preaching peace, love, and hope?   And am I listening to others who do the same, and am I willing to listen to others who are different?  We spend much of our one wild and precious life paying attention to the voices that feel like fingernails on a chalkboard.  Yes, it is important to listen to people we disagree with, but we can also pay attention to people who are living St. Francis’ prayer.  When are we listening to the trees or birds or wind?  St. Francis is the patron saint of animals and ecology.  He is said to have preached to birds.  St. Bonaventure records that sermon as Francis saying, “Oh birds, my brothers and sisters, you have a great obligation to praise your Creator, who clothed you in feathers and gave you wings to fly with, provided you with pure air and cares for you without any worry on your part.”  I love this.  

There is also the story of St. Francis making the sign of the cross on a wolf that had been terrorizing the town of Gubbio.  Here Francis says, “Come here, Brother Wolf.  I command you on behalf of Christ that you do no harm to me or anyone.”  The wolf closed his mouth and became meek as a lamb nestling at Francis’ feet.  In that story, I hear Isaiah’s vision of the peaceable kin-dom (Isaiah 11).  Our sermons need not only preach to people, but also live in harmony with all creation.  What sermon is your life preaching today?  Are you listening to your own life?  I pray today for God to open your heart, ears, eyes, and whole presence for the movement of the Holy.  Amen.