Today we celebrate! We
celebrate the life and witness of St. Francis of Assisi! Francis would be happy
with this celebration I think. Perhaps, if you have been to this service before
today, you would know this because you know something about him.
Francis is still
commonly seen today in statue form in many gardens; however, he is more than
simply a bird-watcher. After being born the son of a rich clothing merchant
around the turn of the 13th Century, Francis gave all of his money
away to the poor. He cared deeply for those who lived on the edge of society.
Additionally, he preached marvelous sermons about the care of God’s Creation
centuries before this type of practice was fashionable. In fact, much of his
life Francis pushed up against the powers of his day especially the Bishop of
Rome. And yet, today what strikes me about St. Francis actually has more to do
with one of his companions.
Clare of Assisi was
one of Francis’ first followers. She founded a monastic group, the Order of
Poor Ladies, which fits the Franciscan model. After her death the order was
renamed the Order of Saint Clare or the Poor Clares; however, before her death
Clare said something fascinating. Upon her deathbed legend has it that she
said, “Thank you for letting me be a human being.” What a marvelous sentiment
for us to remember on this day and always.
Today we bring our
pets, our animal companions, here to be blessed. Someone recently asked if we
did exorcisms, I think we need the bishop here to do that. We remember these
companions and we give thanks for them in our lives. I believe it is also more
than appropriate to give thanks to God on this beautiful day and even on all
the terrible days for letting us be human beings, and for letting us have our
companions who teach us something of God’s love.
God could have made us
and them into anything. We could have been amoeba, plankton, gnats, ants,
butterflies, catfish, sharks, squirrels, rabbits, tigers, elephants, serpents,
whales, or anything else in Creation; however, we were not. God made us
precisely as we are right here and now. Sometimes we may not be in the mood to
be thankful, but as our Holy Communion prayer says, “It is a good and a joyful
thing always and everywhere to give thanks to God.” This does not mean that it
is always easy to give thanks for who we are or what our current lot in life
is.
The words from today’s
Gospel can stand out in moments of trouble. Jesus said, “Come to me, all you
that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take
my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and
you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is
light.” Sometimes we may have a tough time saying thanks for letting me be a
human being, and it is at these moments that strangely our animal companions
can be bearers of the good news of God.
There were tough times
in my home growing up, but somehow the family dog Merlin, a bouncy
Springer-Spaniel always seemed to know how to bring comfort to us. He
instinctively knew to stretch out his paw to try to shake if my mom or I was
having a particularly tough day. It was as though he was trying to share this
love that Jesus shared with his disciples.
We may have trouble
with this belief about animals and how connected they are with God, but
something C.S. Lewis wrote stands out to me. He described how our culture has
lost something as we have become more scientific. We no longer believe some of
the legends of yesteryears. Sure he thought we no longer believe that the world
is filled with spirits. One cannot go out into the woods and see tree nymphs,
but this world is still filled with God’s Spirit. Sometimes our animal
companions teach us something of God’s love and they remind us to say “God thank
you for letting me be a human being.” Let us be like Francis and Clare who were
kind companions to the creatures of this world and who see all of Creation as a
place that is filled with God’s Spirit. Amen.
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