Tuesday, October 4, 2016

Thank You for Letting Me Be



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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