Sermon 191 October 4, 2023: Tb 4:5-11; 16-20; 1Cor 1:26-31; Mt 11:25-30 “St Francis”

 As preached by Brother Luke

Holy Wisdom Church

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit! Frenchie. 

That’s our boy. St Francis. If you want to read an entertaining book about St Francis and learn why he got that name, read Julien Green’s biography of St Francis. Giovanni was his baptismal name. His father, Pietro di Bernardone, was a cloth merchant and land owner. He was also a great enthusiast for things French. He made frequent trips to France to buy cloth and Giovanni would go with him. Consequently, his son also became a great fan of things French: food, songs, clothes, the people. Wherever he went it was not unusual for him to break out into song, French chansons. He was a playboy and he was known as Frenchie, that is, Francis. But our playboy had a conversion experience that changed his life and the lives of many others. And that is where today’s scripture lessons meet the new Francis. 

 Jesus thanks his father for hiding God’s words of life from the learned and clever but revealing them to children. This passage is telling us that to receive this message requires openness. A child’s openness. We are all children of God. But all to quickly we can lose our childlike openness and sense of wonder as we gradually grow into the adult molded by our experiences and society. We become learned and clever but we forget how to really listen for God’s messages. A little child has no agenda, lives by relying on others and takes in new information without the filters of adult experience. But God can break through the barriers we have erected and that is what happened to Francis. But then Francis had to drop the facades and revert to that child-like openness to let Christ in. And he did. How? 

 This is where the image of the yoke appears. A yoke is for two not just one animal. A yoke of oxen is two oxen. So, when Jesus says my yoke is easy and my burden is light, he is telling us this because when we take on his yoke, we are yoked to Christ. We are saying not only that we need him, but that we want him to be with us, in us, as we live life with him. As St Paul says, “not I who lives but Christ in me.” 

 And isn’t that how Francis lived his life after his conversion experience? In Tobit we read the counsel given to him and can see this as exactly what St Francis lived. “Remember the Lord your God all your days.” “Live uprightly… Do not turn your face away from any poor man… Give of your bread to the hungry… Give all your surplus to charity… Bless the Lord on every occasion…” This captures St. Francis’ heart perfectly. 

St Paul says to the Corinthians: “God made [Christ Jesus] our wisdom, our righteousness and sanctification and redemption.” This happens for us only if we are active participants. And here is where the story of St Francis becomes the message for us. St Francis strove to embody Christ and to live faithfully the message. It doesn’t mean we all join the Franciscans. It means living with the assurance that Christ is with us in everything. Does it mean smooth sailing at all times? No. Was it for St Francis? Hardly. He had to manage a growing community, juggle the human reality of his followers, negotiate with a skeptical Vatican to get recognition for is order, balance the diverse views of what his community should look like, all the while preaching the message of Christ far and wide, and ultimately letting go of the reins of leadership to let his order evolve according to God’s plan. 

He did not deviate from his belief in the sanctity of his mission or in the final authority of the church. He dared to engage with the competitive faith of the Muslims and ventured into the heart of Islam in Egypt during the Crusades, to attempt to convince the Sultan to become Christian. The purity of his intensions safeguarded him even in danger. His sincerity was never in doubt. He truly “put on Christ” in all he did and was marked by the wounds of Christ’s passion. 

He set the bar high for us lesser mortals, but the model can be lived at different levels. Take Christ’s words and deeds seriously, be guided by them in all you do and trust that the ultimate outcome is a blessing for a life lived for Christ’s sake. 

Glory be to Jesus Christ!