St. Francis Day

October 4 is the day in the church calendar dedicated to the poor man of Assisi, Saint Francis (1182-1226). Francis was born into the new Italian middle class in the late 12th century. His father was a successful cloth merchant. As a child and young man, Francis dreamed of winning fame and fortune as a knight.

Francis' life-changing experiences
But the course of Francis’ life was profoundly changed by two experiences. On a pilgrimage to Rome, Francis saw a beggar outside of St. Peter’s Church. The Holy Spirit moved Francis to trade places with the beggar. Francis exchanged clothes with a beggar and then spent the day begging for alms. That experience of being poor shook Francis to the core. Later he confronted his own fears of leprosy by hugging a leper. Like trading places with the beggar in Rome, hugging a leper left a deep mark on Francis.

Struggling to live out the Gospel
Contrary to the way his story is often presented, Francis did not change overnight. For years Francis struggled over how to live out the Gospel. Shaped by his experiences with the beggar and the leper, he had a strong identification with the poor. Francis became history’s first drop out. He hopped off the fast track lifestyle and sought out a more radically simple life.

Living the Beatitudes
Francis and his followers tried to actually follow Jesus’ teaching with all that meant. Earlier in this service, I read the Beatitudes, which is a portion of Jesus’ most famous sermon, called the Sermon on the Mount. Francis and his followers put those famous words into actions. Francis and his followers tried to be meek, to be merciful and to be pure in heart. Francis and his followers tried to be peacemakers and to hunger and thirst after righteousness. And for them, the answer was to cut themselves off from worldly riches and to radically identify with the poor.

What makes Francis a Saint?
Like each of us, Francis lived in the tension between his desire to follow God fully and his more worldly desires. Yet Francis is not remembered as a saint because he set an example that we should follow. Francis' example is not his own. Through his life, Francis showed us how we can follow Jesus the Christ. For that, he is remembered as one of The Holy Ones—a saint.

In the archives is a sermon as King of Peace began its second tour through the Bible in our worship, which relates to Francis and words from his deathbed, called Let Us Begin.

Prayer attributed to St. Francis
O Lord, make us instruments of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let us sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is discord, union;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.
O Master, grant that we may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying
that we are born to eternal life.
Amen.