Once again we are celebrating the Feast of St. Francis,
and
as a member of the Third Order, Society of St. Francis,
I and my 3,000 other sisters and brothers in
this worldwide Anglican order
take
joy in the flutter of attention given throughout the Church
to
St. Francis around this date.
And I am delighted that this congregation
remembers
and takes part in this commemoration.
It is, of course, as you know,
much
more than simply having an annual blessing of animals.
This has become so popular in so many places,
and,
indeed, it is a good way to remind us of our interconnection
with
the whole of creation,
something St. Francis understood on a very profound level,
way
beyond what we will be doing this afternoon out on the lawn.
I have told you about Francis in previous year’s sermons,
some
things about him that are important to know,
some
of the key aspects of his life that have had such an impact on the world,
about his renunciation of money and ownership of property
in
his radical embrace of “Gospel Poverty,”
that
is, poverty as exemplified by Jesus himself,
and
what he was talking about in today’s Gospel.
His
whole life style and that of his many, many followers
made
a huge statement about the economic values
of
his culture and period of history.
I have told you about the Stigmata,
the
wounds of Christ on the cross that St. Francis also bore.
Francis
was on a meditation retreat on Mount La Verna,
during
the month of September in the year 1224
at
the time of the Feast of the Holy Cross,
and
he received within his own body
the
same wounds as our Lord endured at the crucifixion.
This
was more than Francis identifying with our Lord Jesus
and
therefore wishing to imitate him to the ultimate degree,
although
that certainly was expressed in all the literature about
this remarkable event.
This
was more about Francis’ personal realization of oneness with Christ,
of
being in Christ, as the Apostle Paul wrote about,
of
baptismal identity in the Eternal Word of God.
And
in that Francis’ own body then manifested this blood baptism
as
a sign and witness of this union, this unity of being,
a
sign to his generation and for all generations to come.
The
Canticle we read in place of the Psalm for today, the Praises of God,
was composed by Francis on Mount La Verna in that
September 800 years ago, when
he received the stigmata.
The
prayer was written on a parchment
which
also contains the blessing that Francis gave to brother Leo.
This
parchment is conserved as a relic in the Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi.
What I have said so far describes important aspects of St.
Francis
that
are as relevant for us today
as
they were 800 years ago in Italy and Europe.
But today I want to focus on
another aspect of this complex and deep saint of God,
his
profound commitment to peace and reconciliation.
Francis lived during the time of the Crusades.
You all know something about the Crusades, I hope.
The Christians of Europe had taken on a just and righteous
cause,
to
liberate the Holy Land from the infidels, the Muslims.
And we know something of the disastrous outcome,
the
horrendous bloodshed that was anything but holy.
It was a time of using religious warfare as a means to
justify
genocide,
economic profiteering, and political power seeking.
What was done with the idea of seeking the glory of God
was
hellishly violent, dark and destructive of our humanity.
Francis of Assisi knew that he had to place himself fully
in the midst of all that.
Now what I am telling you next is true.
Francis with a few of his brothers went to enter the Fifth
Crusade,
not
with the idea of fighting,
but
to minister to the injured and the dying,
and
not for just the Christians.
It was Francis’ desire to go to the Sultan,
the
leader of the infidel forces of the Muslims,
and
both to convert him and to bring about peace and reconciliation.
Everyone thought this was simply a way to go get martyred.
The year was 1219.
The main focus of fighting at this time was in Egypt,
in
the stronghold Damietta in the eastern part of the broad Nile delta.
The Sultan al-Kamil was a brilliant military leader,
and
the Christian Crusaders were very hard put.
After a disastrous rout that Francis had foreseen,
he
took one brother, Illuminato, with him
and
crossed over into enemy territory.
Ordinarily it would have been certain death
once
they encountered the Sultan’s troops,
but
after initial suspicion and some rough treatment
their
captors were bemused by the simple, gentle and very dirty friars
and
they thought them mad.
Nevertheless Francis was brought before al-Kamil
and
they had an extended visit.
But not without testing.
Some of those in the Sultan’s entourage devised a trap.
They covered the floor with a carpet with crosses woven
throughout.
If the friars would step on the crosses, they would be
dishonoring Christ.
If they did not step on the carpet,
they
would be refusing the audience with the Sultan,
which
would be an insult.
As Francis and Illuminato were ushered into the tent,
Francis
without hesitation strode forward.
When it was pointed out that he had trodden on crosses,
Francis
quickly replied,
“Oh, you see, we carry the cross of Christ in our hearts.
These crosses are the ones belonging to the thieves
crucified with him.”
The Sultan warmed immediately to Francis,
and
the two engaged in deep conversation for many days.
When they parted, Francis was taking back to the Crusader
forces
a
wise offer of compromise that would greatly mitigate the conflict.
And the Sultan’s final words were these:
“Francis, you must know that I cannot convert to your
faith,
or
my soldiers would slay me, and I am accountable to all my people.
But you remember to pray for me when I am on my deathbed.”
I wish I could say that the Sultan’s offer was accepted by
the Crusaders,
but
that was not the case,
and much suffering and bloodshed yet followed.
But still that exchange between Francis and al-Kamil was
not forgotten.
The conversations with the Sultan were not just one way.
Francis was also listening to al-Kamil
and
receiving what he had to say about his Islamic faith.
And this is reflected in that Canticle of the Praises of
God
that
we read together earlier.
There is a parallel in Islam with the praises of the 99
names of God.
It not only praises God in general,
but
also seeks to praise Him specifically
beyond
those which God necessarily had as omnipotent
(such
as all-seeing, all-hearing),
but
rather what God chose to have out of His mercy
and
showering Grace upon His servants.
the
Loving, the Beneficent, the Merciful, the Generous, the Forgiving,
and
the Peace.
Do you see the connection?
I tell this story about Francis and the holy
wars and his interfaith dialog,
because
there is an obvious and relevant application for the present day.
Wars fought in the name of religion will go on
forever,
unless
and until we go to meet the enemy
and
talk and listen to one another, and receive as well as give.
Francis exhibited not only incredible courage,
but
more importantly he was so spiritually grounded in Jesus,
that
he had no need to defend the belief system, the theology,
and
was therefore much more effective in being heard,
for
his words had integrity and authenticity, matching his actions.
Today we have a baptism – Matthew Grumley –
and always on such an occasion,
as
well as being a joyful time of welcoming a new Christian
and
celebrating with his family,
we also renew our own status as baptized
followers of Jesus.
So I would remind you about what our baptism
means,
not
the whole scope and depth of the meaning of baptism,
there
is too much to plunge into,
but
this point of meaning: that in baptism there is a new creation,
as
it says in today’s epistle reading.
Through baptism the Resurrection Spirit of
Jesus creates in us a new creation.
If we were to stop resisting this
new creation the Holy Spirit wants to work in us,
then
there might be a whole lot more little St. Francis-es running around.
There might be a whole lot less
anxiety about providing for our life support, for
instance, and a whole lot more selling our possessions and giving alms.
Then we would know what the real treasure is
and
where our treasure is, there our heart will be also.
