Each year on October 4th, the church remembers the life of Saint Francis of Assisi who dedicated his life to the ministry of the Gospel, specifically with the poor and oppressed. At a young age, St. Francis set out to rebuild the church on the basis of the Gospel of love. He is remembered as embodying the Gospel message and advocated for the marginalized. Currently, St. Francis’ legacy continues to rebuild the church through Pope Francis (who chose his papal name after St. Francis of Assisi). Pope Francis has grown in popularity and influence among American adults within the last year (check out barna.org's most recent statistics on Pope Francis here, worth the read). Pope Francis’ actions, humble demeanor, and words of love have rattled the religious landscape for the better.
Yesterday, I spent some time praying through “The Prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi” and thought I’d pass it along so you too can be inspired and challenged by his words. Given the current political climate of our nation and the culture wars the church seems unable to untangle itself from, we all could learn from meditating on this prayer...
Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace;
Where there is hatred let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
And where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master, grant that
I 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.
- The Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi
My hope and prayer is that today we can also stand in remembrance of St. Francis, that we can be challenged by his ministry and his life. What would it take for the church to be known for our love and grace rather than our political positions? What would it look like for a church to be known as a place of hope and light and joy? To stand with the marginalized, aligning ourselves with Christ, to stand alongside those on the fringes of society so we can stand with Jesus.
Remember Jesus words in Matthew 25, “as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.” Church, may we worry less about correctness and worry more about sowing love. May we dispense hope rather than political statements cloaked in the rhetoric of “love the sinner, hate the sin." May our status updates come from a humble desire to understand rather then to be understood. And may we do all things in love.
May we embrace and embody love, may we give more than we receive, may we place others above ourselves recognizing that in all of this, Jesus has first done this with us. For it was Jesus who first sowed loved into my hatred, it was Jesus who granted hope in the midst of my despair. And it is Jesus who pardons my brokenness because of his love. This is our call, this is our task.
Cheers.