Dear friends in Christ, grace and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen.

One of the first pictures we have of our sons Vitali and Alexei after arriving in from Russia in America, is of the two of them in the tropical garden of the St. Paul’s Como Park Conservatory. They can be seen at 4 and 6 years old, colorfully dressed in their new American clothes, with a white stone statue of St. Francis standing above them, nestled among the green foliage, presiding over the dark water and fish below him and offering his blessing.  It is an elegant setting for a statue of St. Francis that we return to every year in March as a sort of family anniversary.

Since his death 800 years ago, yesterday October 3^rd, 1226, St. Francis has been the subject of classic art works. His image, to some people’s chagrin, is also found often among what many call the pop arts of greeting cards, plastic statues, medallions and plaques. In comparison to the tranquil stateliness of the Como Park Conservatory these forms of art often get mixed reviews. People at times poke fun at some of the more sentimental or kitschy images of Francis holding a rabbit or with birds flying around his head. And there are those who like to belittle the saint’s admirers when they place his statue in the corner of  the flower gardens or atop a birdbath.

Mind you, I have had my own kitschy moments at the expense of St. Francis- especially when I was the pastor in Marine of St. Croix. Animals and pets were an important part of village life. It was not uncommon on my drive to work in the morning to see fox, deer, possum, wild turkey, guinea fowl and bald eagles.  The pet owners in the community were particularly dedicated to their animals. So each autumn on the closest Saturday to October 4^th, I was invited down to the village park to give a blessing to the animals.  I dressed in a brown, Franciscan robe and would walk from one animal to another offering a personal word.  There were cats and dogs, chickens and rabbits, reptiles and even llamas.  I began my ministry in that village of the St. Croix River blessing animals, and I ended my ministry five years later, blessing animals.

St. Francis had a special connection with all of God’s creatures great and small, and to set a statue of him on a birdbath or in a flower garden is  a wonderful way of acknowledging that truth. In the legends following his death, he was said to have preached to the birds and negotiated a truce with a wolf to refrain from attacking a village. Yes, Francis understood the presence of Christ in creation and that all creation worships him.

So who was this Francis of Assisi? Francis was born in the Italian village of Assisi in 1182, and was baptized Giovanni di Bernardone which means John.  Surprisingly, his father who was a wealthy merchant in Assisi, and trader of textiles and cloth from France, immediately began to call his son Francesco, or “French” as a reminder of the sources of his wealth.  The young Francis lived an indulgent, carefree life.  He had a ready wit, sang merrily, and delighted in fine clothes and showy display. He was handsome, gallant, and courteous, but when he was twenty years old, Francis traveled away with his fellow townsmen to fight a war against the neighboring Italian city.  The warriors of Assisi were defeated and Francis was captured.  During his year of imprisonment, he became very ill and his thoughts turned often to questions of eternal life.

One Sunday after his return while attending mass, Francis heard the passage from St. Matthew’s gospel containing Jesus’ words to his disciples, “Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers and take no gold, nor silver, nor copper in your belts.” It was a transformative moment.  As soon as the mass had ended, he threw away the last remnants of his worldly goods including his father’s great wealth. Within a few short years, he had formed an order of brown clad, brothers who dedicated themselves to the vows of chastity, poverty and obedience.

The church authorities in Rome, however, weren’t completely pleased by Francis’ theology and practice. His compassion for the poor and most needy and creation didn’t reflect the power and glory of the Holy Catholic Church. A ministry focusing on humble service was not a sign of dominion and power, so the Church refused to recognize Francis’ newly formed order.  It was, however, the haunting and  reoccurring, dream of Pope Innocent III, in which he saw a beggar lifting up the ancient Lateran Basilica in Rome, that finally forced him to grant his approval to the Franciscans.

Francis’ simple, childlike nature centered on the belief that if all creatures are from one Father then all are real kin.  There was no brother or sister greater than another. All were equals before the Creator, and all uniquely praised him. This same sense of equality and equity was at the heart of Francis’ understanding of God’s relationship to humanity as well.  To Francis, the poor, who were easily forgotten and hidden in the dark corners of society, were just as important and worthy of his care as the noble and wealthy.  Most profoundly, he believed that all creation pointed to and praised Christ, for Christ was present at the foundation of the earth.  Weeds and wild flowers and raindrops had a part in God’s creation and should be protected with equal dignity. Even the mosquito and the smallest insect had a place in praising God the creator .As German writer-philosopher Max Scheler once observed, “Where the modern cynic sees something ‘bug-like’ in everything that exists St. Francis saw even in a bug the sacredness of life.”

Francis’ work was not limited to taking care of the poor, and tending creation, he also negotiated for peace. During the Fifth Crusade in 1219, Francis went to Egypt where a Crusader army had been encamped outside of the city of Damietta for over a year. A bloody and futile attack on the city was launched by the Christians, following which both sides agreed to a ceasefire that lasted four weeks. During this interlude, Francis and his companion crossed the Muslims’ lines and were brought before the Sultan. Reports give no information about what was discussed during the encounter beyond noting that the Sultan received Francis graciously and that Francis preached to the Muslims. Regardless of what transpired, the Franciscans were allowed to maintain a presence in the Holy Land almost uninterrupted since 1217 and remain there still.

Tragically, historians and medical researchers believe that during this his work in Egypt and the Middle East, Francis contracted a severe, infectious eye disease—possibly trachoma. The condition worsened painfully over the years, causing extreme light sensitivity, constant discharge, and progressive blindness. By 1225, at age 45, living in nearly total darkness, he was confined to a bed. It was during this period of intense physical suffering and blindness that he composed his famous masterpiece, the “Canticle of the Sun” which was our opening hymn, “All creatures of Our God and King.”  He couldn’t see the creature anymore, much less the sun or moon, but he believed they his brothers and sisters were praising God.

Perhaps it was these stories of selfless service to others that inspired a French author in 1912 to pen the verses we know as the Prayer of St. Francis. For over a century, it has served as both a word of encouragement and inspiration, as well as a word of challenge to the world.  It underscores the fundamental value of humanity and equality which Saint Francis embraced, and then to work as an instrument for peace where ever there is strife and inequity exist.

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace; where there is hatred, let me sow love;

where there is injury, pardon: where there is doubt, faith;

where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light

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. Amen.

So what can we learn from St. Francis and his praise of Christ the Creator?  Francis was more than a nature lover.  Francis understood his call to care for creation was a faithful testimony of stewardship to which we are all called.  Out of love for the Creator, he served his neighbor. And our of love for the Creator, he worked for the creation’s protection. The reverence and wonder and awe with which he approached nature affected all of his choices.

In 1992 the Catholic Bishops of the United States published a statement on the environment entitled Renewing the Earth. In it, they praised St. Francis and emphasized: “Safeguarding creation requires us to live responsibly in it, rather than managing creation as though we are outside it.”  My friends, we too should see ourselves as stewards within creation, and not as separate from it.

I cherish that picture of our two young sons, in the Como Park Conservatory standing beneath the carved stone face of St. Francis offering his blessing, just as I cherish those kitschy personal moments in Marine on St. Croix blessing the animals. So, I hope you can smile as well at your neighbor’s birdbath with a statue of a beloved friar in it or the statue of Francis among the flowers. He would not feel out of place. He would say that the birds flocking to the birdbath are holy. The  water is holy. Even the bugs are holy. “So why shouldn’t I be standing here among my brothers and sisters kissed by the sun and the wind and the rain or a passing butterfly?”

Legend has it that Francis was tending his garden one day when someone stopped him to ask, “What would you do now if you were certain to die before sunset?”  Francis paused, thought about it for a second, then dug his hoe deeper into the soil and replied, “I’d keep tending my garden.” Even in the face of blindness and death, Francis was anchored to the Creator, praising him through the day-to-day duties of his life.

My friends, that is your task as well. God’s creation needs your praise, and your sweat, and your protection, and it needs your song, and your labor as a channel of peace.  Amen.

May the peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.  Amen.