When I was fourteen, I went to a Christian camp. It was called Northfield because it was held at a boarding school called Northfield. There were people of all ages there, adults, children, babies, elderly, We listened to a talk in the morning and then met in family groups, small groups where we could really talk about who we were.
The camp started on a Monday. By Wednesday, I was so overwhelmed by the love and caring of the people around me that I started to cry. Well, as you probably know, adolescent girls can really cry. And once I started, I couldn’t stop. I cried and cried and cried. All day, tears just poured down my face. And the worst part was that if anyone asked me, I couldn’t tell them why. I just cried. And I made a complete fool of myself.
That afternoon, I went to be by myself. I thought that maybe, if I was alone, I could pull myself together. I sat under this big, beautiful tree. And I just listened. Maybe all that crying had exhausted me. Maybe I had endorphins released from the tears. I don’t know. All that I know was that I felt at peace and, for the first time in my life, I really listened.
There was the sound of the wind rustling in the trees. The sounds of the birds chirping, playing. And deeper still, the sound of a far off dog barking, a rustling in the tree above me where a squirrel was moving. I imagined the bugs around and beneath me, in their eternal dance of movement. And I realized how alive this world was. I realized that this ground that I was sitting on, that it was full of life. There was life all around. I began to breathe deeply. And as I breathed, I began to pray…
Thank you, God, for life. Thank you, God for life.
In that moment, I needed nothing but a tree to lean on. The planet that God made was holding me up, sustaining me. And I was home.
St. Francis was a young man of wealth. He went to fight in wars, he partied, he drank and made friends. And then he encountered God. Jesus spoke to him. And his whole life changed. He went in front of the bishop and stripped naked, handing his clothes over. He realized that he did not need anything but God. That he didn’t want anything but God. He realized that his stuff was holding him back from becoming the man that God was calling him to be. So he put on the robes of a poor man and began to walk.
Francis went to the church in San Damiano and looked at the cross. A voice spoke to him,
Francis, rebuild my church.
And so he did. He went and asked each member of the town to give a stone, just one stone. Some were angered by his asking. But most gave and the church was rebuilt.
And over a thousand years later, who do we remember?
Do we remember the rich people, the people who held onto their stuff? No, we remember the poor man, the man who knew who he was, a child of God.
Francis would walk outside and he would see something beautiful. He would see the sunset or the birds lifting as a flock out of a tree. He would see a donkey pulling a load or a flower in bloom and he would become so moved that he just started to cry. He would enter into a state of ecstasy. People thought he was mad. He would speak to the sun and to the moon.
Brother sun, he said.
Sister moon. He loved the animals and touched them, seeing them as manifestations of God’s great handiwork. He simply adored all of creation. And he loved being alive.
You might say that Francis was rich. He was rich because he was free. He did not let himself be burdened by things, by concerns about finances or time management. He simply let God take over all of that. He was a child and God the adult. And God made so much of his little life. God brought thousands of people closer to God because of the small life of one, simple man.
God calls us to be free. You need not be concerned with how you will pay your bills or how you will dress yourself. God will take care of you. It is true. But most of us just are too afraid to trust. So we hide behind our stuff and make excuses for why we cannot give enough, why we do not truly devote our lives to God.
And no matter how far along you get in the Christian walk, there is still so much farther to go. My husband and I give ten percent of every income check we get. It has become a joyful process for us. And yet, we have so much and we still hold to so much. And I know that God calls us to be more like Francis, to give more and to live more simply. But I get scared. So the only thing that I know how to do is just take one step closer.
This fall, the church is asking you to create a Rule of Life. Francis lived by one. It is a way of beginning to be intentional about your life. Will you live your life or will your life live you? How can you take one step closer to financial generosity, one step closer to praying regularly, one step closer to caring for your body, one step closer to caring for your loved ones? A Rule of Life is not complex. Actually, it is about simplicity. Once you decide how you want to live, then you can say no to everything else.
St Francis said, Begin with the necessary, move to the possible and soon, you will be doing the impossible.
Learning to trust God is a life-long journey. It takes lots of time and lots of trust. Francis was able to do it fully. He trusted God fully and God made his life sing. With his body and his mind, he glorified God. And we remember him today.
Don’t you realize that you really don’t need all this stuff? Remember the movie Contact? Jodie Foster is to travel into outer space in a ship designed by unknown aliens. The builders make the ship exactly as specified but with one change, they have to have a chair for her to sit on, something attached to the wall, “just minimal protection,” the man says. “Just to keep you safe.”
So she begins her journey. And as she travels through time and space, she is shaking uncontrollably. Every part of her body is vibrating with a force that is just painful to see. Meanwhile, her necklace comes loose and it floats in front of her, peaceful and flowing in the air.
So she unbuckles herself from the chair. She lets it go. And sure enough, she is floating peacefully. She knew it all along, all she had to do was trust the initial designer.
Jesus said, “Thank you, Father, for you have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to children.”
You have to trust, like a child. You have to be a child. Trust that God will care for you, that the earth was made just right, to care and provide for you. And even if you die beneath a tree, you are OK. You are well.
How much do you really need? Could you simplify your life and give more? Can each of you give one stone so that we can rebuild and care for this house of God? Could each of you give money so that we can serve the Lord, worship and visit the sick?
I can just picture Francis standing there naked. He knew the truth. That you can’t take any of it with you, nothing.
You came into the world naked. You will leave the world naked.
Simplify your life. Give away your stuff more and more. And be free
