Micah 6:6-8 Canticle of the Sun Gal 6:14-end Luke 12:22-34
What a month we’ve had, haven’t we? We’ve suspended our usual liturgy to focus instead on the God of all creation, taking our place in the ecumenical movement of the Season of Creation. We have affirmed our responsibility to partner with the Creator in recreating and caring for all that is good.
On the first Sunday, Peter helped us consider the trees from Babylon to Zion to Fremantle and beyond. Next, Carol came and shared her connection to this beautiful country on Land Sunday. In the third week, Jo Vallentine spoke about wilderness and our responsibility to the earth, and last week we thought about rivers when Alias gave us that glorious visual aid as he went through the rivers of baptism. Today we reach the end of the Season of Creation as we remember the life and witness of the creation saint, St Francis of Assisi; the patron saint of animals, ecology and the environment.
St Francis, or Giovanni as he was born, was a man who knew God. He knew the words of his creator and he knew what they were asking of him. He was single-minded in his attempts to do what his Lord asked, and he put these commands before all things, even when it cost him all he had, and all he owned, and his entire earthly inheritance.
Giovanni was a lover of Christ and a wandering spirit. On his travels he came across a tumbledown chapel in San Damiano, just outside Assisi. While praying there he had a vision of God and clearly heard the words ‘repair my church which is falling into ruins’. Sat in a building falling into disrepair, Giovanni took this command to mean a physical rebuilding and set about his work.
And I’ve been thinking on that a lot, in preparation for today.
Repair my church, which is falling into ruins.
And I have wondered about Francis’ interpretation of what he heard from God that day because the church is way more than the stones that make or break it. The church is always, first and foremost, the people.
And then the diocese called. Literally, you can’t make these things up…
Gemma, we have been up to have a look at the cross on the top of St Paul’s that was damaged in recent storms and I’m afraid to say it is unsafe. We are going to have to remove it completely. If it falls it will damage the roof, or car park or people.
Repair my church, which is falling into ruins. God said to Francis. And now the diocese seemed to be saying the same thing. And if it wasn’t the cross, it could have been finishing what we started on the west wall or repairing the masonry in the hall or countless other tasks.
And yet, I still wonder about the Creation Saint’s translation of his message from the one who created him.
Repairing churches is important – I am not saying that it isn’t. Of course we must repair this storm damage. Of course we must make it safe for us and for those who pass by and for all who will come this afternoon. We must care for our buildings – they are the places we gather and worship and bury our loved ones and feed those in need and live out our promise that all are welcome. And yet, the church is always, first and foremost, the people.
And when we hear God’s command to Francis, against this morning’s passages from scripture, maybe it becomes clearer…
The prophecy from Micah warned us that God doesn’t want our sacrifices or our sin offerings – God has told us – O mortals – what is good and what the Lord requires and it is to do justice, and love kindness and walk humbly with God.
And when you get a call from the property department before 9am talking about emergency safety plans and cranes and potential risks then it is soothing to hear the words from that beautiful gospel passage that reminds us – do not worry about your life or what you’ll wear or about any of the rest. And don’t worry about what you’ll eat or drink. Don’t keep worrying. And in place of worry, we are urged to, instead, strive for God’s Kingdom. Strive for it. And don’t be afraid because your Father is going to give you good things.
So, friends, while we must pay attention to fixing broken buildings, how much more must we attend to broken people. How much more must we notice those around us who are not ok and do all we can, in outrageous acts of kindness to restore and rebuild them.
Poor Francis is always talked about with this story of the chapel at San Damiano but he was a full advocate of care for people and animals and the environment – way more than caring for bricks and mortar. He is the originator of the fabulous charge to “Preach the Gospel at all times. Use words if necessary.” And the reminder that “The deeds you do may be the only sermon some people will hear today.”
Quite apart from preaching to birds and wolves and recognising his kinship with all of creation, Francis was a devoted follower of his Lord Jesus. Fixing a broken building allowed him to gather others around him – who probably also needed fixing – and was the basis of forming his religious order, that became the Franciscans. And as he rebuilt, so he taught and embodied the gospel.
Perhaps we can learn from him in that too. And as we work together to rebuild this church, maybe it could become a witness to the people who walk past, or visit, or worship here, that we are doing so out of love for our Creator, and first and foremost as a care for the people who make it church today and will do so for generations to come. Amen.
Holy Adventures 