Francis and being all good (with lots of stuff about SPCA)
Gate Pa – Animal Blessing Sunday 2019
What I want to
say:
today
we celebrate two things
first
is crazy saint of Assisi – Francis; and how when he embraced lady Poverty
allowed him to see the goodness of God in all things and all people and all
creation.
the
amazing work of SPCA -> today give freely to support this work
we
wonder what this mght say to the climate crisis we face
What I want to
happen:
people to see the goodness of
people and creation
engage in climate change by making
room
to support generously the work of
SPCA
The Sermon
1. Introduction:
Today is a celebration
Firstly we celebrate the crazy little saint of
Assisi, who turned the church and the world of his time on its head
Francis of Assisi
who through ½ million professed followers
today in Roman Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran and other churches around the
world,
continue to live among the poor and dispossessed
in some of poorest countries
and through the work of Franciscan International
at the UN ensure the voices of poorest and dispossessed is heard at highest
places
John Quigley – past executive director of FI
and Franciscan writer – offers this
“For the past eight hundred years other men
and women, inspired by the simple genius and freshness of Francis and Clare,
have been developing and popularizing the original Franciscan revelation. This
continual updating has had a profound humanizing effect within Western Christianity,
Western civilization, and other cultures. It is not easy to put into a capsule
the spirit and gifts of Franciscan thinking. Its hallmarks are simplicity,
reverence, fraternity, ecumenism, ecology, interdependence, and dialogue. Its
motto and salutation is “Peace and All Good!”
He goes on to say
[Francis] knew that we share this earth, our
loves and work with all of God’s creatures, our brothers and sisters. Unlike
the monastic life, which strove to domesticate nature and to bring it under
control, Francis expected to live lightly on the earth, a burden neither to the
earth nor to those who fed and clothed him.
2. Climate Change
Year
ago sat in meeting with the Revd Canon Dr Jeff Golliher, Adviser for the
Environment, Climate Change and Sustainable Communities at the Anglican
Communion Office at the United Nations;
talked
through then very recently published emergency report from the IPCC
halve
our greenhouse emission by 2030
go
back to preindustrial revolution levels by 2050
face
unthinkable consequences
-
raising sea level
-
more frequent and much more damaging storms
-
floods
-
droughts
-
fires
-
parts world uninhabitable
o
100 million if not billions forced move
-
unravelling of web life on which all life depends
if
able achieve this
-
climate change still be upon
-
all doing is limiting negative effects
Unlike St. Francis
-
we have not lived lightly on the
earth,
-
have been a burden to the earth and to
those who feed and clothe us
-
poorest and all of God’s creatures,
our brothers and sisters have been and are
paying a heavy price
-
will pay an even heavier price
3. Francis and Penance
In
“The Art of Letting Go” Richard Rohr suggests Francis live a life of penance
We
often think of penance as some kind of action or punishment we inflict on
ourselves as an outward expression of our repentance for wrongdoing
-
understood penance as “making room for God”
But
making room for God that feels like something very different.
·
Francis made room for the leper – everything changed
·
or in 1219 when he joined the 5th
Crusade, and walked across the lines into the Muslim camp seeking an audience
with the Sultan Malik al-Kamil
o
at a time, like now, when those of the other
faith were defined by our differences and were hated
o
Francis made room to see the sultan as his
brother –
§ as we saw in
that movie - everything
changed
4. Pets and making room
Our
pets help us make room
Muffy
and making room –
every meal time encourages us to
make room for her and to share
sitting often come encourage us to
make room for her, lying on top of us
pushing our legs off leg
rest
helps
me make room in my life for exercise and to enjoy this amazing place I live in
by encouraging me to take her for walks in parks and on the beach,
and
so it goes
that’s
what pets do
help
us make room
for
them
through
that – like Francis – for others
for ourselves
for creation
What
an amazing gift they give us.
why
we treasure them and this gift
But
I wonder in face of climate crisis
-
as she helps me make room – am I able to make room for all God’s
creatures
o
to change my ways so that they do not have to suffer the effects of my
life style
-
as she helps me make room to enjoy God’s creation
o
am I able to change my ways so that this creation does not have to suffer the effects of my life style,
o
this world can flourish and thrive
5. Luke 17 – Being taught by an outsider
really
interesting story about 10 lepers
Living
in in between land in Samaria and Galilee
both
Jew and Samaritan living together
old
division put aside in their common status of “outcast”
beg
Jesus to be healed
when
he sees them
he
tells them to do what the Mosaic law
prescribed
go
to the priests to be saved
-
although different priests
restored
to their whanau and communities
while
they are walking healed
one
returns praising God
-
not so much giving thanks
-
but praising God
this
one is a Samaritan
Samaritans
appear in Luke more than other Gospels
-
story of Samaritan town that will not offer hospitality
o
some disciples want bring down fire and destruction on them
o
which is really good way showing how much Jews and Samaritan really
really really hate each other
o
they are enemies of long standing
o
unlike gentiles who they were indifferent to
-
parable of Good Samaritan
o
told in response to question – who is my neighbour
o
Luke uses a Samaritan to teach about Torah
o
Love your neighbour as yourself
o
make room for all wrong people to be your neighbour
§ offer love to those
neighbours
§ receive love from
§ or as commentary puts it
·
Love your enemy from Luke 6:27, 35 goes to
·
love your worst enemy
·
of God’s love
-
today is Samaritan, the enemy
·
make room for your worst enemy to
become not your enemy but the one who teaches how one might respond to God’s
love
6. SPCA
Today we also celebrate work of SPCA Tauranga
give thank for wonderful work they do
-
Maree has talked
about
mourn that this work is needed
that people are unwilling to make room for the
animals in their care.
encourage you to support this work
change world
make room for another way of being
Comments