St. Francis Sunday October 4, 2015
Luther Memorial Church Seattle, WA
The Rev. Julie G. Hutson
Micah 6: 6-8 + Psalm 8 + I John 2: 10-14 + Matthew 11: 25-30
Grace and peace to you from God, who created us all! Amen!
This sermon needs to begin with this disclaimer: it will be shorter than usual! After all, for many who are in our pews today it is the first time they’ve been asked to Sit! And Stay! for this long.[1] So, give them grace….I can talk over any barking dog, even my own.
Today is the Feast Day of St. Francis; his story is on page nine in your bulletin. What is remarkable to me about his story is that he gave up a life of wealth and privilege for the sake of God’s creation. For the sake of the earth and the sea and the skies and all creatures great and small. He was a peacemaker. The words of the beautiful prayer, attributed to him, but possible written by a follower, are well known outside of the church. They are a template for all of us as we consider how we might live our lives as close to God as our beloved dogs and cats and birds and fish do.
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.
There are two places in our Scripture readings for this St. Francis day that reach out to intersect with what is happening, with alarming frequency, and with alarming ease, in our world. If ever we needed the words of this prayer for peace, it is again this week. A week where we are again heartbroken and outraged in the face of mass murder on a school’s campus. A week where we, as a society, have put to death a woman whose story was a model of restorative justice. A week where our country finds itself in a precarious relationship with an old enemy. And a week, where, closer to home, we have inexplicably met a whole host of new people who have come to our doors asking for lunch.
The first is from the song of the Psalmist today. When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the starts that you have established; what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them? Yet you have made them a little lower than God, and crowned them with glory and honor. You have given them dominion of the works of your hands…”[2]
The word that is translated here as “dominion” is better translated as “stewardship.” Dominion lacks the understanding of partnership with God that the Psalmist and God intend. Think about it, just as we are to care for our pets. Just as we feed them and clean up after them and walk them and love them, God’s intention is that everything God has made in this world also requires our care. The challenge of how we care for the earth so that it is a whole and healthy place for generations to come is harder in these days. It feels impossible in many respects. Yet, if we break it down to what we CAN do, how we CAN participate in stewarding the earth in the way that God intends it may be as simple as planting a tree, as Dorothy Lundahl taught us in Sunday School this morning. It may be as simple as recycling and being green at home and here in this building.
And regardless of the conclusions we reach, it does mean that we consider and re-consider how we place ourselves in society…whether we can stand up for the weakest and most vulnerable…whether we can be courageous enough to change our minds on long held understandings.
The second place that Scripture reaches out to us in this day is from Matthew’s Gospel. It is an invitation from Jesus in which he invokes the imagery of an ox who has been yoked for work in the fields. And it is an invitation we need to hear on this day and in these days. Hear it as a word personally, and hear it as a word to the whole communion of saints. And you blessed creatures who have joined us on this day….you hear it too.
Jesus said: “come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” [3]
Sisters and brothers of every kind….when the days are hard, and even when they feel gentle, lean into the One who loves you with a love that is beyond understanding….the one whose burden is only the burden of peace making and justice seeking and righteousness. The one whose very being brings light into the world, in this day and in all days.
Thanks be to God. Amen.
[1] Luther Memorial Church is blessing the animals on this day, in the context of our worship service.
[2] Psalm 8: 3-6a
[3] Matthew 11: 28-30