Good morning and Thank God for a sunny day! Just in time for our celebration of St. Francis, really one of the best days of the year here at St. James.
Francis would love this weather, but he would also have loved the deluge we had on Friday. He appreciated nature in all of its forms whether it's convenient to humans or not. It’s one more way he insisted on seeing things not just from a human perspective, but from the perspective of the earth, the plants, the ocean and rivers, the sky, and all of our non-human friends, the fish, the birds of the air, and of course our beloved pets.
Francis of Assisi was born in 1180. He died in October 1226. That means, during his lifetime, people still thought the earth (and we, humans) were the center of everything. It would be another 400 years before that thinking was challenged.
But people like Francis already knew we aren’t all we usually think ourselves to be. He objected to our egocentric worldview, in what he Valued, paid attention to, worked and gave his life For. He was known for preaching as passionately to a flock of birds as to a flock of parishioners — he must have loved that we call parishioners a flock.
Saints are people ahead of their time. They see things most others don’t, and their worldview eventually bends and shapes reality. Had Francis been alive when science discovered what he already knew, that Earth isn’t the center of everything, he’d have been delighted.
And so today we open up our doors and our hearts to our animal friends. In a moment they’ll come forward for their blessing and treat, just like we do each week. If we were inside they’d take their place in the pews, right with us, because they belong here too. They’ll join us for coffee hour and our focus groups, and we’ll join them later on for walks and play, we’ll all wag our tails at mealtime, and it’ll be a day to remember that we’re all beloved creatures of God -- who looks down and probably sees little distinction between the way we go about our days and they do. And somehow, I find that a comfort and a joy. Happy Feast of St. Francis.