All of a sudden, from the shelter of the trees, out ran the wolf, heading straight for Francis ... with his great jaws open, his sharp teeth gleaming, and his tongue lolloping out of his mouth. He got closer and closer. The townspeople were sure this was the end. But Francis calmly raised his hand and made the sign of the cross, and as soon as he did so, the wolf stopped, right at Francis feet. He sat stock still, closed his mouth, and looked up at Francis.“Brother Wolf, “ said Francis “what’s this I hear about you terrifying these good people? I know you are just doing what a wolf does, but it can’t go on. I will make a bargain with you. If these people promise to feed you every day, will you promise not to harm them or their livestock ever again?”
The wolf nodded his great grey head.”Let us shake upon our promise,” said Francis, (offering an outstretched hand) and the wolf lifted up his paw to put it into Francis’ hand. Then they walked together. The people ... agreed to the bargain, and every day they fed the wolf. And the wolf did them no harm. In fact, the story says, he became so tame that he wandered from house to house and the children play.ed with him like a pet. And when he eventually died, the people of Gubbio wept for their friend the wolf.2
That’s the story that left our Academy students so wide-eyed and perhaps is making you roll your eyes, but it is the legend, the story, that has put a Saint Francis statue in almost every animal lover’s garden. It is about a moment when Francis “spoke life” to the wolf and gave life to an entire town.
That’s the strange story about Saint Francis that gets remembered.
What is overlooked is that at one time in his life he was the son of wealthy cloth merchant. Francis was educated and a young man of the world. One day after serving as a soldier and returning home he happened upon a verse of scripture that that encouraged him to go and speak life, to “proclaim the good news, 'The kingdom of heaven has come near.' Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. You received without payment; give without payment. Take no gold, or silver, or copper in your belts, no bag for your journey, or two tunics, or sandals, or a staff; for laborers deserve their food.”3
He sold everything! Everything! Which made his father, who was expecting him to continue amassing the family wealth by carrying on the business, furious. He disowned him. Francis devoted his life to feeding the poor, working with the outcasts, and enjoying all of creation and its creatures, whom he called his “brothers” and “sisters.” His whole life was devoted to speaking life. So that even secular scholars have to admit that few “in history has set out as seriously as did Francis to imitate the life of Christ and to carry out so literally Christ’s work in Christ’s own way.” 4 Francis spoke life.
Life was what was being spoken about at the very beginning.
When the Holy Spirit moved over the waters in the poetic Biblical account of the dawn of time, life was being spoken.
When the spirit spoke and the water was divided from the dry land, life was being spoken.
When the Spirit spoke and the day was divided from the night, life was being spoken.
When the Spirit spoke and humans were formed to wonder at the beauty of creation and to contemplate the mystery of it all, life was being spoken.
Scott Walker in his book Where the River Flows contemplates this mystery while staring at the sky from his backyard in Georgia.
In our yard were huge pecan trees, and behind our rear hedge grew acres and acres of peach trees. I would either walk slowly between the trees or slouch in a lawn chair. I would look up at the night sky, for it has always held my deepest fascination. It has been my cathedral, my high vaulted place of worship; my dark blanket which has brought me the warmth of God. Conversely, it has also been the eternal stage on which I have been brought into interplay with the stark fear and awe of the holy.5
The grandeur of the universe can speak a word of life about our smallness.
“When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established; what are human beings that you are mindful of them...” 6“Why do you bother with us? Why take a second look our way?”7
Fortunately for us the Spirit also speaks life in the small things. The birds of the air and the lilies of the field. Things we can touch, behold, up close and personal.
What Saint Francis discovered that the Spirit was always speaking life but not always in the grand and glorious or the simply beautiful. What made Francis a saint was not his ability to talk to the animals. What made Francis a saint was that he reached out to the least and the last, the lost and the lonely. He spoke life wherever he went.
Another saying attributed to St. Francis, this “renowned environmentalist and social justice pioneer and founder of the Franciscan Orders,” is his admonition to: “'Preach the gospel at all times. And if necessary, use words.”8 In other words, not only in everything you say but everything you do, speak life.
That is where we come in. We may not be able be like St. Francis or Dr. Doolittle and “talk to the animals and learn their languages.” In fact, I was not so sure that we would make it through this hour with all the animals inside the church for an entire Eucharist. Something I never thought I would see much less be a part of
But here we are in celebration the Spirit who spoke life over all creation.
We may wonder at the mysteries of the universe seen on a cloudless night with our very owns eyes or marvel at the pictures beamed to use through space telescopes, and have life spoken to us.
We may turn our eyes, one last time, to the fall flowers and changing colours of the leaves and give thanks for the Spirit who spoke life to it all.
But we are no better followers of Christ than when we speak life to each other. Speak life! Reminding each other of the Spirit’s presence in each new day until, by his good pleasure, we are given the kingdom.
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