October 6, 2024

Christ the King-Epiphany, Wilbraham

The Rev.  Michael Hamilton 

Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost / Lectionary 12B

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of all our hearts be pleasing and acceptable to God. Amen (pbs)

Creation Care Season is defined in different ways. Some communities mark one Sunday to hold aside and consider all of creation and its holiness along with our personal responsibility in supporting and caring for Mother Nature. Other expressions of Creation Care are to have a committee that highlights different aspects of how we can do a better job in our stewardship of our world with recycling days, plant a tree events, write letters to legislatures on behalf of green initiatives, etc. The New England Synod participates in a partnership of agencies that support the Vision, Hope and Justice of the healing and wholeness of creation. The Dioceses of Western Massachusetts has been a leader and participant on the world stage of spiritual renewal and creation care through the work of The Rev Margaret Bullit-Jonas. With her retirement this past June, there is a renewed energy to maintain the work she has begun through the Creation Care Committee and other such initiatives in Province 1.

Here at home, we have been celebrating the gift of water in our baptism, we have marked the holiness of creation in our prayers of the people, our Eucharistic Prayer, along with the hymn selections for more than a month now and all of this is good. This acknowledgement that we are co-creators and stewards of the natural world that God has given us, encourages us to take on more conservation, and repair work, of our rapidly declining environment as we currently see species struggling to survive. Our homeless, food insecure, and poor brothers and sisters that benefit from meals and donations of food, clothing, and advocacy are a prime example of caring for God’s creation. Removing road debris on Tinkham Road, planting a victory garden to support neighbors with fresh produce, tending a pollinator garden, and encouraging native plants to thrive are all concrete ways of making a difference. It does not escape my notice that Katie, Emmy, and Maddie are 3 consistent workers in all of these initiatives- 3 of our youngest members, leading the example for all of us to follow… we have to ask ourselves if we are willing to go where our youth are leading us?

Individual initiatives are necessary and draw our attention but what if we lived day to day with the same awareness that these pop-up events stir within us? October 4th is the day set aside (world-wide) to celebrate the Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi. Francis was a man that lived with the awareness that all of creation was holy and a gift from God. My own journey with Francis is close to being life long as my first call to religious life included 3 years of formation in preparation to becoming a Franciscan. During those 3 years I was able to discern that I was too young to make that decision at the time but the Franciscan spirituality of living simply, with gratitude, generosity, and love for all others, are goals that I have tried to establish as my own understanding of what it is to be a Christian man living faithfully.

The most iconic image of Francis is the birdbath, and in a way, it is unfortunate that his notoriety is similar to Snow White as she sang to blue birds; pure, innocent, and cartoon-like. The larger story was that under the law, anyone that was not registered by the church to preach the Gospel was severely punished and silenced. Francis was overcome by the Gospel messages that it was a burning need for him to express this Good News and he devised a way of sharing this by wandering deep into the woods alone to speak out loud what was ruminating in his heart. One day, one of the brothers was with Francis as he travelled into the forest and the brother noticed the birds sat in the trees with rapt attention and listened while Francis spoke and from this observance came the image of birds flocking to Francis and sitting on his shoulder. At another point in his development, Francis had a mystical experience where Christ spoke to him through the image of the Crucified Christ on a cross. Francis heard Christ say, “Francis, repair my church which you see, has fallen into ruin.” Thus began the work that would last the rest of Francis’ life. Francis adopted humility, simplicity, respect for all of creation, and the need to express the forgiving, loving, and caretaking faith of God in all things. Eventually Francis approached the pope and became a deacon that was granted permission to establish a community of like-minded people to live simply, assist the poor through acts of mercy and to preach the Good News. Many apocryphal stories have arisen but much like the Gospel of last week where Jesus admonished the disciples that were trying to stop others from preaching the Good news because they were not of Jesus’ select inner group, all of the Francis stories point to the better side of humanity in loving our neighbor, respecting life, creation, moon, wind, and stars as all expressions of God’s great love for us that even the fanciful stories are worthy of emulation.

The prayer of Saint Francis is a poem and hymn that was written in 1912 by a priest offering spiritual guidance to people during the pre-days before World War I. Although this prayer was not penned by Francis himself, it is a powerful example and spot-on depiction of his spirituality and a beautiful gift that still evokes a desire to live a better version of ourselves. I have often heard it sung with the same deep soul-touching serenity that other prayers such as Amazing Grace have where people lean into the words and experience an ‘other worldly’ moment of grace.

One piece of writing that is attributed to Francis and written during the last 5 or so days of his life is known as The Canticle of Brother Sun, Sister Moon where even the experience of Sister Death arriving to his bedside is celebrated as part of God’s magnificent plan for our life. 

The Canticle of Brother Sun, Sister Moon

Most High, all-powerful, all-good Lord, All praise is Yours, all glory, all honour and all blessings.

To you alone, Most High, do they belong, and no mortal lips are worthy to pronounce Your Name.

Praised be You my Lord with all Your creatures, especially Sir Brother Sun,
Who is the day through whom You give us light.
And he is beautiful and radiant with great splendour,
Of You Most High, he bears the likeness.

Praised be You, my Lord, through Sister Moon and the stars,
In the heavens you have made them bright, precious and fair.

Praised be You, my Lord, through Brothers Wind and Air,
And fair and stormy, all weather’s moods,
by which You cherish all that You have made.

Praised be You my Lord through Sister Water,
So useful, humble, precious and pure.

Praised be You my Lord through Brother Fire,
through whom You light the night and he is beautiful and playful and robust and strong.

Praised be You my Lord through our Sister, Mother Earth who sustains and governs us,
producing varied fruits with colored flowers and herbs.
Praise be You my Lord through those who grant pardon for love of You and bear sickness and trial.

Blessed are those who endure in peace, By You Most High, they will be crowned.

Praised be You, my Lord through Sister Death,
from whom no-one living can escape. Woe to those who die in mortal sin! Blessed are they She finds doing Your Will.

No second death can do them harm. Praise and bless my Lord and give Him thanks,
And serve Him with great humility. 

I would like to commend this poem of Brother Sun, Sister Moon to you during the week, sit with it and consider, what parts of creation touch your inner being? What pieces of creation would you like to celebrate more in your life or hold a deeper respect for? Can colorful falling leaves bring us to appreciate and recognize the hand of God? Will a slice of pumpkin pie make us grateful and thankful. Can the sight of the Scantic or Connecticut river overwhelm us with their volume, movement, and power? How will you open your eyes wider, your hearts more fully, and your minds more willingly to see, love and appreciate the creation that we are a part of?   Amen.