“The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found to be difficult and left untried” according to G. K. Chesterton who found that Christians, including himself, did not put their faith into action.

But even the curmudgeon Chesterton would agree there was at least one notable exception, and that was Francis of Assisi, who launched a million birdbaths, hundreds of thousands of statues, and the occasional service of Blessing of the Animals, that was, for Chesterton, the one Christian that actually lived the Gospel.

Francis was the son of a wealthy textile merchant and as such part of the new Italian middle class that was coming into its own. His father’s wealth and Francis’ own natural charisma made the young man a leader of the youth in his own town. Francis gained a rock-star following by the early 1200’s. He remains famous today not because of his own words and actions so much as because his words and actions conformed to those of Jesus.

As a boy, Francis dreamed of earning glory in battle. He got his chance at an early age when he enlisted, along with the other young men of Assisi, to fight in a feud against a neighboring city-state. Assisi lost the battle and Francis was imprisoned for a time. Defeat in battle and a serious illness in prison caused Francis to turn away from his visions of glory on the battlefield.

Francis’ path toward God took a series of turns closer and closer to God, rather than an all at once conversion. However, the course of Francis’ life was profoundly changed by at least two formative experiences. On a pilgrimage to Robe, Francis saw a beggar outside of St. Peter’s Church. The Holy Spirit moved him to trade places with a beggar. Francis exchanged clothes with the beggar and then spent the entire day begging for alms. That experience of being poor shook Francis to the core.

Later he confronted his fears of leprosy by hugging a leper, Kuje trading places with the beggar in Rome, hugging a leper left a deep mark on Francis. Shaped by his experiences with the beggar and the leper, he developed a strong identification with the poor. Francis cut himself off from the opulent lifestyle of his father and sought out a radically different life.

By the time of his death, the love of God had compelled Francis to accomplish much toward rebuilding the church. He could look on thousands of lives transformed by his call for repentance and simplicity of life. Yet, Francis of Assisi was simply a man transformed by the love of God and the joy that flowed from a deep understanding of all that God has done for us.

Francis’ approach to life as a Christian service fits with Jesus’ words in the Gospel when he tells those who follow him that they are to serve with no thought of reward. Jesus said, “Who among you would say to your slave who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field, “Come here at once and take your place at the table? Would you not rather say to him, “Prepare supper for me, put down your apron and serve me while I eat and drink later you may eat and drink?” Do you thank the slave for doing what was commanded? So, you also, when you have done all that you were ordered to do, say, “We are worthless slaves; we have done only what we ought to have done.”

So, when you come in from doing something for God, don’t expect a reward, only more work. It is a wonder that all of these crowds followed Jesus at all. But what exactly is the work of God? In what way are we to serve him? We have the example of Francis, to add to that of Jesus’ own life and ministry. Yet how can we in our own time and place attempt to live more fully into the Gospel?

First, there is no getting around the fact that the Bible knows nothing of professional clergy serving a congregation. The Bible teaches that all Christians are ministers of the Bible by virtue of their baptism. Then, as ministers, each of us has a wide variety of jobs to do in the kingdom of God based on the gifts God has given us. While congregations benefit from the ministry of priests and deacons, the real work of the church happens when the people in the pews live out their faith in their day to day lives. This includes many thankless tasks, showing love and mercy in even the small ways that no one notices.

“The harvest is plentiful, for the laborers are few…”

Robert Hensley
St. John’s Episcopal Church

The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of The Kewanee Voice.

***This column is sponsored by the Kewanee Ministerial Association