Francis of Assisi

By Pastor Ellen Ayres

Everybody loves St Francis. What’s not to love? He loved animals, the beauty of nature, he was kind, he was a Hallmark movie come to life. October 4th is the day we remember him —even we ELCA Lutherans. Francis is in our list of Commemorations. His reverence for the natural world sits well with our environmental interests. However he also stands in rejection of a favorite American heresy: the “Prosperity Gospel”—if you do everything to please God (or the universe because even some non spiritual Americans have been infected with this belief), then you will have the material and physical possessions you want. Everything will work out for you. Kate Bowler, a theologian who wrote and studied this extensively, realized how deep it was in her own psyche when she was confronted with a Stage 4 cancer diagnosis. Most of us recognize the lie but may cling to a hope that it is possible. Francis was born into prosperity. His family was rich. He was the only child. He had all he wanted—enough food, comfortable clothes, a pleasant home, servants, but one day in church, the Gospel stunned him: give up possessions and follow Jesus. He did. He adopted a life of poverty and humility, his family was not pleased. The establishment was not pleased. Francis persisted. People began to follow him. The Franciscan Order and the Poor Clares grew from his example. They still exist today. There is even a Lutheran version: the Order of Lutheran Franciscans.

Francis is a hard act to follow.

Shared in Hope Lutheran October 2023 Newsletter