It is the Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi. It makes me think about Francis, his thinking, his behavior, his teachings, and the path he chose for serving Jesus.

How would Francis live today?

For whom would Francis vote? Would he vote at all? I suspect he would, but it does not matter. I suspect more that we should.

Some years ago, a friend of a friend suggested that as we vote and participate in the body politic, our highest criteria should be the rights of Christians. I did not wish to rebuke or correct that person directly or publicly. So I thought about it and waited to address the principle itself.

Respectfully, as much as I believe in religious liberty for all people of all faiths, the scriptures do not teach believers to passionately pursue our religious rights or value them over service, discipleship, justice, peace, and compassion. At least, we are not to do so as an expression of our discipleship.

I cannot see Francis doing that. rather, he just went about his business following Jesus and let the chips fall wherever they fell.

We are to exercise our rights as if they were absolute and willingly accept the consequences when they are not recognized by society. Our rights are secondary as we are called to follow Jesus in an historically and spiritually hostile world.

Nothing can stop us or hinder us from being servants of Jesus who serve Him by serving others. Not nakedness nor peril, nor sword.

Be encouraged. No one can deprive a Christian of the ability to worship, serve, and follow. Only our natural lives and livelihoods can be threatened. What really counts is secure.

If we will observe His command to love God and our neighbor, to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with Him, we will either live or we will die … but we will be doing what we have been placed here to do.

When our voices cry out against injustice and for human rights, may they do so more often for the rights of others than for our own. That will be a test of true discipleship.

One of my reflections on Francis is the simplicity of his life and the simplicity to which he called his followers. Among the things he is recorded as saying are these words:

"Where there is charity and wisdom, there is neither fear nor ignorance."

"It is no use walking anywhere to preach unless our walking is our preaching."

“Start by doing what is necessary, then what is possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible.”

"We must not be wise and prudent according to the flesh, but, instead, we must be simple, humble and pure."

“While you are proclaiming peace with your lips, be careful to have it even more fully in your heart.”

"Where there is peace and meditation, there is neither anxiety nor doubt."

“A single sunbeam is enough to drive away many shadows.”

“Keep a clear eye toward life’s end. Do not forget your purpose and destiny as God’s creature. What you are in his sight is what you are and nothing more. Remember that when you leave this earth, you can take nothing that you have received…but only what you have given; a full heart enriched by honest service, love, sacrifice, and courage.”

“No one is to be called an enemy, all are your benefactors, and no one does you harm. You have no enemy except yourselves.”

“Above all the grace and the gifts that Christ gives to his beloved is that of overcoming self.”

"Pure holy simplicity confounds all the wisdom of this world and the wisdom of the flesh."

Others have reflected the simplicity, sincerity, piety, and depth of this ragged saint. Brothers and sisters of St. Francis and, more so, of Jesus, have taken the journey. Some have walked in very hostile territory, but they walked on and spoke freely, whether or not anyone recognized their freedom to do so. 

On this day over the years, I have collected a few quotes about the spiritual life that I'd like to share:

“Jesus is not very fastidious about the company he keeps.” -Richard John Neuhaus

“There are no unsacred places; there are only sacred places and desecrated places.” – Wendell Berry

“There is never just one cross on a hill…the whole Christian drama demands the other two crosses.” –Carlyle Marney

"Bred in the bone . . . Hope is the Creator’s implant into us, His traveling children, on the move into a future we can imagine but cannot control. Hope is our fuel for the journey. As long as we keep hope alive, we keep moving. To stop moving is to die of hope deficiency." – Lewis Smedes

"The deeper truth is that . . . Your pain is the concrete way in which you participate in the pain of humanity. . . . Jesus’ suffering, concrete as it was, was the suffering of all humanity. His pain was the pain. . . . Once you discover that you are called to live in solidarity with the hungry, the homeless, the prisoners, the refugees, the sick, and the dying, your very personal pain begins to be converted into the pain and you find new strength to live it. Herein lies the hope of all Christians." – Henri Nouwen

"When I stood outside the church looking in, I found much to criticize. But once I fully entered the church, I realized the difficulty of sustaining anything like the New Testament vision of what the church should be. I have much more sympathy for the church's failures now that I am contributing to them! Church "frustrates us into holiness," says Richard Rohr, by holding up a shining vision and then inviting us to join the lackluster reality." – Philip Yancey (pp.72/Church: Why Bother? my personal pilgrimage)

These brothers of St. Francis have added much to my journey of faith as has Francis himself.

What I build upon what they have offered depends on no circumstance or favor from the rulers of this world. It is God's grace, my choice, and the Spirit's strength which constitute the sum total of all that is required for me to follow Jesus.