THOUGHTS OF A MONK

“St. Francis”

Tb 4:5-11; 16-20; 1Cor 1:26-31; Mt 11:25-30
October 4, 2006

 “He’s too smart for his own good.” I sometimes wonder where these hackneyed expressions come from. I suspect that they spring from more than one source, but I would like to suggest that this morning’s gospel might very well be one of the sources for this particular expression. To hide “these things” from the learned and reveal them to little children is a saying that screams incredulity. It is a saying that turns common understanding on its head. One would expect the learned, the ones who know, the ones who have striven to acquire expertise, to be better able to understand the message of the Good News than children whose lack of experience and knowledge would seem to make them unprepared to understand it. So, why would the learned be unsuitable vessels for the truth while children merit such revelations?

What we have here is an image that is frequently portrayed in the New Testament, an image that seems to contrast intelligence against ignorance but in reality pits pride against humility, self-assurance against uncertainty, a know-it-all attitude against openness to alternative views. Thinking that one has the answer to everything is more that just self-deception; it leaves no room for new information and alternative points of view. It can also mean that our pre-conceived notions or knowledge about a subject, prevent us from seeing the truth that comes in a message that appears to be unbelievable. Yet, to the person with no special claims to privileged knowledge it would be more acceptable. Think of the Publican and Pharisee or the prodigal son and his elder brother as analogous examples contrasting this same image of self-assurance vs humility, a humility, by the way, that may not have always been there but which had to be learned by the painful experiences of life. But we can also look closer to home for examples.

If someone believes that they already know everything there is to know about cooking, then that person has nothing to learn from someone else. If a person already knows everything about health, then no health-care professional can tell that person anything other than what they already think they know. If a person knows everything there is to know about the spiritual life then no one can offer a new approach that will ever be acceptable. If someone has a worldview that defines wealth and power as signs of well being and right living, then a call to poverty and weakness will not be appreciated. God sends us messages through a variety of mediums including other people, but our sense of self-assurance in the correctness of our already held views means that God can’t reach us or teach us anything since we believe we already know everything. This is the image of the gospel; That God’s truth is hidden from the learned who believe they have no need for new knowledge but revealed to little children who are curious about everything.  If we have nothing more to learn then real saving help slips from our grasp.

When I came to New Skete 11 years ago, I knew that I was allergic to dogs and I looked upon German Shepherds with fear. My life’s experience up to that point had taught me that dogs were dangerous, mean, loud, noisy, dirty and willful and I was skeptical about the dog aspect of our life here. In truth my fear of dogs was reinforced by my preconceptions about dogs. And overlaid on that was my upbringing that said cleanliness and orderliness were to be valued and things that disturbed these values were to be avoided or better yet shunned. Guess what, now my main work area is with the dog-breeding program and my attitude towards dogs has completely changed. I can see that they are loyal, giving, forgiving, playful, and intelligent. And the good news here is that even if we have strongly held pre-conceived notions about something, we don’t have to stay in that position. Life gives us unending opportunities to change and grow, if we but seize them. If I approached my tasks in the puppy kennel as simply work to be done and not as part of our ministry to God’s creation and our mission to bring joy to other people’s lives, then I would simply go to the kennel, do my chores quickly and rush off to wash up and go about more pleasant and less taxing activities.  But if I did that then I would never learn the lesson the puppy is there to teach me when it turns its expectant eyes on me, leaps up into my lap and climbs up my chest in order to plant its puppy kisses all over my face (and glasses!).  That puppy has nothing. It is totally dependant upon us for its survival and it shows unending joy in that relationship.  Would that I would always show that same joy and be as open to the one upon whom I am also utterly dependant.

I hesitate to say this on this particular feast day but one might say that St. Francis was too smart for his own good. He thought he knew everything about God and how to please God, but his severe asceticism ultimately undermined his health, which he later regretted. Even a Saint can fall into the trap of being a know-it-all. The lesson here is that we are a complicated mixture of pride and humility, and that we will always struggle within that reality. And the Good News that is hidden from the learned, that is from the know-it-alls of this world, can be revealed to them (and us) when they (and we) become childlike and open to God’s message. And this message is conveyed to us through Jesus Christ and the saints, such as St. Francis. We can learn that God is always inviting us to see with new eyes, realities we may think we already know.

What does our Jerusalem Troparion say about St. Francis?

Christ our God made you an instrument of his peace, O holy father Francis, for where there is injury and hatred, you bring pardon and love; where there is doubt and despair, you bring the hope of faith and to those in darkness and misery you bring the light of divine consolation and joy.

Sounds like the kind of gift our puppies bring to their new families, a gift conveyed by one of God’s humblest creatures.  St Francis understood that gift.

O holy father Francis, pray to God for us. Amen.