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Harvest Thanksgiving Address – 2009
SERMON – 9.15am, Emmanuel Church, Pokfulam, Hong Kong
Sunday 4th October 2009
Revd. Nigel Gibson
Being with you today reminds me of the story of a bishop who once visited a church in his diocese. When only three people turned up to hear him preach he asked the vicar: Didn't you tell them I was coming? "No" replied the vicar, "but word sure does seem to have got round!"
Well, I'm delighted to see so many of you here and to have this opportunity to be part of your Harvest Thanksgiving Celebration. Harvest is always one of the high-points in the Christian Calendar and a special day for every Christian to say "Thank You" to God for all the good things that have come our way through another year.
Today is also the feast-day of St Francis of Assisi and it's such an appropriate festival on the day of your Harvest Thanksgiving. A particular aspect of Francis' character was the great love he showed for the earth, for animals and plants and the fruits of the earth, indeed everything that lives and grows on the earth. Francis recognised what a vast treasure God has given us and how we need to care for and respect the earth and all that it yields. And not only the earth - but the whole of Nature, the whole of the mighty universe – all parts of God's creation.
Who was Francis? What do we know about him? What makes him a Saint? And why does he have such enduring universal appeal?
Where I have come from in Italy his following is vast, and that's not only because he is that country's patron saint. Today in Italy and around the world, there will be many festivals and celebrations giving thanks for the life and work of Francis of Assisi.
By any reckoning, Francis was a remarkable character and one who would certainly fit in today. In his youth he rebelled against his wealthy father. After a taste of warfare, he refused the draft and quickly gathered around him some friends who started to go around in old shapeless clothes living among desperate street-people.
All this is a very different picture of the one we see in most paintings and statues of Francis. There we see a man in a monk's robe, and often with a bird perched on his shoulder. In this image he looks much too holy, far too pious and proper. Who could be like him? Who would want to be like him?
It's fairly easy to regard Francis as something of a Humane Society worker and who just happened to like pets! His well-known love of animals explains why some churches on 4th October hold special blessing services for an extraordinary assortment of livestock! They're called Pet Services and if they are not managed properly can quickly become a bit of a farce. In my experience the trick is to stop the dogs chasing the cats, or the cats eating the hamsters! And just in case you are ever tempted to hold such a service at Emmanuel then another trick is to remember to organise enough people to help you clean up afterwards!!!
How can we connect with the real Francis? For me, I think the most important part of his personality was his 'single-mindedness' – and I believe it is this aspect of his life that makes him a true saint.
Not for nothing we heard that passage from Matthew today (Matthew 6:25-33).Francis took those words to heart and gave up everything that most of us tend to value most. He gave up considerable family money, a comfortable home, wealthy friends, and a respected position in society. You could say that he gave up the 'Good Life' and he did it because he came to believe that there was only one person in the world that ultimately mattered – and that person was Jesus. He loved Jesus from the bottom of his heart and there was nothing he would not do for him. As he loved Jesus more clearly and dearly, he also came to love the poor and needy in whom he saw the face of Jesus.
Now we might object that we don't have the luxury of giving up everything to follow Jesus, and I well understand that. But maybe what we sometimes forget is that in being 'single-minded' about Jesus, all the other responsibilities become gifts from God, rather than the impositions of life. It is when we see Jesus in our parents, or in the face of a child, our spouses and friends, even our pets, and not least in the poor and needy, those who live on the margins of society that our lives are transformed.
Francis discovered Jesus is so many places, and sometimes in the least expected people and situations. But perhaps the most important place to find the love that loves us so much is at the Eucharist each Sunday. Francis, you may know, found the Lord is a ruined church, which he subsequently rebuilt. It was a humble church, perhaps an ugly place, and certainly nothing quite like this beautiful building! Yet as people gathered around the altar, the promised miracle occurred. Jesus became present in forgiving and living Love.
And so, as we gather around the Lord's Table to honour Francis, let's give our Lord our 'single-minded' devotion and all our love. In that way, we may be saints, too, ordinary saints living ordinary lives and yet in extraordinary ways!
Finally let me end with one of Francis' best loved poems… it's a piece that tells us exactly how he felt about the earth and what a great and precious treasure he considered it to be. A part of the great and wonderful universe, so vast and so mysterious – yet created by our God, whom we know to be a God of love and care, and of beauty and of incredible craftsmanship, all beyond human understanding.
Blessed are you, my Lord, for the gift of all your creation, and especially for our brother the Sun, by whom the day is enlightened.
He is radiant and very bright, of great splendour, bearing witness to you, O my God.
Blessed are you, my Lord, for our sisters the Moon and the Stars; you have placed them high in the heavens, fair and clear.
Blessed are you, my Lord, for our brother the Wind; for the air, the clouds and for calm, for every kind of weather; for by them you sustain all creatures.
Blessed are you, my Lord, for our sister Water; she is so very useful, so humble, so chaste and precious.
Blessed are you, my Lord, for our brother Fire; he is gay, noble and beautiful, untameable and strong; by him you illuminate the night.
Blessed are you, my Lord, for our Mother the earth, she sustains and nourishes us, and brings forth all kinds of fruits, herbs, grains and also the bright-hued flowers.
Amen.
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