Fr. Dan Riley, OFM, and Mike Fenn offer their thoughts about the Feast of St. Francis. Please share your thoughts and reflections.*********************
Matthew 11: 25-30
At that time Jesus said in reply, "I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike.
Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.
"Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for your selves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light”
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By Dan Riley, OFM
Reflecting with Mike Fenn I think of how so many of us might consider ourselves clever and well educated. Francis did not see himself that way, but he certainly understood himself as a “child of God.”
Occasionally we might hear someone speak of hoping for or espousing “a new world order,” “a new consciousness.” We roll our eyes, don’t we sometimes not in wonderment, but I would suggest in judgment. Ironically … tragically, the judgment is actually on ourselves.
Jesus, the Christ, is the new consciousness and he has ushered in a whole new world order … truly a wonderment to behold. It is only as a child, “child like,” that we are able to see that we wonder more than worry and behold rather than shut down or close out this most amazing “new.” With all that is going on and the pain within our families and our country, this promise is at our door, invites us to open up the eyes of our hearts.
As Jesus says, “All things have been handed over to me by my Father.” He also instructs us to say, “OUR FATHER!” All of us are children and we have a new life for us to live as we choose not to roll our eyes, but open our eyes to this new order, this new reign, this Kingdom of Jesus Christ.
Even as we might be gripped by a sense of powerlessness or with tragedy in the midst of ourselves, a new hope wants to blossom, a hope only a child could see, a hope we are invited to see as children of the same God. A whole new order wants to break out on the place and the feeling of powerlessness. It is the power of God’s reign which only comes to children, to the child like. I dare say that it is the “plenty” that we only sense when we feel empty. It is the hopelessness that carves at our hearts at times that opens us space for the light to break in.
The reflection of Mike recalls for us now, as brothers and sisters, the risk of believing that there is One who calls us from our labor and our burdens to find rest, the arms of a loving God and in a family of faith. Especially when we feel we carry the burden of the world, Christ asks us “to take my yoke upon you and learn from me.” The One who is “meek and humble” is also the One who empowers us in the conversion of our hearts and the change in our world.
Let us risk, then, seeing as children on this Feast of our little brother Francis and work for it as grown-ups, brother and sisters, who share this re-newed consciousness. Let us step up and step out risking, as a child, to believe that Jesus means each of us when he says, “Come to me … my yoke is easy … my burden light.”
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By Mike Fenn
As I reflected over this reading and what is going on in the world today, I thought about the uncertainty our country faces, and the anxiety that coincides with this. Seemingly the past two national elections couldn’t have been more divisive, yet once again we face polarizing alternatives, with partisans on either side perceiving doom and gloom if their choice doesn’t get elected. In the personal finance sector, there’s been a jolt to the fundamental structure of our economy that my generation has never experienced before. In times like these, I find it impossible not to think about the worst case scenarios, and how I will support my family if those circumstances arise.
It is easy to withdraw and want to insulate ourselves from the risk of the world, taking care of only those we care for the most, while we try to make sense of all this from “the wise and the learned” on Fox News, or CNBC.
Opportunities such as these shared reflections help me break away from this cocooning instinct, and to ask how Francis would behave in such times. We know the world Francis lived in was a time of turmoil as well. The middle class was slowly forming, with the world predominantly made up from the wealthy and the poor.
Yet while Francis chose to turn away from a life of riches, he did not focus on two classes of haves and have-nots, or party affiliations of Democrats and Republicans. Francis followed the words of Christ that taught we all called to be brothers and sisters with one another and nothing more.
If our political and business leaders behaved in this manner, I wonder how much worse off we would be?
In these times of volatility and confusion I find great joy from a God Who implores me that revelation comes from behaving like a child, and great solace from my troubles when Jesus reminds me that “All who labor or are burdened, I will give you rest.”
(Post a comment below to share your thoughts.)
(Mt. Irenaeus Web Site)
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