God, through Francis, presents the Gospel in a few simple words. Though plain . . . those words (God's words) touch on the very foundation of all we believe, giving us the power to be saved. Jesus said, "Those who have ears to hear, let him listen" to the words of God. Let us listen and do what God tells us through His servant Francis, the poor, simple and holy man who so clearly knew and walked with God.
St. Francis creates an interesting scenario to show how God can use an uneducated man to share the Gospel. He sets the scene where this man, inspired by the Holy Spirit, gives a speech (simple yet profound) to the brethren at the 'Chapter' (the periodic gatherings of all the Franciscan brothers in the world, in one place, for praying, teachings and administrative matters).
"Great things have we promised, greater are promised us. The former let us observe, to the latter let us aspire. Brief is the pleasure, eternal the penalty. Slight is the suffering, the glory is measureless. Many are called, few are chosen, all have their acquittal."
The 'brother' says, 'great things we have promised'. These 'great things' are the vows of the brothers, specifically, the vows of Poverty, Chastity and Obedience. They are 'great' because achieving them is no easy matter but also because . . . they bring 'great' glory to God.
Though most of us (Seculars) don't make these vows like the Religious we should not think we don't have similar responsibilities to God. EVERYONE has these obligations to God (at least spiritually) whether they realize it or not (see previous post)!
God created each of us to accomplish His purpose in our lives. EVRYONE has the obligation to: know, love and praise God; cherish our life and maintain the purity and health of our body and soul; love and care for all other people in the world (beginning with our families); and finally, take care of the world and all the creatures living in it.
What are the 'great things that are promised us'? Many of them were 'promised' at the beginning, in the Garden. God implicitly made these promises to us: a relationship with God - one perfect in love, tranquil and filled with joy; eternal life in our body, even though it is made out of dust; safety from any harm or suffering; bodily pleasure through our physical senses (including in sex, a holy gift from God); finding satisfaction in working (in the garden), being creative, exploring and knowing God, our self and the world; finally, playing, singing, dancing, communing and enjoying each other with all purity (free from selfish desires).
The 'fall' of Adam and Eve (our fall), through their lack of faith in God, changed many things. The most obvious change was that 'spiritual death' - the loss of our intimate relationship with God - as well as physical death, came into the world. Man could still experience God (though now only with fear), and all of the other good things in life, but the pleasure and joy of doing so was now tempered with pain and sorrow. For example, Adam and Eve still had the joy of having children but now children would come with both pain (in childbirth) and regret (at the death-filled world they were being born into). Work could still be satisfying but it would also be hard since we would earn our bread, 'by the sweat of your brow'. He said that the ground would be as hard as 'iron' as we tried to till it.
Through Christ, God was able to make a multitude of new promises to us. The new promises eliminated the lasting effect of the sin (rebellion) that had invaded man's experience, including the worst thing - death (spiritual and physical).
Believers, during their lives, would still suffer but now this suffering, if endured in faith, would not be meaningless - have no purpose. Though life's pains would be no different, He promised us the strength to endure them with peace and joy. He taught us that these very difficulties (trials) would bring about God's goal of transforming us into His children - making us like Him. Jesus also promised that this suffering in faith would bring eternal rewards - riches, pleasures and glory - hereafter.
The new promises, made possible by Christ's sacrifice of Himself, include a new kind of life - life eternally (mystically) united to God, the source of life. This eternal life was to begin now, in this frame of dust, with spiritual graces that start with peace, joy and love but include all the virtues and their blessings. This eternal life meant that we would also have, one day, a new 'physical' body that would live eternally and that would not be limited in any way (like our current body). It will be able to endure (joyfully) the full glory, purity and goodness of the Living God.
Thus (like Francis said) it is clear that though we have promised great things, the things promised us by God are infinitely greater!
Promises remain only words until 'incarnated' (spiritual concepts 'fleshed out' in our behavior) in action. Francis tells us to 'observe' what we've promised God and 'aspire' to what He has promised us. Though our hearts 'aspire' to the heavenly goal, our mind and physical energy must be focused on 'observing' - doing - what we have promised, HERE and NOW. We fulfill our promise by bringing God's ways (as Jesus showed by example) into our every-day behavior.
There are people who will NEVER consider giving up the pleasures of the flesh or the wealth and glory of the world, to obey God and follow in Christ's footsteps. Francis tells us that for those who 'look back' (like Lot's wife - wanting to live for this life, this world) -'Brief is the pleasure, eternal the penalty.' If the pleasure of the flesh is brief and the pain is eternal for engaging in that pleasure, then choosing to satisfy our fleshy sensual desires is a foolish choice with tragic consequences!
Francis wants us to consider the other side of the coin - what a person can expect who turns his back on the world and the flesh. He said that 'Slight is the suffering, the glory is measureless.' He says the pain of 'denying one's self, taking up the cross and following' Jesus is small and brief (at least in comparison to an eternity of excruciating pain in hell!) and the joy, pleasure and glory of doing so faithfully are measureless - limitless. Making that 'small' sacrifice (small in comparison to the great benefits of doing so!) is a great opportunity, a wonderful blessing, that none of us should ignore or neglect!
Finally, Francis makes it clear that he wants us all to seriously 'count the cost'. He reminds us that Jesus said, 'Many are called'. God's offer of forgiveness, healing and life is for EVERYONE. God wants all of us to live - spiritually and physically - with Him, in all bliss, forever.
However, Francis quickly adds Jesus' words, 'few are chosen'. If Jesus died for all then why does God choose so few for He said, "few are to be saved"? In Jesus' parable of 'The Banquet', a king invites his neighbors to a feast. Some time later, when the feast day came, they all made 'excuses' as to why they couldn't come. He swears to his servants, "Not one of them will taste my feast!" - something those neighbors had already decided by virtue of their choice to not attend! In the same way we choose whether we are 'worthy to attend the feast' that God has invited us to. If we reject His offer then He confirms our choice and rejects us as well. If we accept (by showing up), He accepts us as well, welcoming us in to the party.
Francis concludes by saying that 'all have their acquittal' - everyone will get what they deserve (based on their choice). Those who choose what is wrong will suffer terrible things while those who choose what is right, will enjoy good things, forever.
Francis' message is brief but contains the heights of spiritual wisdom and truth. It encompasses the history of man's relationship with God - past, present and future. It teaches of God's justice (but also His mercy) and of man's wicked rebelliousness, but also his chance (purchased by the blood of Christ) to regain both heavenly and earthly blessings. It reveals God's glorious plans for humanity as well as our shameful and humiliating fall into destruction and a life that has no meaning or purpose. God promises us something that is wonderful and beautiful while we promise, through obedience, to allow Him to make us worthy of those blessings. Finally it explains what the consequences of our choice will be: if we choose brief pleasure it will be followed by eternal pain. But, if we choose brief pain it will be followed by immeasurable pleasure. What an amazing speech for such a simple uneducated man to make!
PRAYER: Father,You made all things 'good' with the intention of blessing us forever. We chose to rebel against You when we stopped trusting You. This brought death into our relationship with You. However, in Christ, You gave us new hope of a life lived in joyful and loving harmony with You. Help us to not look back to the world or the flesh but to endure, patiently, the trials of life. We know, because of Your promises, that if we endure in faith, You will richly bless us. Be exalted in us Lord and make us Your children - a people who truly reflect Your goodness to the world! Amen.
1 comment:
A couple of interesting things about this post:
First, though Francis is sharing the Gospel there is no reference to Jesus, crucifixion, salvation, sin or other ideas that are part of the Gospel message. I believe the reason is because the spiritual concepts related to our redemption were so well known at the time that there was no reason to be more detailed. It is sad that these things are not as obvious to us today as they were back then.
Another note: Note that Francis' words are vague and somewhat mysterious just like Jesus' were. Jesus stated that he spoke in a mysterious way (by parables) because 'it is not given to those outside to understand the mysteries of God." One must have the Spirit of God to understand, to 'hear', Jesus' words and, in a similar manner, Jesus' words that came out of Francis! That is why our church advises that, when we read scripture, we should pray to the Holy Spirit first to 'open our eyes'.
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