Come Follow Me

A sermon delivered to All Saints Anglican Church on October 11 at the Convent Chapel of St. Mary's Medical Center, Huntington, WV, based on Mark 10:17-27

"One night, when Peter Pettinaio of the Third Order was praying in the Cathedral of Siena, he saw Our Lord Jesus Christ enter the church, followed by a great throng of saints. And each time Christ raised his foot, the form of his foot remained imprinted on the ground. And all the saints tried as hard as they could to place their feet in the traces of his footsteps, but none of them was able to do so perfectly. Then St. Francis came in and set his feet right in the footsteps of Jesus Christ." (from The Little Flowers of St. Francis, quoted in The Lessons of St. Francis by John Michael Talbot, pg. 251).

Thomas a Kempis, in his book, "The Imitation of Christ", said this about Il Poverello, "Francis sought not only to follow the words of Christ, he wished also to imitate the life of Christ as perfectly as he could, and he willed that his friars too should 'follow the footsteps of our Lord Jesus Christ."

October 4th is the Feast Day of St. Francis - and since we are so close to this anniversary, I'd like to consider some of the ways that Francis followed His Lord and in turn inspired others to follow him.

Francis heard the words that Jesus spoke to the Rich Young Ruler, "Come, Follow Me", and he obeyed them literally. He was a Rich Young Ruler himself and he heard the call of Christ in the present tense, desiring to know the joy of following his Lord as nearly as humanly possible. He did, in fact leave everything and follow Christ, giving with abandon to the poor - and he experienced the hundredfold blessing that Jesus talked about.

Francis also inspired others to follow Christ in love and simplicity - so much so that he had to create thee separate orders - one for men, another for women and a Third Order for those who wished to follow his Rule of Life but needed to stay in their families and Secular jobs. All of them heard the same words of Jesus, "Come, follow Me."

These are the words Jesus speaks to us. He calls us to follow Him. Sometimes the call comes with an admonition to leave everything, to sell all that you have. Sometimes, as in the case of Third Order people or like the demoniac set free by Christ, the admonition is to stay with your people and tell all that Christ has done for you (Luke 8:38,39).

But the call is still the same, "Come, follow me." Whether we stay at home or go away, the call is still to abandon yourself and follow Christ.

In the past several weeks, I have been privileged to preside at two Profession Services - one in Lexington, Ky, and one in Chattanooga, TN, in which five young men joined the Franciscan chapter of the Company of Jesus, promising to follow Christ by taking seriously the vows of Poverty, Chastity and Obedience that Francis himself observed. (We also had two Benedictine professions, but that's a story for another day.)

One of our newest Company of Jesus members, who made his Franciscan profession last year at our joint retreat at the Cabin in Virginia said this about wanting to become a Franciscan:

"I became aware of the Company of Jesus...when I began a search for some way to formalize my desire for a deeper prayer life and accountability in spiritual discipline. ...I am most intrigued by your dedication to sacramental life and how you have founded a community based on prayer, scripture, sacrament and the monastic tradition of learning and service, and yet be open to those who must... live in the secular world. ... I feel that a deeper, more formal commitment to prayer, worship, study and service would...be a faithful response to how I perceive God is calling me at this time."

This man has lived out his profession for one year now. He recently renewed his vows and here is what he wrote to me about what the past year has brought him:

Dear Father Abbot Andrew:
It pleases me greatly to submit this report to you as we are at the anniversary of my Service of Profession of Vows as a Franciscan in the Company of Jesus. As I look back over this year it is clear that God has been present in very clear ways - and I have experienced much joy as a result.Honestly, the year did not look like it would begin well. My trip up to the service in Virginia was one fraught with difficulties and some despairing moments. I had recently taken a career change which promised to be wonderful but was not working out that way. After nearly 40 years in public education I took a job with my church as a parish administrator. Lacking the skills or aptitude for that line of work I was failing miserably at it.

Friendships I had over a number of years at church became strained and my relationship with my pastor became so difficult that I began to attend another church. The difficult economy made the prospect of finding another job frightening as well. In addition, my marriage of 4 years was troubled. It was an odd time to go on a retreat weekend and the invitation to attend seemed so out of keeping with the circumstances that it was either a cruel irony or an moment of Grace sent in the midst of much anxiety. I went with Grace and elected to accept and attend the retreat. Because money was tight, I went to my pastor and asked for money to attend. I have never asked for a handout before and this seemed, at the time, like another in a line of humiliations but, either by faith or dogged determination I went ahead and did it.Much of the weekend is a blur to me now. There was a moment though where I began to understand where God was working in the midst of all this. At lunch on Saturday I was joined in conversation by Fr. Mark who asked some usual "getting to know you" sort of questions. I confided in him that I had at one time explored becoming a priest and had actually graduated from a seminary program with a Masters in Theology degree. We continued our conversation and had prayer time for several hours after lunch. It was the beginning of a relationship of spiritual direction between Fr. Mark and me. It was the vehicle though which God often spoke in our weekly conversations and marked many moments in a time I refer to as "desert time." I left the weekend on a very high note and was filled with joy all the way home.

Unfortunately, when I pulled into the driveway and unpacked the car my wife said at my taking out my monastic habit, "What's with the monkey suit?"

I crashed right back down to the earth that I had left for the weekend.My return to work showed no improvement. Our finances did not improve. Our communications remained poor. I continued to not be able to go to our church. My relationship with my pastor remained strained. But some things did begin to happen. Weekly, Fr. Mark and I would talk and pray. We understood this to be a time in the desert and to come to terms with that. I read scriptures about Jesus' time in the desert and meditated on the Desert Fathers. I began to follow along with Daily Prayer from the Northumbria Community on the Internet. Things began to follow a pattern.

There was something about this experience that was requiring me to look at the various callings and responses in my life. In reading and thinking about Francis I was no longer able to feel sorry for myself about what I perceived to suffering in my life. What had previously been perceived as victimization at least had the possibility of being a time of Divine cleansing.Out of this difficult time there came the realization that "if there is anything you want, then you must give it away." If I wanted love, I must love. If I wanted peace, I must bring peace to situations and others. If I wanted prayers, I must pray. It became a rule of life for me to follow.

During this time I decided to once again use my seminary training. It had been a long time. My church was not a place where that was particularly welcome for a variety of reasons so I began to offer my talents at a non-denominational church... The pastor there... was particularly curious about and interested in such things as liturgy, church history, the Emerging Church Movement, monasticism and, of course, the Bible and worship.

We began teaching a class on the development of the early church creeds. We team taught and it was great. During this time a homeless guy began attending ...and we were able to enter into his life and him into ours. I began to meditate on and ponder the phrase "the least of these". My prayers began to ask what it meant to be among "the least of these" and how I might, indeed, be the least of these in ways myself. It all seemed very....well,.... Franciscan!

There were two major decisions last year that I think reflect God's saying to me, "On this day I give you a choice between life and death. Choose life." The first life choice decision was the one to go to the profession service. The other was a decision to have bariatric "lap band" surgery.
I had taken a trip to my doctor for a normal checkup and we talked a bit about my weight. I was "morbidly obese" (medical terminology for my condition), I was taking approximately 35 pills a day for diabetes, cholesterol, blood pressure, asthma, arthritis and other related things. I told my doctor that I thought I would like to live 10-20 years longer (I was 61) and his response was a shocking, "I'm not sure if I would count on that."

After that shocking remark I asked him about lap band surgery because a friend of mine had had it and was very pleased and successful. His eyes lit up and we arranged for me to make plans to have the surgery taken care of. "You are a perfect candidate," was the phrase I heard over and over again from the doctors and surgeons I talked to. I had the surgery in February and have lost 70 pounds with 30 more to go. I feel like I have indeed new life and have been granted a great gift that God surely was a part of.

Well, the year has brought many other things that I feel are an outgrowth of my becoming a Franciscan. My pursuit of the "the least of these" has led me to working weekly at a homeless feeding ministry called "Five Loaves". I have been called upon to preach sermons.. in the absence of [our] Pastor. I have recently taught a class on the book "Resident Aliens" by Stanley Hauerwas and Will Wilamon. A group of guys and myself have been meeting Wednesday mornings in a group called The Dead Guys (dead unto sin). Before I left [my previous]church I was regularly lay reading, chalicing and working the sound board and computer projection equipment for services. Now I am part of the worship team at [my new church] and have even taken up my old guitar and am playing weekly. Pastor Juan has asked me to speak about being a Franciscan at chapel at the Christian School where I used to teach and where he still works.

He has also asked me to come in my habit and assist with Communion at Father's House. I also have begun a blog called CrossPeace Community which I hope develops into a dialogue about serving others in the name of building Christ's Church.

A final piece of the puzzle of this year that has been very important in my exploring the notion of "the least of these" is that I left my job at the church last May and began working as a teacher at a juvenile group home run by Methodist Home for Children. These kids truly are the least. They are abused, have criminal records and are incarcerated. Many of them are functionally illiterate and have actually had very little formal schooling in their lives. It continues to be a wonderful experience working with them and serving them.

Because of some health issues my wife has, and because I reached retirement age this fall I have taken Social Security but work part time at the home and will continue to do so. It is definitely part of my charism as a Franciscan. I guess a final, final piece of this story is the relationship between my wife Becky and me. We have struggled and continued to do so but we both feel that God has brought us together and that one cannot discern the value of a relationship by gaging its ease. Becky fully supports and encourages me in my calling as a Franciscan and we both laugh when I take out my "monkey suit" God is good.

Now folks, this is what it sounds like to live out the call of Christ to 'Come, follow me." It's not easy, frilly, or especially 'holy' or 'saintly' in any sort of sentimental way. There's a lot of hard stuff in this story. But there's also Joy. Joy in walking away from things that weren't working and into new things that do work.. Joy in discovering lack of gifting in administration and in reaffirming gifts in teaching and serving at-risk kids. Joy in struggling through health issues and marital issues and financial struggles - and Joy in pressing into a life of prayer.

This is a story I think Francis and Jesus both smile about. It's a story that incorporates the basic building blocks of the Christian life: Worship, Community, Formation and Mission. It's a story that is really a template for Christian discipleship. And it's a story that I believe God is actively working into each one of us at All Saints Anglican Church.

Of course, the details of your story are specific to you. But it is my fervent hope and expectation that each one of us has a story of personal transformation to tell. Developing such a story takes hard work and tenacity. You can't tell of God's goodness unless you hold on through the tough times. And you also have to be honest about yourself and your struggles if you want to report about your Joy in Christ.

Friends, this ain't for sissies. It's hard, but it's Good.
It's real and substantial. It's what draws people to abandon all and follow Christ.
Today, I want to challenge you. Can you be as real and as honest as our Compan of Jesus
brother?
Will you hang in there with Christ while he transforms you into his own image?
Will you serve him with the same reckless abandon that Francis had and that our brother has shown in the midst of everyday life?

Let's ponder this seriously - and answer affirmatively.

May God grant us the grace and the comfort to hear this word and live it out.
AMEN.