Francis of Assisi
Francis of Assisi was a humble man, living in the early 13th century, who turned the Christian world on its head. He was born in 1182, the son of a very wealthy Italian merchant in the city of Assisi. As a young man, his life was that of a spoiled, rich young man – living very much in the world. One early biographer said that he “outshone all his friends in trivialities.”
As a 20-year old young man, he willingly went to war, with high hopes of military glory. However, during his first battle, he was taken prisoner and it took a full year before his father could arrange to pay the ransom required for his release. He became ill during his imprisonment, so when he was ransomed, he returned to his home to recuperate. His year of convalescence was spiritually transformative. He seems to have become delirious, and experienced wild dreams and visions – events he tried to deal with by retreating to a broken-down old church on the edge of town to pray. One day, during his prayers, he recounted a vision of Jesus telling him three times, “Francis, go repair my house, which is falling into ruin.” Francis initially understood the vision to be God’s direction to repair the specific church building he was praying in, so he began selling off his family’s wealth to raise money for repairs.
When Francis’ father found out about this, he was furious and dragged his son to the bishop to demand repayment. Instead, Francis took off his clothes in front of those gathered, neatly folded them, and laid them in front of his father. He then committed his life to one of solitude and spiritual reflection.
His solitude and study of Scripture inspired him to live the life of an itinerant preacher, a life with minimal possessions and utter simplicity. His preaching was forceful, with very strong exhortations to repent. His personal life reflected his own abhorrence of sin: sometimes taking extreme measures of bodily self-denial to purge himself of every last ounce of temptation.
By the time he was 27 years old, he had gathered a small group of like-minded men devoted to preaching and poverty. This small group became the nucleus of the Franciscan order of the church. The rapidly-growing group preached the message of repentance, simplicity, and radical obedience to Jesus, making evangelistic trips all over the known world. It was said of Francis by his peers that he lived the life detailed in the Sermon on the Mount better than any other human being ever…with the exception of the One who preached the sermon itself. His Franciscans took great pains to emulate their superior, as he sought to emulate Christ.
Toward the end of his life, Francis headquartered his
ministry at a rough retreat on a hillside in Italy – a place provided for him
by a wealthy admirer and friend named Giovanni da Vellita. It was picturesque, with a view of the valley
below with mountains in the distance.
Surrounding him were woods, and behind the retreat were a number of
caves. In this solitude, Francis found
his place for spiritual meditation as well as taking care of the numerous administrative
details of his Order.
On Christmas Eve, in the year 1223, Francis, nearing the end of his 44-year life, invited fellow hermits and peasant villagers in his area to a Christmas Eve mass. That evening, as the people made their way up the steep mountainside, the torches they carried must have made a beautiful sight. As they climbed, they sang Christmas hymns. When the people reached the top, they were treated to a surprise from Francis. He had arranged with Giovanni to provide an ox and a donkey in one of the caves, along with a manger and a man and a woman, dressed to represent Mary and Joseph. In the manger sat a wax doll to represent the infant Jesus.
As everyone gathered around, Francis preached a simple Christmas sermon in that setting. He promised his listeners changed lives if they placed their faith in Christ. After the mass was over, Francis and Giovanni spend the night in a prayer vigil over the manger and wax Christ child.
This “living manger” scene had never been done before. Francis was actually nervous about doing so – even writing the Pope himself asking permission lest he be thought of as taking the birth of Christ too frivolously. What a scene that must have been that first time – and how many times has that scene been repeated since?
https://www.christianitytoday.com/history/people/moversandshakers/francis-of-assisi.html
Periodical e-mail from Christian History, 24 December
2020.
