When Jesus’ disciples plead for an increase in faith, He offers them two related teachings. First is the familiar reminder that a teeny touch of faith, smaller even than the black seeds we’ve seen lately in Dragon fruit, will enable us to do wondrous things. This uplifting and inspiring teaching is quickly followed by a caution about knowing one’s place in God’s plan. When God works wonders through us, with our miniscule seed-sized faith, we must be mindful that our participation in God’s plan is God’s grace to us—nothing more, nothing less.
On Tuesday, we will celebrate the feast of St. Francis, so I want to tell you a St. Francis story – maybe only a partial truth. This is the story of St. Francis and the Sultan Al-Kamil that took place during the Fifth Crusade. His pilgrimage took Francis across the battle lines in ancient Egypt where he was immediately captured and brought before the Sultan. According to some versions of the story, he challenged the Muslim clerics to a trial by fire. He proposed that both he and they would preach from the heart of a bonfire. Whoever was not burned alive would be the one who was preaching the true God. The Muslim clerics declined the challenge. Francis then offered to go into the fire by himself, with the proviso that if he was not burned up the Sultan and all his followers would convert to Christianity. The Sultan did not take Francis up on this offer.
Whether or not that story’s true, it is known that Francis preached to the Sultan and his household. They were so impressed by Francis that the Sultan offered him numerous gifts — which Francis refused — and gave Francis and his companions safe conduct back to the Crusader camp. When in time the Crusader Kingdoms fell, the Muslim rulers specifically granted permission to Franciscans to tend the Christian holy sites in the Holy Land. In fact, this arrangement persists to this day. There is a Catholic office called “Custodian of the Holy Land,” and it is always held by a Franciscan. All this happened because of that one visit between St. Francis and the Sultan.
Jesus says, “If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.” St. Francis acted out of this spirit of courage and faith when he crossed the battle lines into Egypt. He had no idea what would happen to him. At the very least he had every reason to expect to be taken prisoner. Afterward, he doubtless thought his mission had failed. But — he had made a connection — a moment of authentic human connection, two people meeting each other face to face — that has had consequences to this very day – over 800 years!
The world is full of people who are divided from us, even opposed to us — because of religion, or nationality, or ethnicity, or political views, or any of a thousand things. God calls us to reach out to these people in a spirit of courage and love, unashamed of our testimony about our Lord and our mission, our way of life. We may not convince them — we may not bring them around to our point of view. We may not even make peace. The world being what it is, the odds are against it.
In an interview shortly after his election, Pope Francis advised us: “Instead of being just a church that welcomes and receives by keeping the doors open, let us try also to be a church that finds new roads, that is able to step outside itself.” Sounding like his patron Francis, he says: “We need to proclaim the Gospel on every street corner, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing… focusing on the essentials. We have to find a new balance; otherwise, we will lose the freshness and fragrance of the Gospel.”
The big problems in the world — hunger, war, religious conflict, and so on — often seem to loom too big for us. Maybe they are. But we have to have faith that if we move the pebble, then God will move the mountain. A Sufi story tells of disciples who were despairing because their leader was about to die. They asked him, “If you leave us, Master, how will we know what to do?” The master replied, “I am nothing but a finger pointing at the moon. Perhaps when I am gone you will see the moon.”
~by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB
Update on IAN at the monastery.
We faired very well .. there is evidence of damage and power outages all around us.
We suffered only downed branches and a couple dumped over plants.
The most serious, but minor in comparison is a fence gate …
We welcomed 13 shelter seekers to join us.
God is good to us! Prayed you fared as well and clean up is minimal.
