Feast of St. Francis
Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 106:1-18; PM Psalm 106:19-48; 2 Kings 21:1-18; 1 Cor. 10:14-11:1; Matt. 8:28-34
This past weekend, my sister and I walked through the family home where my parents have lived for the last thirty-three years. It will likely be one of the last times we walk through together. My parents are preparing to move and wanted us to have the chance to see if there was furniture or art that we would like before it made its way into the estate sale. And of course, there are boxes and boxes of Burruss and Bailey belonging that my parents want to make sure are preserved. I brought one of those boxes home full of pictures from my childhood.
Of the pictures that stand out, there are several of me with the 120-pound Chocolate Labrador Retriever, Charlie Kangaroo Brown, a.k.a. “Chuck the Wonder Dog,” best known just as “Chuck.” As a puppy, Chuck would bound around the house sliding on the hardwood floor trying his very best to commandeer any of my sister’s stuffed animals. He was most comfortable sleeping fully on top of other human beings and would fetch just about anything including glass LaCroix bottles before LaCroix was cool to drink. Chuck once ate an entire garden hose. We found bits and pieces for weeks in places we didn’t know the dog could get to.
On a rather tragic afternoon, Chuck was stolen. Our neighbor witnessed a man walk up and tie a chain around his collar and walk him off. I’ve never seen my family so upset. We drove two hours to a flea market in Mississippi where we thought there might be stolen dogs for sale. We talked to the police and posted signs around the city.
About five days later, we received a phone call that someone has found a large Labrador with half of a chain tied to his collar about a mile from our house. The collar had been turned inside out but still had our phone number on the inside. Chuck had broken free and was returning home. He had come to a dead-end in an apartment parking lot and wouldn’t go back. It was a moment of great homecoming and joy in our family, probably reminiscent of the story of the prodigal son. As I was in Middle School, it was the first reminder to me of just how much we love our pets, and what a part of our family they truly become.
Today is the actual feast of St. Francis. The daily lectionary readings aren’t necessarily tied to this and oddly, Jesus’s use of the swine as a vehicle for relieving people consumed by demons seems counter to Francis’s love of animals, but today can be an invitation to reflect on Francis’s life where he found God’s love through poverty and the love of nature, especially animals. It’s around this day that we Bless Animals (we will do this next Sunday at 3 p.m. since yesterday there was a chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon).
Looking back on those pictures, I learned that at a young age, I knew something about love that I didn’t quite realize at the time. The joy and love that Chuck brought our family taught me about care and love, loss and pain, and the power and joy of homecoming. Now as I watch my own children love on Sugar Magnolia Blossoms Blooming Burruss a.k.a. “Sugar” or “Maggie, and Meriwether the Cat, I am hopeful that they are learning about love and compassion too.
Whether through pets, through service and mission, or through life in general, I hope we are learning about love and compassion as well.
John+
Question for Self-Reflection: What are the stories of pets that shaped your childhood? How have animals taught you about the nature of God?
Daily Challenge: Pick up something for an animal in need today. It can be delivered anytime this week to the church or at our Blessing of the Animals on Sunday at 3 p.m. We will donate these items to the Greater Birmingham Humane Society.