October 4 is the day of the year that Francis of Assisi is commemorated. It is often used as a time to remember the Christian call to care for creation. In particular, it is frequently a time for having a blessing of animals. Indeed, we will be resuming that tradition this year, joining with Lord of Life Lutheran Church on Oct. 1. In future years, St. Matthew will begin recognizing the Season of Creation as part of our worship year, a season that concludes on Oct. 4.
One of the important themes that can be gained from recalling the life of Francis is that Christian faith moves us beyond knowledge about something into fully living out our relationship with God. Francis gave out admonitions or directives to those in the order he founded, with 28 of them collected together. Admonition #7 is a reminder that good works follow from knowledge. That is, he chastises those who are only concerned with scriptures in order to interpret them for others. What is important, he insists, is living out the spirit of the scriptures. Knowing the words on the page is not the same as living out the working of the Holy Spirit that gives vibrancy to those words.
Knowledge, especially knowledge of the bible, is not something to seek for its own sake, but rather is something that transforms us. In reading the bible, we come not only to know God but to invite the Holy Spirit to dwell within us, cultivating in us compassion, humility, and joy. Knowing God opens to us God’s love, and leads us to love the whole world, including every aspect of God’s creation. This sense of the need for knowledge to lead us to love stands behind St. Matthew’s commitment to “Love all of God’s creation.”
At the September meeting of the congregational council, a resolution by the Green Team was passed. The resolution calls us as a congregation to live out the commitment to love all of God’s creation. This commitment is to shine through all that the congregation does, not only overtly “green” events. The resolution included affirming the ELCA’s social statement “Caring for Creation.” Affirming that social statement means continuing to work to increase putting into practice ways of living in greater harmony with the more-than-human creation around us and speaking clearly about the call to creation care in a time of carbon- induced changing climate. This is not a matter of picking a social cause to champion, but rather a way of moving beyond knowing about God and more fully living out the compassion, humility, and joy of being transformed by God’s love into living out the work of the Holy Spirit encountered in God’s Word.