This is the Story of St. Francis, listening to the voice of Jesus—“Rebuild my Church”

Zechariah 4:6, 10 – “Then He said to me, ‘This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the LORD of hosts.’ … For whoever has despised the day of small things shall rejoice, and shall see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel.”

Above are three Giotto frescoes of St. Francis, painted soon after his death, and on display at the Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi.  The first depicts the moment when Jesus speaks the words “Rebuild my Church, can’t you see it’s in ruins?” from the Byzantine Crucifix of San Damiano.  The second depicts the moment when Francis strips in front of the Bishop of Assisi, and returns his clothes to his father, saying “I used to call you ‘father’, but now I say ‘Our Father, who art in heaven’”.  The third depicts the scene of Pope Innocent III’s dream, when an earthquake threatens Rome, and the Pope sees Francis saving and sustaining the Lateran Basilica (representing the entire Church) on his shoulder.

Reflect: In your own context:  

  • What kinds of things have you and your team heard from the Lord?  What whispers of the Holy Spirit, like Francis and the Cross, calling you to small and perhaps strange things?
  • What might some of those small things be?  Particularly those that seem insignificant, a bit ‘boring’, not flashy or glamorous. 
  • How does it feel to pursue the small things?  What in you feels anxiety and a need/desire for something more measurable, something more attractive and fundable?  Something that looks better on a 5 year strategic plan?  What in you feels at peace?

Jesus is the rejected cornerstone who chose very ordinary disciples, and hung out with society’s rejects, telling and showing them his love, and that in God’s Kingdom, the last shall be first.  He so identifies with the least of these, that we are invited to encounter HIM among them, and we will be judged on how we loved him in the person of the insignificant ones.  They are God’s living stones.  St. Francis not only rebuilds San Damiano with stones, he also re-builds the Church with lepers…

  • Who are the rejected living stones God is bringing into your life in your neighborhood and city?  How do you sense they might be God’s building material?
  • What in you is tempted to look for shinier, more acceptable looking stones, with ‘greater impact’?  What feelings arise?
  • Take a few minutes to hold those people, and those feelings before God.  Ask for Kingdom Eyes.  Ask for peace to build in God’s way, in God’s time, with God’s building material, and trust the rest to Him.

As you begin a new exploration, or at any time on the journey, know that InnerChange offers you freedom to follow the whispers of the Holy Spirit, and to build in God’s time, and God’s way.  

  • Reflect on that freedom in silence, as you thank God for all God’s good gifts, and for your sacred calling.  “For God’s gifts and God’s call are irrevocable”.  Romans 11:29