Saint Francis of Assisi was the founder of the Franciscan Order in the second decade of the 13th century. It was also St. Francis who started the first known Christmas nativity scene in 1223, popularly known in the Philippines as the “Belen” featuring the child Jesus, his parents Mary and Joseph, the shepherds and the wise men, and animals too.
This Advent Season Episcopalians and all Christians are reminded to prepare for the celebration of the birth of the Lord Jesus, His first coming, and to “keep awake” for His second coming as well. The “how” of preparation may be gleaned from Scriptures. These include repentance and forgiveness of sins as preached by John the Baptist in the Gospel of Mark.
The life of Saint Francis could also be of help. After his release as a political prisoner in 1202 he veered away from his easy going life before his imprisonment and became a man of prayer with a renewed dedication to the service of the poor. He also became an ardent nature lover. These reformation and change in Francis was well grounded in his simple faith, undistracted and unadulterated devotion to Christ. This may be expressed in the fact that in the Belen, the attention of those around the crib is on the child Jesus.
Let our Advent preparations be focused on a man yet fully divine, Jesus Christ, who came to us so that we can be reconciled one to the other and to God the Father. We await His coming by strengthening our line of conversion with Him in prayer and reflection to effect possible spiritual renewal for ourselves and for closer involvement in the life and ministry of our church as we hold hands together to pursue God’s mission expressed in our VMG 2018. And because Episcopalians regard Advent as a “Little Lent” we are reminded of making sacrifices seen in our service to the poor people, fasting and alms giving, as exemplified by Saint Francis in his lifetime.
