On the (Imagined) Silent Gospel of St Francis

The Roman Catholic Church has a new pope – the first ever to take the name Francis – and American media outlets are filled with people extolling the St Francis – the 13th century figure – for his love of the poor, the environment and this quotation: “Preach the Gospel at all times.  Use words if necessary.”  I guess two out of three is not bad for American media these days.

St. Francis never spoke those words that are so often attributed to him.  It is as simple as that.  Click Here for a great blog post – from July 11, 2012 no less – that deals with this matter.


In fact, St Francis’ practice, and his encouragement for his followers was essentially the very opposite of the “Silent Gospel” approach.  Check out the details in that blog post if this surprises you.

I don’t doubt that the real St Francis would have resonated with the message that our actions and life should express the Gospel.  Francis was a man who “walked the walk” of the Gospel in ways that are inspiring and challenging for me even centuries later.  But to think that people could “walk the walk,” WITHOUT also “talking the talk” would have been incomprehensible to him.  It was certainly not the way he lived his own life or encouraged others to life.  His Franciscan order was in fact a preaching order.  Francis gave them what is called the Regula primitiva or “Primitive Rule” to guide their life and ministry: To follow the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ and to walk in his footsteps.

So, it is a point well taken and reflective of St Francis – and the new pope Francis we hope – that we should live a consistent Gospel-centered life – both in deed and in word.  I would join with anyone in taking that call to heart and thanking both St Francis and the new pope Francis for putting that into the public conversation.

Pardon my cynicism, but I am concerned that the popular use of the quotation may point to a less inspiring agenda held by some people.  What I suspect some mean is “It’s great that you are kind to the poor and the birds, just don’t mention Jesus.”  Unfortunately, without Jesus there is no gospel to live, much less to preach silently.  And without Jesus – and the meaning of His life, death and resurrection taught to us in the Scriptures – any good deeds we are able to muster actually speak ambiguously.  More often than not, good deeds accompanied by silence preach more about us, and less about the new life in Christ that gives birth to those good deeds in the power of the Gospel.  Our silence regarding the transforming work of Jesus in our lives becomes an opportunity for, if not the actual occurrence of, self-righteousness.

Frankly, I'm guessing that the new pope Francis will bring a wonderful new season of simplicity, humility and concern for the economically downtrodden to his papacy.  But he - like the St Francis - seems to be the sort of guy who will also be quick to speak about Jesus.  For many, I expect this pope will continue to be rudely outspoken about a number of issues that in his faith are part of the message of Jesus - an all-male priesthood, opposition to same-sex marriage, contraception and abortion.  I'm praying for him!