December 6

“....Francis of Assisi, whose direct and simple and joyous dedication of soul led him close to men and to God till he reproduced in amazing degree the life of Jesus of Nazareth.  It is said of St. Francis not merely that he prayed, but that he became a prayer.”  Thomas R. Kelly, 1939, Daily Readings from Quaker Writings, 11/13

That word “became/become” intrigues me.  In the Bible it is first used to tell us that man “became a living being” (Genesis 2:7).  In the New Testament we are told to “become as little children” (Matthew 18:3), “become fishers of men” (Mark 1:17), and He gives us power to “become sons of God” (John 1:12).  The 1998 (MICRA, Inc.) Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary gives this definition: To pass from one state to another; to enter into some state or condition, by a change from another state, or by assuming or receiving new properties or qualities, additional matter, or a new character. So when St. Francis is said to have become a prayer we realize it is a state of being and no longer just an activity.  Man became a living being and then was given the power to become a Son of God.  How many of us treat it more like an activity?  What does it actually mean to be a living being and a Son of God?  God answered this when He became a man.  We know Him as Jesus.  We have the perfect example of what it means to be a living being and a Son of God, but we must first become as little children.  In the process we will become fishers of men, just like Jesus.

“In the beginning was the Divine Expression [Word], and the Divine Expression was with God, and the Divine Expression was God.  He was in the beginning with God; all things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made.  In him was life, and the life was the light of men.”  John 1:1-4