Sunday Reflection with Canon Robin Gibbons: 18th October 2026

Johann Anton Ramboux: Saint Francis Preaching to the Birds - Google Art Project

Twenty Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Year A

What do you think Paul means when he writes to the Thessalonians this comment about the preaching and teaching of the Gospel?

'For our gospel did not come to you in word alone,
but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with much conviction'. (I Thessalonians 1:5b)

Personally I would not go too far down any route of imputing the gift of power and the Holy Spirit totally to the one preaching or teaching the Word. Like you I have heard good and bad teachers, the same for sermons and homilies.

Rather there is something else that comes into play. It is the power that comes from the living, breathing, life giving Spirit and it does not depend upon personality, only in a willingness to take on that call from Christ to be humble and contrite of heart.

For true conversion of the heart takes much more effort than carefully crafted words or powerful persuasion, it requires an openness and trust from those who hear the Word, so that we may believe in the truth and honesty of the message, by understanding that it is an inner conviction that reveals to us those who proclaim the message, and that they can inspire those who are ready to receive it because of this free gift of the Spirit.

It is as Catherine of Siena said :"If you are what you should be, then you will set the whole world ablaze!" This is the key, our willingness and also openness to the radical loving gift of God that is the gentle penetrating power we need to live out the Good News of salvation. And, what is this power? Transformation, that is what it is, where actions speak louder than words, or perhaps speak alongside words. St Francis put it simply in Chapter XVII of his First Rule for the Brothers when he wrote:' `let all the brothers, however, preach by their deeds". In his life Francis preached both by word and deed, a marriage of Christ's love for all visible in his actions, illuminated by his words.

I have often mentioned one of my favourite images of Francis, that of his sermon to the Birds, and here in that sermon recorded by Thomas of Celano we can discover a link to Paul's words in I Thessalonians. Francis was filled with a power of recognition and love beyond a merely human interest in the birds, for when he spoke they did not fly away but listened to him, tuned to his words through a gift that is not limited to human creation but belongs to all creation, namely the Spirit. This is a gift often found in those who have the simplicity of humility in a love for God that is open and reaches out towards all in God's world. We find it in other women and men who are touched by this power that is not bought, nor earned, nor gathered by our own efforts, you may know some such yourselves. In speaking to the birds Francis taught that God sustains all life through this Holy Spirit who is independent of our human efforts or our human words. It is a wonderful example of the transforming and transcendent power of the Spirii at work in, with and amongst us.

Here is the description iven by his biographers Thomas of Celano and Br Ugolino in The Little Flowers of St Francis : 'And as he went on his way, with great fervour, St Francis lifted up his eyes, and saw on some trees by the wayside a great multitude of birds; and being much surprised, he said to his companions, "Wait for me here by the way, whilst I go and preach to my little sisters the birds"; and entering into the field, he began to preach to the birds which were on the ground, and suddenly all those also on the trees came round him, and all listened while St Francis preached to them, and did not fly away until he had given them his blessing. And Brother Masseo related afterwards to Brother James of Massa how St Francis went among them and even touched them with his garments, and how none of them moved".

The response of the birds revealed this inner power, the Spirit proclaiming not only through Francis words but also in his gestures and attitude of reverence and love for them. They were reported to have returned this reverence, attentively listening to to Francis, remaining gathered about him. It was only when he had finished and blessed them with the sign of the cross that they flew away in the four cardinal directions, making of themselves a massive sign of the cross in the sky.

That is Saint Francis, a saint still much loved, capable of drawing so many to Christ, and firing his followers with that self same spirit of love and praise to `God for all creation, trusting in that wonderful gift, the providence of God. What of us though ? One suggestion is that we ought to pray far more often for trust in holy providence, for those gifts that the Spirit bestows on us all so freely without us asking, and for insight, that we may learn to recognise this power at once strong and gentle, hidden yet manifest, in order that discerning these gifts in ourselves and others, we might live as those in whom and from whom the true power of the risen Christ may shine in our own lives for the good others.

In our gospel today Jesus is recognised as one who has this power, whose words are backed up by his person, filled with all truth, love and hope, for Christ is the Truth and the Way. In the gospel today Matthew writes about those Pharisees who detested Jesus but who recognise in him the power of God: "They sent their disciples to him, with the Herodians,* saying, "Teacher, we know that you are a truthful man and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. And you are not concerned with anyone's opinion, for you do not regard a person's status".(Mt 22 :16) These comments focus on the essential quality of this power, truth, equality, self-knowledge and filled with the desire for God!

We who love and follow Jesus the Christ, recognise this power even if we can't articulate it very well, for it is something all encompassing , it challenges destructive evil at its roots, holds up a mirror to our consciences, and empowers us to risk the journey of knowing ourselves as children of God and so understand others, without concern for their position or 'status'. But this gift does not destroy our autonomy as a person who is also unique and distinct, nor will it lift from us the burden of our own cross, but it does help us see and understand that in all things God is with us, that the power of the gospel lies in weakness, or rather in the humility of not being perfect.

In the end we place our trust in the One always with us and take hope from our first reading in the words of Isaiah's oracle to Cyrus, where the Lord says this to him as he says it now to each one of us;

"I am the LORD, there is no other,
there is no God besides me.
It is I who arm you, though you do not know me,
so that all may know, from the rising of the sun
to its setting, that there is none besides me.*

I am the LORD, there is no other'. Is 45: 5,6)

There lies our true power, the love of God given to us in the Holy Spirit. Amen

Lectio

From The Little Flowers of Saint Francis by Thomas of Celano and Br Ugolino

St Francis Sermon to the Birds

'Now the substance of the sermon was this:

"My little sisters the birds, ye owe much to God, your Creator, and ye ought to sing his praise at all times and in all places, because he has given you liberty to fly about into all places; and though ye neither spin nor sew, he has given you a twofold and a threefold clothing for yourselves and for your offspring. Two of all your species he sent into the Ark with Noah that you might not be lost to the world; besides which, he feeds you, though ye neither sow nor reap. He has given you fountains and rivers to quench your thirst, mountains and valleys in which to take refuge, and trees in which to build your nests; so that your Creator loves you much, having thus favoured you with such bounties. Beware, my little sisters, of the sin of ingratitude, and study always to give praise to God."

As he said these words, all the birds began to open their beaks, to stretch their necks, to spread their wings and reverently to bow their heads to the ground, endeavouring by their motions and by their songs to manifest their joy to St Francis.

And the saint rejoiced with them. He wondered to see such a multitude of birds, and was charmed with their beautiful variety, with their attention and familiarity, for all which he devoutly gave thanks to the Creator. Having finished his sermon, St Francis made the sign of the cross, and gave them leave to fly away. Then all those birds rose up into the air, singing most sweetly; and, following the sign of the cross, which St Francis had made, they divided themselves into four companies. One company flew towards the east, another towards the west, one towards the south, and one towards the north; each company as it went singing most wonderfully; signifying thereby, that as St Francis, the bearer of the Cross of Christ, had preached to them and made upon them the sign of the cross, after which they had divided among themselves the four parts of the world, so the preaching of the Cross of Christ, renewed by St Francis, would be carried by him and by his brethren over all the world, and that the humble friars, like little birds, should posses nothing in this world, but should cast all the care of their lives on the providence of God."

Psalm 96:1, 3, 4-5, 7-8, 9-10

R. (7b) Give the Lord glory and honour.
Sing to the LORD a new song;
sing to the LORD, all you lands.
Tell his glory among the nations;
among all peoples, his wondrous deeds.
R. Give the Lord glory and honour.
For great is the LORD and highly to be praised;
awesome is he, beyond all gods.
For all the gods of the nations are things of nought,
but the LORD made the heavens.
R. Give the Lord glory and honour.
Give to the LORD, you families of nations,
give to the LORD glory and praise;
give to the LORD the glory due his name!
Bring gifts, and enter his courts.
R. Give the Lord glory and honour.
Worship the LORD, in holy attire;
tremble before him, all the earth;
say among the nations: The LORD is king,
he governs the peoples with equity.
R. Give the Lord glory and honour.