So much has been written about Francis of Assisi, and he has–for almost 800 years–been revered throughout Christendom and beyond. The current pope, Jorge Mario Bergoglio, has chosen this saint’s moniker as his regnal name. Franciscan Orders of both monks and nuns continue to thrive throughout the world. Because the life and legacy of Francis can easily be obtained elsewhere (including the web), I am choosing instead to focus on part of Francis’s intended legacy that was immediately overruled by Church hierarchy. Using the same principle that implies that Jesus really didn’t mean that you should actually sell all you have and give it to the poor, or that you should really turn the other cheek or that followers of Christ should really live in a common-welfare state, here’s how the Church significantly watered down a key portion of Francis’s deathbed wishes:

St. Francis, a little before his death, dictated his testament to his religious brethren . . . that they should work with their hands, not out of a desire for gain, but for the sake of good example, and to avoid idleness. . . . He orders, that they who do know how to work, learn some trade.

Well, this seems clear–Francis felt that Christianity was not to be a retreat from manual work, that financial gain and security were not the ultimate goal for a Christian, and that if you don’t know how to dig in a garden or saw a log or lay stones to create a path–go learn!

But we read on:

Pope Nicholas III. declared, that this precept of manual labour does not regard those that are in holy orders, and are employed in preaching and other spiritual functions . . . .

This is despite the example from the Bible of Paul who made his way (at least for a time) as a tentmaker–while simultaneously engaged in “preaching and other spiritual functions.”

Surely Francis could not actually intend priests and bishops and popes to engage in manual labor!!

Sometimes I indulge in historical speculations, wondering how things would differ if Christians (most especially their leaders and teachers) took Christian precepts as literally as they want to take select biblical verses that condemn those whom they personally (coincidentally? bah!) dislike!

As Gandhi reputedly told a Methodist missionary (E. Stanley Jones) attempting to bring Christianity to India: “First, I would suggest that all of you Christians live more like Jesus Christ. Second, I would suggest that you practice your Christianity without adulterating it.”