In my first sermon at St. Thomas I told one of my favourite stories about the famous meeting of the bishop of Digne and Jean Val Jean in the musical based on Victor Hugo's musical Les Miserables. I have read the book but it has been so long I didn't remember many of the details. However, after reading a wonderful blog post by Mark Roberts about the Bishop I know I will have to come back to it. The Bishop is one of my favourite characters because he was so fundamental to me personally in understanding the deeper logic of love and sacrifice and what set up my own journey into the Christian faith.
What I had forgotten, that while the Bishop in the musical only has a brief appearance, in the novel he is a much more developed character. For instance, in the sermon I think I made a joke about Bishops in that time living in palaces. In fact, in the novel the bishop has sold off much of his wealth for the poor and chosen to live in a simple house while turning the palace into a hospital. For some reason, this character speaks to me profoundly. I pray for a heart of simplicity and love and service as deep as this. It is the reason that I am so attracted to St. Francis. I know that I really struggle with it in my own life, but to me there is nothing so beautiful to behold as one who can say with the Bishop:
This is not my house; it is the house of Jesus Christ. This door does not demand of him who enters whether he has a name, but whether he has a grief. You suffer, you are hungry and thirsty; you are welcome. And do not thank me; do not say that I receive you in my house. No one is at home here, except the man who needs a refuge. I say to you, who are passing by, that you are much more at home here than I am myself. Everything here is yours.
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