The Man Who Quit Money

Luke 12:22-31
October 6, 2013
St. Francis of Assisi - Blessing of the Beasts

Most of us know a little bit about St. Francis
He’s the stone statue in the back yard with the birds all over with him.
We know him as the one who had an affinity with animals.
that’s why we celebrate his birthday with
the blessing of the animals like a lot of other churches do.
Some people just think that Francis’ message
is just to love animals and be kind to kittens and puppies.
But there’s more to his life than animals.
Francis was born to wealthy parents and could have
lived a financially comfortable life
but when he became a monk,
he gave it all up for a life of absolute poverty.

Most monks had vows of poverty, but Francis found
that although they gave up their personal possessions,
the monks in monestaries lived without want for anything,
everything was provided for them.
But in Francis order, they gave up everything
They kept no pocket money, no possessions, no home,
they didn’t even keep a collection of food to go back to.
For all their needs they relied on nature, on others
and on the mercy and grace of God.

And Francis lived this way for others
He gave everything away and lived on the streets
so that beggars and lepors, wouldn’t feel ashamed
or feel more lowly when they approached him.
This extended to the animals he loved,
they had nothing too and they found a kindred spirit in him.
Living on God’s mercy.

Francis choice can teach us something
So can these animals that we live with every day.
They have nothing. They rely on us for everything.
What they need right now is enough, their daily bread.
And God provides that through the kindness of others.

Francis took to heart what Jesus meant when he said,
Don’t worry about your life, what you will eat or
what you will wear.  Don’t worry.
It’s a short sentence, but that “don’t worry” is really difficult to do.

Now the 13th Century when Francis lived, is a very long time ago.
We can romanticize things that people did in such a distant past.
We can say that maybe times were simpler,
choosing to give up everything then was easier.
Try doing it now, in America.

But there are a few people who have chosen to do that.
One person who has is named Daniel Suelo.
He lives in a cave in Utah and he “quit money” as he calls it.

Daniel was a regular guy, he graduated from college
he worked in the medical field as a lab technician
he had a bank account and savings.
 
He decided to join the Peace Corps in the 90’s
he was sent to serve a tribe in Ecuador
Daniel’s job was to help with medical issues
and monitor their health on a chart.

Shortly before he got there,
the tribe went from farming for subsistence to farming for profit.
Some missionaries had helped them do it.
And they had been becoming more well off for the last decade.
And as they got more cash for their crops,
Daniel noticed that they started to live a more modern life.
Their houses got bigger, they bought more stuff for their houses,
they ate more sugar, they bought MSG so their food would taste better, they got TV’s and stayed inside mroe and as this happened,
he said, he could see the richer they got, their health declined,
he could see it on his health chart. 

And more importantly, he could see their relationships changed,
their community life changed,
there were more disagreements, police, lawyers.
Daniel said he watched as “money was impoverishing them”

Daniel Suelo, the man who quit money.

He went back home and this experience had effected him.
He decided to change his life. He worked at a homeless shelter
but that wasn’t enough, he decided to change everything in his life.
For the last thirteen years now, Daniel has been
money-free. He lives in a cave in a forest.
He doesn’t use food stamps or government assistance
although he says he doesn’t begrudge anyone who does.
He just lives off what’s available.
He gathers plants, bugs, road kill, whatever other people throw away
and he lives on the kindness of others, friends and strangers.
Sometimes he works on a small farm or at the homeless shelter
for the community with others and for meals.
He’s not a hermit, he loves talking to other people,
he just “quit money”.
If he ever gets it, he gives it away to others.

His decision to do this was a religious decision,
a Christian calling. He calls it living a “grace based life”.
Knowing God’s grace every day.
He consciously lives a life of getting from God and giving away again.
He writes a blog on the internet which he uses at the library.
He writes things that he learns from his experiences.
"When I lived with money, I was always lacking, and wanting more."
"Money represents lack. Money represents things in the past (debt)
and things in the future (credit),
but money never represents what is present."

Daniel says he sees money as an addiction.
Like drugs or alcohol. It’s something that we depend on, can’t do without we use it every day and when we don’t have it it’s all we can think about. Maybe he’s right. 
Maybe we are addicted to money. Depending on it instead of on God.
When a reporter came a second time to his cave to interview him,
Daniel was not there, he looked into his cave and there was
a water bottle, a pot, some blankets, a couple of apples and a note:
CHRIS, FEEL FREE TO USE ANYTHING, EAT ANYTHING (NOTHING HERE IS MINE).

Maybe we don’t want to live like Daniel.
Maybe we don’t want to live without a home and indoor plumbing
or a car, maybe we don’t want to eat plants and bugs.
Maybe we actually shouldn’t be doing that –
maybe our baptism calls us to live out here in the complicated world with everyone else.
But maybe when you hear about Daniel you’re a little envious like
I was. Envious of what he’s learned and where
this opportunity has gotten him the insight he’s gained.
Maybe we can see the freedom he has
freedom from the fear of losing money,
freedom from desire of gaining more.
Maybe his experience can help us to think a little about money-
our addiction to it, our dependence on it.
The way it makes us afraid, the way we chase after it.

St. Francis knew that as Christians,
we are called to be aware of our relationship
with money and possessions.
Not so we can save and have more,
because it changes our relationships with others and with God.

Do not worry, about your life.
Consider the ravens, consider all the animals
they neither sew nor reap, they have neither storehouse or barn
and yet they are fed every day.
Do not worry.

We can learn from people like Daniel, like Francis.
We can learn from these animals who depend on us for everything.

In 1546, Martin Luther when he was dying,
he put his last written words on a slip of paper ,
he wrote “We are all beggars: This is true.”

This is true. In the end, God’s grace is all we have.
Like Daniel says, “nothing here is ours”.