The Wolf of Gubbio

Colossians 3:5-10

5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. 6 Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.[b] 7 You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. 8 But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. 9 Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.

Our passage today describes a transformation that happens in the life of the believer. Putting to death the old self; the sinful desires that used to rule us, and putting on the new self that is being renewed in the image of Christ.

This passage and process of transformation ought to be familiar to us as Christians, but it reminds me of one of my favorite stories. If I’ve told you this story before, sorry, please bear with me.

It’s an old story that my History, Theology, and Spirituality of Worship professor told us one day in class: “The Wolf of Gubbio.” And I believe him, because it seemed like Dr. Greg Wilde knew everything.

Gubbio is an Italian town; and in the middle ages (around 1220) it found itself under siege by a wolf.

At first the wolf attacked and feasted on livestock, but eventually his hunger grew and the began to dine on humans exclusively. The wolf was known for lingering outside of the city gates, waiting for his next victim. All attempts to kill the wolf failed as the wolf claimed his attackers as his next meal. Eventually the towns people refused to go outside out of fear.

St. Francis of Assisi was living in Gubbio at the time and decided to go and meet the wolf. The townspeople strongly discouraged this, but Francis persisted. A few people decided to go with him. Legend says that Francis made the sign of the cross, and headed out to the wolf’s lair. When the wolf saw the Saint he rushed to attack, Francis made the sign of the cross again and commanded the wolf to stop his attacks in the name of God. The wolf approached him, docile, and laid at his feet, putting his head in Francis’ hands. 

Tradition tells us what Francis said:

"Brother wolf, thou hast done much evil in this land, destroying and killing the creatures of God without his permission; yea, not animals only hast thou destroyed, but thou hast even dared to devour men, made after the image of God; for which thing thou art worthy of being hanged like a robber and a murderer. All men cry out against thee, the dogs pursue thee, and all the inhabitants of this city are thy enemies; but I will make peace between them and thee, O brother wolf, if so be thou no more offend them, and they shall forgive thee all thy past offences, and neither men nor dogs shall pursue thee any more."

The wolf bowed its head and submitted to Francis, completely at his mercy.

"As thou art willing to make this peace, I promise thee that thou shalt be fed every day by the inhabitants of this land so long as thou shalt live among them; thou shalt no longer suffer hunger, as it is hunger which has made thee do so much evil; but if I obtain all this for thee, thou must promise, on thy side, never again to attack any animal or any human being; dost thou make this promise?"

The wolf agreed, placing one of his forepaws in Francis’ hand and returned to Gubbio with Francis. The townspeople were obviously shocked to see the wolf acting tame, as if he were Francis’ pet. After Francis explained the wolf’s conversion, the townspeople agreed to feed the wolf and welcome him into town.

Legend says that the wolf lived amongst the people for two years and became a well loved member of the community. He was a visual reminder of the sanctifying power of God. And that when he died he was given an honorable burial.

Now, whether or not this story is true (I personally think it is) we can learn a few things from it. 

First, I think we’ve all got a wolf in us that needs to be tamed. We’ve all got evil desires—hungers—that if we let rule us, only bring destruction and hurt. How can these hungers be tamed? By the sanctifying power of God experienced through true Christian community. Just like our passage from Colossians says, we’ve got to set aside our old ways of living—anger, rage, malice—all very wolf-like characteristics, and put on our new self. Not lying to one another, but living in authentic community. Maybe we ought to talk to our wolves like Francis spoke to his “Brother wolf, you’ve done much evil in this land… be no more offensive and make peace. What you truly hunger for will be provided by Christ, not by your evil desires.”

Second, I think we learn that God intends to redeem all of creation, not just those of us created in God’s image, but all creatures great and small. The conversion of the Wolf of Gubbio is just one small picture of God’s cosmic redemption at work.

So is the story true? Well in 1872, while renovating the Church of Saint Francis, they found the skeleton of a large wolf, apparently centuries old. They reburied the wolf in the new Church.