… and a little Catholic shall lead them.
Most of our lives can be divided into two distinct identities: Who we say we are and who our life actually says that we are.
For many of us there’s a usually pretty good distance between the two parts, and more often than not a massive chasm.
But once in a while, you find that rare, singular presence in the world; someone whose heart and mouth and hands seem so perfectly aligned, someone whose expression of faith is so clear and so pure, that it defies any explanation—other than the realization that you are witnessing a mortal creature hopelessly in the grip of a scandalously gracious God.
From Pope Francis’ very first days, the message was unmistakable: This is not your father’s Pope.
He would shun and condemn the frighteningly flaunted opulence that had become The Vatican’s calling card and that of its Bishops.
He would challenge those in Church leadership to seek humbler, quieter ways of living; ways that considered respected the countless who live with so much less.
He would step from beyond bulletproof enclosures and barricaded parade routes to literally touch and kiss and caress the hurting, the broken, the small, and the hopeless in his path.
He would dare to challenge his constituents’ myopic past campaigns and current lopsided priorities, and boldly question whether they had become bridges or barriers to the Gospel for the world.
He would look to recapture the true, timeless heart of that Gospel and ask us all what it should mean, not only for the poor and hungry and suffering in these moments but those living in overflowing abundance as well.
He would wildly fling open the doors of a Church that had been pulled from the hands of all people, and resize the invitation of those who would be welcome, to better match the heart of Jesus.
Let’s be honest: In so many ways, Pope Francis has out-Evangelical-ed the Evangelicals.
OK, so he’s not doing altar calls or leading big tent revivals or launching touring crusades, and he’s not using the right lingo and the typical jargon (and yes, I well understand the many theological lines to be drawn, and the distinctions to be made).
Heck, you might say that even using the E-word in the same sentence as a Catholic leader at all is a blasphemous offense, but the more I watch the unfolding of Pope Francis’ ministry, the more I see a man whose desire to be obedient to Jesus, supersedes his desire to fit into a category or to match any label.
The true heart of Evangelicalism in the end, is to place people in life-altering, destination-changing relationships with Christ. Pope Francis, it could be argued is setting the table for this meeting beautifully and is allowing God to work in ways that are beyond human designations.
In this Pope, I witness someone who seems to see vividly the picture of what God’s heart for the world is, and who appears to value reflecting that heart above everything else.
This clarity of call is compelling to people of every Christian tradition (and even outside of them), who know something authentic when they see it, and who have endured far too many phonies, frauds, and charlatans.
Somehow when he speaks of faith, it always sounds like Good News. As he lives it so often looks like Jesus. The same cannot be said for an unfortunate number of our high profile Evangelical leaders, whose growing legacy is mean-spirited, exclusionary, judgmental, politicized, power-hungry religion.
Pope Francis is a rare gem in any denomination or tradition; someone who is making the case for Christ eloquently through His “life and doctrine” and who is drawing people to Him in ways that so many only aspire to.
Buon Viaggio, Francis!
