Authentically Generous

It is not every day that the Pope dies.

Such a high-profile figure in the religious world cannot depart without comment. It is, however, a challenge for a protestant preacher to note the event without appearing to rubber stamp everything that the Pope has said and done, or appearing to approve of all the Roman Catholic Church stands for.

The last three Popes have stood out in a variety of ways.

They have all been outsiders in some way or another. The appointment of a Pole, a German and an Argentinian broke a line of Popes from Italy, although there was the extremely brief reign of the Italian John Paul II before the appointment of the German Pope Benedict XVI.

They have all operated in an age of mass (excuse the pun) communication, television and a variety of social media.

They have all made stand-out contributions in their role as Pope.

John Paul II took the papal visit to a whole new level, attracting massive crowds that seemed more like a rock band stadium tour than a religious event.

Pope Benedict XVI was a distinguished theologian and biblical scholar, who wrote some fine books on the New Testament portrayal of Christ and his Church. Biblical scholarship in the past Century would be all the poorer without the contribution of excellent Roman Catholic biblical scholars like Luke Timothy Johnson and Joseph Fitzmyer.

Pope Francis has been praised for his adoption of a simpler lifestyle than has been previously associated with the Papacy and a genuine interest in people, especially the poor and the disenfranchised. The testimonies of the many people who experienced his generosity is moving.

The Times Newspaper published a cartoon of the artist’s impression of St Peter’s Gates in Heaven. By the side of these magnificent gates there was a tiny gate over which there was the sign: Servant’s Entrance. Pope Francis is seen entering through this tiny gate. Catholics and non-Catholics, even those who profess no Christian faith, have indicated that this genuine servant-like leadership is one of the main things they appreciated about Pope Francis.

Of course, there is more than could be said about the tenure of Pope Francis- the frustration he caused by being ambiguous about whether he was a traditionalist or a moderniser and the ongoing issue of clergy sexual abuse and how it is dealt with. This has made people feel that the Roman Catholic Church has changed but is ever the same. There are reasons why I am a Protestant and not a Roman Catholic (but those issues need to be left for another time).

Being generous, joyful and servant-hearted, having time for people and caring for the poor does sound a lot like Jesus. One of the reasons that people do not embrace the Christian faith is because those who profess to be Christians, including Christian leaders, so often fail to resemble its founder!

Preachers today must speak about Jesus but must also seek to be more like Jesus!

There is something very attractive about authenticity.

Photo by Tomasz Kluz on Unsplash