“I will be their God and they will be my people”
by Bob Montgomery
This is the seventh installment of the Joy of the Gospel, our Pope’s Apostolic Exhortation. As a reminder, we are studying this as a Community, so, you should have a copy of the document and be reading it and praying about it yourself.
Last week Gretchen began talking about Chapter 4, which is titled the Social Dimension of Evangelization. There were a couple of points Gretchen made that I want to begin with:
- Happiness, or joy in this world is for everyone!
- If we believe that the Holy Spirit is at work in this world, we have to realize that he seeks to penetrate every human situation and all social relationships.
Pope Francis makes the point that the Gospel isn’t merely about our personal relationship with God. It is also about the Kingdom of God, about transforming this world into a place where the King reigns in all areas and with all people.
The Pope says:
“An authentic faith—always involves a deep desire to change the world, to transmit values, to leave this earth somehow better than we found it. We love this magnificent planet on which God has put us, and we love the human family which dwells here, with all its tragedies and struggles, its hopes and aspirations, its strengths and weaknesses. The earth is our common home and all of us are brothers and sisters.”
We can accept this encouragement, and even embrace it. But the problem is that we don’t know how to actually accomplish it. Does anyone here have a plan that ensures no one has to stand in our intersections holding homeless signs and asking for donations? Does anyone have a plan that addresses the full problem of immigration? Of course not. The world is full of big, hairy problems that we don’t have solutions for.
This should not be seen as a shortcoming of our faith. Pope Francis admits that the Church doesn’t have the programs needed to solve many of the problems evident in this world. Instead, she (the Church) supports those programs which best respond to the dignity of each person and the common good.”
The Lord himself, during his earthly life, often warned his disciples that there were things they could not yet understand and for which they would have to await the Holy Spirit (cf. Jn 16: 12-13).
“I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.
If the apostles didn’t know it all then, do we believe we now do? No, we don’t know it all. We are dependent upon the Holy Spirit to guide us in all things. And let’s not forget the parable of the weeds and the wheat from Matthew 13: 24-30. The landowner waited until the harvest to separate the wheat from the weeds.
Another parable he put before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field; 25 but while men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. 26 So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. 27 And the servants of the householder came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then has it weeds?’ 28 He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ 29 But he said, ‘No; lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.’ ”
Given this situation, that we really don’t have the answers to all the questions, does that mean we have nothing to say? Of course not! We have Christ; we have his love. We have his Holy Spirit. He created it all. He has all the answers. Perhaps he hasn’t provided those answers because, as he says in Jn 16: “I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now.”
Given this situation, Pope Francis provides a bit of a roadmap in this chapter to help us engage in evangelization for all these thorny problems, to move towards peace rather than away from it, and to make progress while avoiding isolation or exclusion. He gives us some perspectives to keep in mind as we try to shine the light of Christ in all areas of darkness.
Time is greater than space
The first perspective is that time is greater than space. This principle enables us to work slowly but surely. We don’t have to have the full solution, but we can make progress.
A great example of this might be the poverty problem I referred to earlier. We know that we must give preferential love to the poor. Gretchen talked about the problem of poverty last week, and she talked about the tuition assistance at the school. Brenda talked earlier about introducing herself to the homeless, and asking their name. There was a sharing not long ago at our Gathering where someone was able to confer dignity on a homeless person just by talking to them directly and being concerned about them. Did any of these actions solve poverty? No. But each of these actions shined Christ’s light into the problem of poverty; they penetrated the darkness. Christ doesn’t call us to fix the problem, He calls us to understand his heart and to begin, to initiate an action, to start a new process, to actually do something. If sufficient small candles are lit, his light will overcome the darkness.
Unity prevails over conflict
The second perspective the Pope gives us is that unity prevails over conflict. He points out that conflict cannot be ignored or concealed. It has to be faced. But, when we face conflict, we can identify and focus on areas of unity, areas where we agree. “Blessed are the peacemakers!” (Mt 5: 9).
I can’t help but think of an issue that is most offensive to the majority of people in this room, and that’s the court decisions and the movement in this country towards the acceptance of homosexuality as normal and legitimate. Should we avoid people who advocate these views because they offend us? Should we say nothing because we know it will just start an argument, one that we can’t win? Of course not.
In my employment at Southwest, I have ample opportunities to know and to work with people who have same-sex attractions. Rather than fight with them about the issue of gay rights, I look for ways to cooperate with them in other areas, to find unity instead of conflict. I try to know their names, and to smile and say hello and ask about them when the opportunity arises. I try to be interested in their lives and in their careers, and I try to give them credit when credit is due. I’ve politely declined when invited to same sex unions, but I haven’t made my position an issue. Rather, I look for every opportunity where we can find unity, and to focus on these things. And by doing that, my experience is that they like me and have a relationship with me. They know my stance and don’t actively try to engage in conflict with me either. I find that opportunities arise in conversations to witness in some small way. At the very least, it gives them a positive image of a Christian. Who knows where that will lead? Unity prevails over conflict.
Realities are more important than ideas
The third perspective is that realities are more important than ideas. This encouragement makes me think of the abortion problem in this country. It’s great to have the idea that abortion should be illegal, that’s a wonderful idea that I support, but the reality of unintended pregnancies, of unwanted children, of women who are abused, the reality of poverty that becomes systemic, and all the other ugly realities that encourage people to believe that abortion is a solution in the “first” place, need to be addressed. That’s why I’m so proud of the work of many members of this Community with the creation of the CPLC, who don’t merely beat the drum over the idea that abortion should be illegal, but who work hard to solve the underlying ugly realities that encourage women to seek an abortion. When we have large ugly issues that we don’t know how to solve, maybe one of the first things that we should do is to look at the realities instead of just concentrate on the big idea.
The whole is greater than the parts
Finally, the Pope encourages us to see that the whole is greater than the parts. The world in front of us is important, but we have to constantly broaden our horizons and see the greater good that will benefit us all.
When I think of this perspective I think of immigration, which is a very live issue in this political season. Yes, the threat of terrorism is real, and we can’t financially support everyone. But there are real people who are impoverished and need to find ways to support their families; there are refugees who will die if they remain at home. Just because Dallas, Texas is kind of a nice, neat and tidy city or just because the issue isn’t a problem for us personally doesn’t mean that we can’t find ways to address the larger problem. In our dialogue, perhaps taking hard stands for or against something isn’t the best way to evangelize, but rather we should ask questions about the whole problem and comparing that to Christ’s desires. Perhaps this might bring better understanding and empathy and might help us find small solutions that might lead the way to bigger ones.
When we are able to embrace these four perspectives, that
- Time is greater than space
- Unity prevails over conflict
- Realities are more important than ideas
- The whole is greater than the parts
we are ready to make ourselves available to a whole new level of evangelization. The old adage that you should never talk to anyone about politics or religion will fall before us.
Rather than avoiding politics or religion, the Pope would have us embrace both. He encourages us to find ways to evangelize with
- States
- Society
- Believers who are not part of the Catholic Faith
By utilizing these perspectives, we can equally engage scientists, and address the challenging discoveries of the day. We can confidently address politicians, and our neighbors in the political debate, about how to best address the problems that face us. We can confidently dialogue and build bridges with Protestants, with our older brothers and sisters in the Jewish faith, and with Islam and all others who are seeking the Truth.
And being able to confidently talk about Christ in all situations would make me very joyful indeed.
(Community Gathering, 3-6-16)