Monthly Archives: March 2014

Jesus’ life, death and resurrection could be summarized as a resounding “YES” in answer to this question!

Jesus’ encapsulates His teaching as “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength” and “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:30-31, Matt. 22:37, Luke 10:27). The first instruction, concerning our relationship with God, comes from Deuteronomy 6:5. The second, concerning our relationship to each other, is from Leviticus 19:18.

In the Church, this balanced relationship between God and our neighbor is often explained with reference to the crucifix. The vertical piece of wood represents our relationship with God and the horizontal is our relationship with our neighbor or “brother”. Helpfully, just in case anyone chooses to be selective as to who “my neighbor” or “my brother” actually is, then, Jesus tells us the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37).

So what would Jesus think of Pope Francis’ question, “How can it be that it is not a news item when an elderly homeless person dies of exposure, but it is news when the stock market loses two points?” I find it interesting that this appears in a paragraph (53) discussing the commandment “Thou shalt not kill”.

In the section entitled “No to an economy of exclusion,” the Pope also calls into question the “trickle-down theories” advocated by those who support “The Market” and “Laissez Faire” economics espoused by thinkers like Adam Smith and Ayn Rand. Those whose consciouses make them uncomfortable often cite: “The poor will always be with you” (Mark 14:7). However, it is enlightening to note that Jesus is echoing Deuteronomy 15:11: “There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore, I command you to be open-handed towards your fellow Isrealites who are poor and needy in your land.” Indeed, the Laws given by God to the People continuously make special provision for the poor along with the “widows and orphans.”

For many in the Church, our faith life is about our relationship with God in heaven and saving our souls. We also pray for the souls of our loved ones. However, we are often uncomfortable with those others in the Church who feed the hungry, visit those in prison, clothe the naked and serve the sick. This kind of activity may be acknowledged as “corporeal works of mercy” but is often also labelled – in a disparaging way – as mere “social work” and is seen as taking attention away from piety.

In Romans, St. Paul talks about being justified or saved by faith, but how do we know that we actually have faith? That one isn’t deluded or deluding one’s self?  Jesus said that “by their fruit you will know them” (Matt. 7:16-20) and, in the Parable of the Sower, Jesus praises “hearing the word, receiving it, and bringing forth fruit” (Mark 4:20). This seems to suggest that, as far as Jesus is concerned, belief results in “fruit” and that faith will yield good fruit.

The book of James builds on this by asking the very practical question: “Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?” Hence, the author concludes that “Faith by itself, if it not accompanied by action, is dead.” He also says “Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that – and shudder.”

In all this I am guided by what Jesus says about judging between the sheep and goats (Matt. 25:31-46). Those whom He says are blessed by His Father and receive the kingdom are those who fed Jesus when He was hungry, invited Him in when they saw Him as a stranger, clothed Him when they saw Him naked, cared for Him when they saw Him sick, and visited Him in prison. For as Jesus says, “whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for Me.”

In conclusion, the Pope named himself as ‘Francis’ recalling one of the most beloved and acknowledged  ‘good’ people who ever lived.  For many of us, St. Francis is the closest example of what Jesus would have been like. In the early 13^th century St. Francis was part of a non-materialism reform movement sweeping through Europe. His followers were to focus on poverty, simplicity, chastity and obedience and he emphasised the humanity of Jesus. St. Francis, known for his joyfulness, recalled for many the joyful early Christian communities we know from the Acts of the Apostles where all shared what they had in common and no one was in need. Their interdependence, on each other and therefore on God, resulted in joyfulness.

In his critique of our acceptance of poverty and injustice, Pope Francis is saying to us:  Perhaps the “something” which we are all searching for in life is the realization that we are our brother’s keeper and accepting that truth is the joy of the gospel.

In his apostolic exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium, Pope Francis’ view of women is ambiguous, showing sympathetic acknowledgement of abuse (211, 212, 214) women often face, while also becoming entangled in stereotypical generalizations elsewhere (46-49,103,139-141, 284-288) where womanhood is always associated with motherhood. The Pope says that, “the legitimate rights of women to be respected, based on the firm conviction that men and women are equal in dignity, present the Church with profound and challenging questions which cannot be lightly evaded.” However, he then goes on to affirm that “the reservation of the priesthood to males, as a sign of Christ the spouse who gives himself in the Eucharist, is not a question open to discussion.”

The Pope also says, “it can prove especially divisive if sacramental power is too closely identified with power in general.” He also notes that the idea that ordination simply confers power not only robs the Church of valuable contributions from women, it presents a misguided view of the priesthood and the sacraments. “The configuration of the priest to Christ the head – namely, as the principal source of grace – does not imply an exaltation which would set him above others,” Pope Francis writes. “In the Church, functions do not favor the superiority of some vis-a-vis the others.”

Perhaps, a problem lies in the fact that the Roman Catholic Church’s organizational structure, with the Pope as head, is a hierarchical structure and, no matter what he says about power not being “understood as domination, but the power to administer the sacrament of the Eucharist,” the exclusion of women based on their gender from being a member of the priesthood, and hence from decision making, seems to many women and men to be a problematic distortion of power.

The Pope acknowledges that “we need to create still broader opportunities for a more incisive female presence in the Church,” including “the possible role of women in decision-making in different areas of the Church’s life.” But within a hierarchical structure what does this actually mean? Women may lead Religious Education in a Parish, the Outreach Program, perhaps even the Finance Committee, but the priest is always the boss and, according to the Pope, the boss will always be male.

If we look to the Bible, we can find a very different description of the relationship between men and women.  In the Gospels, for example, women are often key figures in the evolution of Jesus’ mission.  Mary’s ‘Fiat’ and ‘Magnificat’ are key to any understanding of discipleship; her giving birth to Jesus is akin to the moment of Consecration at Mass as she brings Jesus to the world. Elizabeth’s understanding and joy as she welcomes Mary, recognizing the baby in Mary’s womb as her ‘Lord’ without doubt or hesitancy, is the blueprint for all followers of Christ.  Anna heralds Jesus. Mary encourages Jesus to begin His mission at Cana. The Syrophoenician woman challenges Jesus’ understanding of His mission. The Samaritan woman is the first person to hear Jesus say He is the Messiah and she is the first missionary. A woman anoints Jesus for His burial while His apostles are still arguing about who will be the greatest. Martha declares that Jesus is the Messiah. Women support the itinerant disciples and accompany Jesus to Jerusalem and the Cross. Women are the witnesses to (and thus the link between) His death, burial and resurrection. Mary Magdalene is the Apostle to the Apostles. Women receive the Holy Spirit along with men at Pentecost. St. Paul talks of the key leadership roles played by Prisca, Lydia, Phoebe, Chloe, and many other women. Obviously motherhood is not the only role women fulfilled in the early Church.

Interestingly Jesus said, “For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother” (Matt 12:50) and “blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it” (Luke 11:28). Mary is the mother of God, but what is most important about her is that she did the will of Jesus’ Father in heaven; she heard the word of God and observed it. Mary is important because she was a disciple and did what was asked of her.

In conclusion, where does Evangelii Gaudium leave women? I suggest that the Catholic Church will take women seriously in all their potentiality (and not just as mothers) when the Church returns to the radical urgency of the first generation of Christians. To do so we need to rid the Church of the domestication that occurred when Christians realized that the ‘Second Coming’ was not going to happen immediately. If it wasn’t coming quickly then that necessitated that the Church had to ‘fit into’ the prevailing cultural and social norms of the Roman Empire which meant taking on the prevailing cultural views of the place of women in the Church. There is nothing wrong with these traditional roles – as mother and consecrated virgin — but they can deprive the Church all the other talents that God has given women. I am reminded of the Parable of the Talents and the judgment of the servant given one talent who hid it in the ground, unused, awaiting the Master’s return.  Will the Church be judged, in a similar way, for hiding, unused, the talents of generations of women?