Pope Francis and the Woman Caught in Adultery

CNN headline: “Pope Held Meeting With Same-Sex Couple in U.S.” Why is this even a headline? Isn’t this what Christians are supposed to be doing? Perhaps if CNN existed in first century Israel, the headlines would have read, “Jesus Held Meeting with Prostitutes”; “Jesus Held Meeting with Woman Caught in Adultery”; “Jesus Held Meeting with Roman-Collaborating Tax Collector”. – Father Vincent Lehr.

The Scripture for this Sunday caught my eye because of the visit of Pope Francis to the USA. In an odd way, it reminded me of the complaint of Father Vincent, as quoted above. Today’s Scripture is:

The Lord said, “And as you wish that men would do to you, do so to them. If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the selfish. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.”

Since Pope Francis was elected Pope, news of his “outrageous” actions keep sweeping the globe. One of his first actions was to wash the feet of 12 prisoners during Holy Week. Some were men; some were women; some were Christian; some were Muslim. Did not the Pope know that only twelve “deserving poor MEN” were supposed to have their feet washed? That was only the start. Since his election, he keeps doing and saying outrageous things. What do you mean, “If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?” He keeps stopping his motorcades to stop and greet people. He gets out of his Popemobile without a care in the world, as though dying at the hands of an assassin is not anything important. Then he comes to the USA, says nice things about dissident nuns, speaks in favor of controlling climate change, stopping the death penalty, receiving immigrants, and taking care of the poor. Conservatives were in disarray, while liberals were ecstatic. Just as he is about to be labeled with the “liberal” tag, he meets with the Little Sisters of the Poor (who have a lawsuit going against the Affordable Care Act) and meets with Kim Davis, the county clerk who went to jail for refusing to issue marriage license. Liberals were confounded while conservatives were ecstatic. Then, everyone finds out that he met with a gay couple, as well. I could hear the crickets chirping.

Who is this Pope Francis? Well, Father Vincent, an Orthodox priest in Canada, put some good perspective on the situation. Pope Francis is receiving the same puzzled and confused responses as Jesus did. I think Father Vincent put it well when he stated that if the major news networks had existed in first century Palestine that they would not have known how to write about Jesus, either. I can see them trying to make Jesus into a conservative when he spoke about not one jot nor one tittle shall pass from the Law until the end of the age. On the other hand, Jesus would have been obviously a socialist bleeding-heart liberal, if you consider his treatment of the woman caught in adultery and the woman at the well. In the same way, Pope Francis is an often misunderstood person precisely because he is trying to imitate Jesus. On the one hand, like Jesus, he states over and over that he is not changing one bit of Church doctrine. On the other hand, also like Jesus, he is insisting that our proclamation and our application are not in accord with the way in which The Father wants Church doctrine to be handled.

Unlike Jesus, Pope Francis is not perfect. Sadly, because he is Roman Catholic, one Orthodox priest, who is a professor, flippantly dismissed him as a heretic, just like Jesus was quickly dismissed with the phrase, “can anything good come out of Galilee?” Pope Francis is not perfect; but, he is certainly intriguing, challenging, and prophetic in the sense of proclaiming what is true and what is right. Pope Francis is not perfect, but I wish I were up to his level of imperfection. That is to say, on whatever I disagree with him as a Roman Catholic, the example he is giving of loving other is exemplary. As I have said in other posts, we love to speak about Jesus being at dinner parties with sinners, prostitutes, etc. But, we do not wish to dwell on what this really means. No set of sinners, prostitutes, etc., would have invited him to their houses if they did not feel accepted. Why bother with a preacher who is simply going around “telling them the truth?” No, Jesus must have been invited because he was a good dinner guest who showed that he cared for them. In fact, all the Gospel witness points to a Jesus who would most certainly have been questioned by many of our “good” Orthodox hierarchs. In the same way, many have questions about Pope Francis.

Today’s Gospel points to a very high standard of behavior. If we wish to receive respect, then treat others with respect. If we wish to be accepted, then treat others with acceptance. “And as you wish that men would do to you, do so to them.” That is the standard. If you want to talk about the deserving poor, and wish to cut off the non-deserving from any welfare, etc., then I should have the right to cut you off from Communion if I find you undeserving because of your many sins. Is that not the fair way to approach it? The Pharisees got into trouble with Jesus for their lack of understanding of the love of God, NOT for their lack of understanding of the Law. In fact, one of Jesus’ famous statements was that we were to do as the Pharisees say, not as they do. What he meant was that what they said was often in accord with what God had said through the Law. However, their behavior actually contradicted the Law that they were supposedly so faithfully teaching. Much of modern Christianity is riddled with Pharisaism. Much of modern Christianity does not reflect the unconditional love that the Father has for us. The challenge of Pope Francis is the he is reflecting the steadfast love of God toward us.

Ephesians 3:17-19 “And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge— that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”

Lamentations 3:22-23 “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”

Pope Francis is imperfect. So am I. But, may I learn to better reflect the steadfast love of the Lord to a needy world.