Hebrews 11:32-12:2
“Progress should mean that we are always changing the world
to fit the vision; instead we are always changing the vision.” G.K. Chesterton
"Living in community requires
commitment, responsibility, and accountability to and for all its
members." UMC Bishop Sandra Steiner
Ball, WV
In other words, living in community
requires "relationships"; real attachments to one another. So I believe we can agree relationships are
the foundation of any community; and while the marital relationship should top
the list (it grounds the family, stabilizes our society, and teaches children
about the importance of relationship, earnest commitment, and appropriate
examples of love), there are other relationships we must necessarily take note
of.
In the coming weeks we will examine
relationships and how these relationships inform us, teach us, nurture us, comfort
us, and whenever necessary, correct us - all for the sake of "making
disciples". So if we are involved in any type of
relationship that does not strengthen our sense of community as The Body of
Christ, it is probably a relationship best left unattended.
As it has so often been said, there
is no such thing as a life without sacred value - value not only to The Lord and
His Church but to society as a whole - including those incarcerated. Everyone has purpose, and every life has
meaning. In fact it has been inferred by
theologians and sociologists
that the value of our own lives is intimately and intrinsically connected to
the value we assign to the lives of others.
So as we seek to enrich the lives of others by affirming their sacred
worth, our own sacred worth is affirmed as well.
Before we can examine the
relationships we enjoy today and the relationships worth pursuing, however, I
believe there is a much broader relationship we are part of as The Church, a
relationship we often take for granted.
It is the relationship which exists primarily in the Scriptures,
connections to our common past in the "great cloud of witnesses"
(Heb 12:1). And as we often take these biblical
"giants" for granted, we certainly do not take note of spiritual
heroes (often referred to as "saints") who helped to shape, teach,
and clarify the fullest meaning of The Gospel through the life of The Church.
Pope Francis is getting a lot of
attention because he does not fit the typical "pope profile". He is more easily accessible than many of his
predecessors, and he seems willing to answer questions without preparation. And while he is often misunderstood (who
isn't?) because his remarks are often taken out of context (whose aren't??), or
something gets lost in the language translations, when read carefully he is
forthright and intentional about faith, community, The Lord, The Church, and
the sacred value of every living creature - including Protestants! - and human
institutions ... another example of the many relationships we often take for
granted.
Pope Francis was especially taken
to task (and ultimately misunderstood) by so many conservative "talking
heads" when the pope released his encyclical, "The Joy of the
Gospel" (English translation), which addressed economic issues as well as others
- all relative to how we deal with one another.
The pope was chastised as a "socialist" because, while he
lifted up business as "a noble vocation", he nevertheless challenged
people of business to look beyond profit margins and embrace their
responsibility to the Kingdom of Heaven, emphasizing
the "social function" of property beyond that which is primarily
considered "private" and available only to the highest bidder.
This understanding of
human relationships which appreciates the value of good business is the same accountability
that chastises us when we seek to exploit any human person in any manner for
the sake of profit margin. So even in
business, that seemingly most heartless of human institutions that focuses
primarily on numbers and money, it is still about
"relationships". The pope
rightly questioned, "How is it not
news when an elderly homeless person dies of exposure, but it is [big] news
when the stock market drops two points?"
When Jorge Mario Bergoglio was
elected as the Bishop of Rome, he took for himself the name "Francis"
in honor of 12th-century St. Francis of Assisi who was canonized (declared a
saint) in the 13th century. What is so
note-worthy of St. Francis for the pope and the contemporary Church is not only
his deliberate "conversion" from a life of wealth and privilege to a
life of poverty and service, but also a vision he encountered at a country
chapel just outside of Assisi (Italy) in which Messiah told him to "go and
repair My house which, as you can see, has fallen into ruins."
It is said that St. Francis first
took this vision to mean that particular church where he was praying and its
physical well-being. Using his father's
resources, then, he restored that chapel (against his father's wishes); but
this is when the final straw came by which St. Francis fully and completely
renounced his family's wealth, and even the clothing on his very back which had
come from that wealth.
Without going into a lot of
historical detail, it is enough to know that from this moment in St. Francis'
life, he devoted his entire being to The Lord and to The Church, understanding
that to "repair" The Lord's house did not strictly mean its physical
structures. "The House" to
which the Lord referred was "the Church"; that is, the Body of Christ,
the community of faith.
In this "repair", the
relationships often marginalized in society were (and still are) in desperate
need of rebuilding and restoring. St.
Francis chose to restore from the "bottom" of the social barrel. This vision is shared by Pope Francis who
believes it is the necessary vision and task of The Holy Church.
These deliberate and faithful
choices made by a man who "had it all" at one time are sufficient for
St. Francis and many others to be included in the "great cloud of
witnesses"; up there with Noah, Abraham, Moses, and King David, to name
only a few. These and so many more had
the strength and courage borne of faith that reminded them - as we are to be
reminded - that our lives, however grand or seemingly inconsequential, belong
to the Kingdom of Heaven - meaning we belong to one another.
Including Jesus in this company of
the "great cloud", however, takes a turn we are not entirely
comfortable with, if at all. St. Francis
did not have a vision of Moses or King David.
St. Francis' vision was entirely about Messiah and all Messiah would ask
of him in "running with perseverance the race which is set" before us
all; the same race set before The Church, Christ in the world today.
This "race" is entirely
about "community" and relationships which anchor the community in all
that matters, all that really makes a difference in our lives - or more
importantly, all that will make a difference in the lives of those whom we
consider to be ... beneath us. St.
Francis was once at the top of the social order, but he soon found himself
dangerously entangled with the trappings
of "empire" rather than the blessings
of "kingdom". St. Francis
chose The Kingdom by choosing the "least among us".
Pope Francis seems to be following
in that very Franciscan ideal of "repairing" The Lord's House (even
though this is the first Jesuit pope), but not strictly the buildings. This pope has challenged the very institution
which was once in its great and rightful heritage socially scandalous and
radical in obedience to The Lord and in faithfulness to the Gospel;
"scandalous" in rejecting the social norms of a secular society, and
"radical" in welcoming all, especially those who did not seem to
belong anywhere else.
It is not necessary to try and
reinvent the wheel. It is the relationship
shared by the biblical giants as well as the saints of the past we must
reconnect with, embrace, and build upon.
It is The Relationship which has endured much persecution and has
withstood many attempts to undermine or even destroy it. It must also be noted that no one who kept to
themselves in their personal spirituality was ever at personal risk for the
sake of the Gospel. The risk always comes
from within active, dynamic relationships; the risk to love completely rather
than socially, conditionally.
Relationships matter; but new
relationships must be built upon from the "great cloud of witnesses" that
has faithfully blazed the trail, each connected to the other in The Lord; for
it is our past that connects us to our future.
Amen.
