The Pope of the Gospel

by Editor · April 22, 2018

One of the most profound episodes in the gospels is Jesus’ encounter with the woman of dubious repute at Jacob’s Well in Samaria (John 4:5-42). There were many reasons why Jesus should not have engaged with that woman. For one thing, as she rightly noted, he was a Jew and she a Samaritan, members of groups who maintained a mutual hostility.

Moreover, as Jesus knew, the woman had been married five times and was now living with a man who was not her husband. Her domestic circumstances seemed to marginalise her from the community, which explains her presence at the otherwise deserted well at noon, the least propitious time for venturing outdoors. And yet, Jesus chose that woman, whose life exemplified what society rejected, to be his first non-Jewish missionary — unconditionally.

The disciples, had he not sent them to go shopping, doubtless would have been disturbed at this encounter (though they said nothing when they caught the end of it).

And yet, Jesus chose that woman, whose life exemplified what society rejected, to be his first non-Jewish missionary — unconditionally. He issues no instruction to reform her living situation; perhaps he was satisfied that her conversion would inevitably effect that change.

This passage offers many other lessons, especially about the life-giving nature of Christ. Without diminishing the teachings of the Church Fathers, the many councils and previous popes, he always seems to place the primacy on the Jesus we encounter in the Gospel.

There is much in Pope Francis’ approach that we can recognise in this Gospel event, as we can in many others which communicate the virtue of personal conversion, the strength not to judge, and the mercy of God.

Francis, more than any of his modern predecessors, is the “Pope of the Gospel”. Without diminishing the teachings of the Church Fathers, the many councils and previous popes, he always seems to place the primacy on the Jesus we encounter in the Gospel.

This also finds expression in his new apostolic exhortation, Gaudete et Exsultate (“Rejoice and Be Glad”), his apostolic exhortation on “the call to holiness in today’s world”.

In it, he repeats his distaste for the tendency to judge and exclude others because they fail to meet the high standards of morality set by the doctrines of the Church.

“It is not good when we look down on others like heartless judges, lording it over them and always trying to teach them lessons. That is itself a subtle form of violence,” he writes in Gaudete et Exsultate.

Pope Francis reminds us that we are not expected be perfect, but rather to be “merciful, even as your Father is merciful. Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you’ (Luke 6:36-38).” He also reminds us to locate the unheralded saints in our lives who model holiness through “small gestures” that are seemingly unimportant but “make [God’s] grace more evident in our lives” — St Grandma, as one headline put it.

The Pope of the Gospel calls on us to place a priority on God’s mercy from which flows love, with the joy that brings but also the responsibilities.

The Holy Father firmly locates the manual for holiness in the Gospel, drawing from Jesus. But he also finds examples in real life. He mentions the saints who were holy because they chose to be, not because they were born that way.

He also reminds us to locate the unheralded saints in our lives who model holiness through “small gestures” that are seemingly unimportant but “make [God’s] grace more evident in our lives” — St Grandma, as one headline put it.

Holiness requires at its very core the virtue of charity. By this the pope means not only corporal acts of generosity — feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the lonely — but also a charity of spirit among one another, especially in moments of disagreement. Holiness requires at its very core the virtue of charity. By this the pope means not only corporal acts of generosity — feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the lonely — but also a charity of spirit among one another, especially in moments of disagreement.

This goes to the heart of Jesus’ commandment that we love one another (which is different to having to like one another). When we love one another, we cannot tolerate cruelty. When we love one another, we give respect and are open to forgiveness.

It means that when we disagree, we do so with respectful civility, not the incensed rhetoric and lies that infest social media (the pope strongly rebukes those who spread fake news and discord on the Internet).

“Holiness is nothing other than charity lived to the full,” Pope Francis says. Consequently, “The measure of our holiness stems from the stature that Christ achieves in us, to the extent that, by the power of the Holy Spirit, we model our whole life on his.”

Every saint, whether canonised or your grandma, Pope Francis says, “is a message which the Holy Spirit takes from the riches of Jesus Christ and gives to his people”.