A Church that surprises

image courtesy of google images and is owned by ☻☺’s photostream (flickr)

The recent hype over Pope Francis’ ‘surprising’ public confession prompts “And Then The Darkness” to ask: “exactly how do folks see the Church?”.

To an article, these reports use superlatives like “shock” and ‘stunned’ to describe how folks reacted to Pope Francis’ act of humility. The incident harkens back to folks who were similarly surprised when the leader of the world’s one billion Catholics replied “who am I to judge?” when asked about gay people and the alleged ‘gay lobby’ in the Vatican.

Again, how exactly do people see the Church?

A Pope (or, indeed, a priest, minister, or lay Christian) expressing acts of humility ought surprise no one. We  are, after all, called upon to be humble in spirit (2 Chronicles 7:14 ;Matthew 18:4;  Matthew 23:12; Luke 14:11). 

Is it possible we (and our Church leaders) have become so removed from the call to remain poor in spirit that when the leader of the world’s Catholics does what he does every day (confessing and asking for forgiveness for his sins) it shocks people?

As most of these reports note the Pope does, after all, confess daily as all Christians must.

Perhaps the public nature of his confession is unusual, but if so the very newness of this public confession is a problem for all of us. A humble, seeking Church, a publicly humble Church, is after all one left less open to accusations of secrecy, arrogance, or hypocrisy.

Are we so far removed from our humble calling and origins we resemble to some the High Priests and Scribes of Christ’s day? It would seem so given the reactions of many to the Pope’s ‘gay lobby’ interview and given the public perceptions of the Church that are often provided in media accounts covering the faithful.

In the recent words and actions of Pope Francis we have a Church which  surprises. For many out there, especially for those who up until now have seen the Church in a negative light, this surprise is a positive change.

Yours truly looks forward, however, to the day when the Body of Christ feels no need to surprise. And Then The Darkness imagines a day when a Christian who living in humility surprises no one.

That will be the day when the Church will truly lead the way for the Flock.