POPE FRANCIS MADE HEADLINES WHEN HE TOLD REPORTERS, “WHEN I MEET GAY PEOPLE, IF THEY ACCEPT THE LORD AND HAVE GOODWILL, WHO AM I TO JUDGE THEM? THEY SHOULD NOT BE MARGINALIZED.” HE AND ONE OF HIS BEST FRIENDS, A RABBI, WROTE A BOOK TOGETHER BEFORE HE WAS MADE POPE. ON GOOD FRIDAY HE WASHED THE FEET OF A WOMAN WHO WAS A MUSLIM, BREAKING NOT ONE BUT TWO OLD TRADITIONS. THE CATHOLIC CHURCH SEES ITSELF AS A PEOPLE ON PILGRIMAGE, AS A PREVIEW OF THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN, AS THE BODY OF CHRIST, AND WHILE THESE ARE NOT BAD IMAGES, POPE FRANCIS HAS GIVEN US A NEW ONE – A FIELD HOSPITAL. AND HE HAS FAMOUSLY SAID THAT SHEPHERDS SHOULD SMELL LIKE THEIR SHEEP.
THE WORDS JESUS SAYS TODAY ARE VERY COMFORTING. BUT IT'S IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER WHO HE WAS SPEAKING TO. IN THE BOOK OF GENESIS, BESIDES THE TEN COMMANDMENTS, THERE ARE 603 OTHER COMMANDMENTS. MOST OF THEM ARE SIMPLE AND LOGICAL; SOME ONLY MADE SENSE TO PEOPLE WANDERING IN THE DESERT AND HAD NO MEANING TO PEOPLE LIVING IN CITIES. A LARGE NUMBER HAD TO DO WITH HOW TO PERFORM RITUALS. THE PHARISEES WERE PEOPLE WHO BELIEVED THAT GOD WOULD FAVOR YOU IF YOU FOLLOWED HIS LAW, AND THE MORE CAREFULLY YOU FOLLOWED IT, THE BETTER. SO THEY MADE IT THEIR BUSINESS TO TAKE EACH LAW AND FIGURE OUT HOW TO KEEP IT. ONE LAW SAID, “YOU SHALL NOT BOIL A KID IN IT'S MOTHER'S MILK”. THE PHARISEES DECIDED THAT THIS MEANT YOU SHOULDN'T EAT MILK AND MEAT AT THE SAME TIME. NOT ONLY THAT, BUT YOU SHOULDN'T EVEN USE THE SAME DISHES FOR A MEAL WITH MEAT AND A MEAL WITH MILK. SINCE THE RABBIS WHO RAN THE SYNAGOGUES WERE MOSTLY PHARISEES, THEY HAD THE POWER TO EXPEL YOU FROM MEMBERSHIP IF YOU BROKE THE LAWS OF MOSES. SO THESE LAWS WITH ALL THEIR DETAILS WERE A BURDEN, AND REFERRED TO AS A YOKE. IN THIS WORLD, THE AVERAGE JEWISH PERSON WAS CONSTANTLY BREAKING THE LAWS, THE LAWS OF PURITY, THE LAWS REGARDING WORKING ON SUNDAY, THE LAWS HAVING TO DO WITH ASSOCIATING WITH GENTILES. THE BURDEN WAS TOO HEAVY.
JESUS CALLS THEM AWAY FROM THAT. HE PROMISES THAT HIS YOKE, UNLIKE THAT OF THE PHARISEES, WILL BE SUCH THAT PEOPLE CAN FOLLOW IT, AND IT WON'T DRAG THEM DOWN.
JESUS PROBABLY MADE YOKES, BEING A CARPENTER. A YOKE WAS DESIGNED TO MAKE IT EASY FOR A PAIR OF OXEN TO PULL A PLOW. YOU BEGAN BY ROUGHING OUT THE SHAPE, AND THEN YOU TOOK THE TWO ANIMALS WHO WOULD BE WORKING TOGETHER AND FITTED THE YOKE TO THEM. YOU SANDED OFF ROUGH EDGES, YOU WHITTLED AWAY PROTRUSIONS – YOU TRIED TO MAKE THE YOKE FIT THE ANIMAL, SO THAT WHEN IT PULLED THE LOAD, THERE WERE NO PRESSURE SPOTS THAT COULD CAUSE PAIN. ONCE THE YOKE FIT, THE ANIMAL COULD BEAR EVEN A HEAVY BURDEN MORE EASILY.
JESUS TELLS US TO LEARN FROM HIM, BECAUSE HE IS MEEK AND HUMBLE OF HEART. THE PHARISEES KNEW A LOT; THEY COULD QUOTE BIBLE VERSES RIGHT AND LEFT, AND KNEW THE OPINIONS OF THE GREAT RABBIS. NATURALLY, WITH ALL THE WORK THEY HAD PUT INTO LEARNING THESE THINGS, THEY EXPECTED RESPECT FROM THE PEOPLE THEY THOUGHT THEY WERE SERVING. WHEN THEY WERE CONSULTED, AS THEY OFTEN WERE, THEY WOULD LAY OUT THE LAW, REGARDLESS OF THE HARDSHIP IT MIGHT CAUSE. THERE WAS NO CONSIDERATION OF A PERSON'S CIRCUMSTANCES. THE LAW WAS THE LAW. JESUS DOESN'T LET US OFF THE HOOK EITHER, BUT IN HIS HUMILITY, IN HIS MEEKNESS, HE RECOGNIZES THAT WE ARE GOING TO FAIL. AND HE'S ALREADY THERE WITH HIS FORGIVENESS.
SO WHAT DO WE LEARN FROM JESUS? WE LEARN TO LOVE GOD AND LOVE OUR NEIGHBOR. LOVING GOD MEANS THAT WE RECOGNIZE THAT HE IS IN CHARGE, AND THAT WE CAN'T REALLY DO ANYTHING UNLESS HE ALLOWS IT. LOVING GOD MEANS THAT WE TRY TO DO HIS WILL RATHER THAN OUR OWN, JUST AS JESUS DID. A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO SAY THEY LOVE GOD LOVE ON THEIR OWN TERMS WHICH ISN'T LOVE AT ALL. “I LOVE GOD BUT THAT COMMANDMENT IS TOO MUCH, THAT RULE OF THE CHURCH IS NOT TO MY LIKING”. SOME OF US ONLY LOVE A FALSE GOD, WHO NEVER DISAGREES WITH US, WHO LETS US DO ANYTHING WE WANT AS LONG AS WE ARE SINCERE.
LOVING OUR NEIGHBOR MEANS THAT WE LOVE LIKE JESUS DID – WE LOOK FOR BARRIERS BETWEEN HIM AND I, AND TRY TO GET RID OF THEM. THIS DOESN'T MEAN THAT WE GIVE UP OUR VALUES; IT MEANS THAT LIKE POPE FRANCIS, WE REFUSE TO JUDGE, AND WE KEEP LOOKING FOR THE IMAGE AND LIKENESS OF GOD THAT IS IN EVERY HUMAN BEING.
SOMEONE ONCE USED THIS EXAMPLE. IF YOU WERE A BIRD, YOU WOULD BE MOST AT HOME IN THE SKIES. THERE YOU WOULD BE FAST, YOU WOULD BE FREE, AND WOULD HARDLY GET TIRED AT ALL BECAUSE YOU WERE BEING HELD UP BY THE AIR ITSELF. BUT IF YOU HAD TO RUN AROUND ON THE GROUND, OR SWIM IN THE OCEAN (I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT DUCKS AND PENGUINS AND OSTRICHES, OF COURSE) YOU WOULD BE SEVERELY LIMITED AND AT THE MERCY OF WHATEVER CREATURE WAS ADAPTED TO THE GROUND OR THE WATER.
JESUS OFFERS US THE AIR THAT IS OUR TRUE HOME – TO LOVE GOD THE RIGHT WAY, AND TO LOVE OUR NEIGHBOR THE RIGHT WAY. IF WE ARE DOING THIS, WE ARE IN THE ENVIRONMENT WE ARE MEANT TO BE IN, THE ENVIRONMENT WHERE OUR EFFORTS ARE MULTIPLIED A HUNDRED FOLD, WHERE WE CAN ACCOMPLISH REALLY GREAT THINGS WITH ONLY A LITTLE EFFORT. WHEN SAINT PAUL WAS CAST FROM HIS HORSE ON THE WAY TO DAMASCUS TO PERSECUTE THE CHRISTIANS, JESUS SAID TO HIM, “”WHY DO YOU KICK AGAINST THE GOAD?” IN OTHER WORDS, AS LONG AS YOU RESIST YOU WON'T BE HAPPY, YOU WON'T GET ANYTHING IMPORTANT DONE, YOUR LIFE WILL JUST BE FAILURE AFTER FAILURE.
BUT IF YOU TAKE ON THE YOKE JESUS HAD MADE FOR YOU, THE YOKE THAT YOU WERE MEANT TO WEAR, THE LOAD THAT YOU WERE MEANT TO PULL, YOUR BURDEN WILL BE LIGHT, AND LIKE A BIRD, YOU WILL BE IN YOUR ELEMENT.
POPE FRANCIS, I THINK, SHOWS THIS BY HIS EXAMPLE. HE IS CATHOLIC TO THE CORE. HE BELIEVES IN EVERYTHING THE CHURCH TEACHES – HE SAID SO HIMSELF. BUT THE FIRST THING SINNERS NEED, AND WE ARE ALL SINNERS, EVEN THE POPE – IS TO BE LOVED, TO BE FORGIVEN, TO BE TOUCHED BY GOD'S GRACE. AND THOSE WHO BEAR THE YOKE OF JESUS LOVE, FORGIVE, AND BECOME THE CHANNELS FOR GOD'S GRACE TO TOUCH OUR FELLOW MAN. JESUS IS NOT AGAINST RULES; AS HE SAID, “NOT THE SMALLEST LETTER OR STROKE OF THE LAW WILL PASS AWAY TILL ALL IS ACCOMPLISHED.” WHEN WE BECOME THE INSTRUMENTS GOD USES TO HEAL HIS PEOPLE, WE ARE RIGHT WHERE WE SHOULD BE, AT REST, WITH A BURDEN THAT IS LIGHT AND A YOKE THAT IS SWEET.
