I enjoy following what Pope Francis is doing. Being Pope means he always has an audience and whatever he says is noted and usually made available. Of course, I can’t imagine living in that kind of spotlight. Surely, he has down time and time alone, but that is not newsworthy. He must always be alert to where he is and what he is saying. Lately he has been giving some speeches on hope. Since that is one of the classical virtues about which I have written, I take note. I always want to be in a learning mode.
In that recent speech on hope, Francis is quoted to say, “Christians are never pessimistic, resigned or weak, thinking life is an unstoppable train careening out of control.” That is a bold statement and one, I’m sure, some folks would claim is not right or not realistic. It is worth unpacking this and taking a closer look at what he is affirming.
I am sure some people of faith would when the Pope says Christians “never” do something. Never is an absolute word. Obviously, it means not one time. Never means we don’t ever succumb to temptation. We never fall short. We never stumble and get tripped. Even very good people probably feel a little uncomfortable with this language that seems so absolute. I know I shudder when I confront this seemingly perfectionistic claim. But this means we need to take a closer look at the papal statement and try to understand it in the way he doubtlessly means it.
What the Pope declares Christians should not do is be “pessimistic, resigned or weak.” I am confident he does not mean we all have the inner strength and fortitude to manage things on our own. I am confident Pope Francis’ claim is based on the grace of God that comes with our faith. I understand his statement as a faith statement. That is the real source of hope. On this ground of hope stands the Christian who should not be pessimistic, resigned or weak. Our confidence in this kind of hope is a theological confidence. In some ways it is a statement first about hope and then about ourselves.
It sees hope as a gift of the God who ultimately will not let bad things dominate. Of course, that is a faith perspective more than a fact perspective. I cannot prove it. I am only called to trust it. I am persuaded because I am fairly sure pessimists do not contribute to overcoming bad things that can happen to people. Of course, the Pope does not think folks will avoid getting cancer, dying, and other bad news. But based on his faith, he can maintain optimism in the face of the nasty stuff. He knows that is our only real choice: to have faith or ditch the faith in trying times.
The Pope uses a graphic image to drive home his point. In faith he can affirm that life is not “an unstoppable train careening out of control.” I smile because I am sure this is exactly how some folks experience their lives. They are not in control. I can resonate with this and, I am sure, everyone can say they are not in complete control of life. The Pope is not naive. He knows things happen to us that we don’t want. What he does claim is these unfortunate events should not be the cause of pessimism, resignation or our weakness.
Later in his reflections the Pope continues to develop his ideas. He exhorts the faithful by saying, "We do not lose ourselves in the flow of events to pessimism, as if history were a train out of control. Resignation is not a Christian virtue. Just like it is not Christian to shrug your shoulders or lower your head before a seemingly unavoidable destiny." I am sure the Pope does not deny destiny. But he says destiny is not doomed to be a pessimistic outcome. For example, destiny inevitably pushes us toward our own death. But that is not a weakness or a matter of resignation. We can be spiritually optimistic that our death, for example, will have an ending that is more like a comedy than a tragedy. That is a statement of hope and I want to follow the papal lead here.
The Pope nears the conclusion of his remarks. He tells us, “Having hope means never being submissive or passive, but being a builder of hope, which demands courage, taking risks and personal sacrifice, he said.” I am attracted to this. Having hope means being a builder of hope. We become missionaries of hope. Hope is our mission. We are not out to convert people, but we are faithful lights of spiritual optimism. Our mission is to enlighten a world mired in pessimism.
We will be called to be beacons of strength in a world that often is paralyzed by fear and failure. We will be energized for this task and be encouragers to those who are sorely tempted to resign and do nothing. Again, we are not doing this out of our own resources of strength and good luck. Our call is not to be lucky; it is to be faithful.
And so in faith I will proceed. I will learn to be spiritually optimistic. And I will enlist myself in the mission of bringing good news.
In that recent speech on hope, Francis is quoted to say, “Christians are never pessimistic, resigned or weak, thinking life is an unstoppable train careening out of control.” That is a bold statement and one, I’m sure, some folks would claim is not right or not realistic. It is worth unpacking this and taking a closer look at what he is affirming.
I am sure some people of faith would when the Pope says Christians “never” do something. Never is an absolute word. Obviously, it means not one time. Never means we don’t ever succumb to temptation. We never fall short. We never stumble and get tripped. Even very good people probably feel a little uncomfortable with this language that seems so absolute. I know I shudder when I confront this seemingly perfectionistic claim. But this means we need to take a closer look at the papal statement and try to understand it in the way he doubtlessly means it.
What the Pope declares Christians should not do is be “pessimistic, resigned or weak.” I am confident he does not mean we all have the inner strength and fortitude to manage things on our own. I am confident Pope Francis’ claim is based on the grace of God that comes with our faith. I understand his statement as a faith statement. That is the real source of hope. On this ground of hope stands the Christian who should not be pessimistic, resigned or weak. Our confidence in this kind of hope is a theological confidence. In some ways it is a statement first about hope and then about ourselves.
It sees hope as a gift of the God who ultimately will not let bad things dominate. Of course, that is a faith perspective more than a fact perspective. I cannot prove it. I am only called to trust it. I am persuaded because I am fairly sure pessimists do not contribute to overcoming bad things that can happen to people. Of course, the Pope does not think folks will avoid getting cancer, dying, and other bad news. But based on his faith, he can maintain optimism in the face of the nasty stuff. He knows that is our only real choice: to have faith or ditch the faith in trying times.
The Pope uses a graphic image to drive home his point. In faith he can affirm that life is not “an unstoppable train careening out of control.” I smile because I am sure this is exactly how some folks experience their lives. They are not in control. I can resonate with this and, I am sure, everyone can say they are not in complete control of life. The Pope is not naive. He knows things happen to us that we don’t want. What he does claim is these unfortunate events should not be the cause of pessimism, resignation or our weakness.
Later in his reflections the Pope continues to develop his ideas. He exhorts the faithful by saying, "We do not lose ourselves in the flow of events to pessimism, as if history were a train out of control. Resignation is not a Christian virtue. Just like it is not Christian to shrug your shoulders or lower your head before a seemingly unavoidable destiny." I am sure the Pope does not deny destiny. But he says destiny is not doomed to be a pessimistic outcome. For example, destiny inevitably pushes us toward our own death. But that is not a weakness or a matter of resignation. We can be spiritually optimistic that our death, for example, will have an ending that is more like a comedy than a tragedy. That is a statement of hope and I want to follow the papal lead here.
The Pope nears the conclusion of his remarks. He tells us, “Having hope means never being submissive or passive, but being a builder of hope, which demands courage, taking risks and personal sacrifice, he said.” I am attracted to this. Having hope means being a builder of hope. We become missionaries of hope. Hope is our mission. We are not out to convert people, but we are faithful lights of spiritual optimism. Our mission is to enlighten a world mired in pessimism.
We will be called to be beacons of strength in a world that often is paralyzed by fear and failure. We will be energized for this task and be encouragers to those who are sorely tempted to resign and do nothing. Again, we are not doing this out of our own resources of strength and good luck. Our call is not to be lucky; it is to be faithful.
And so in faith I will proceed. I will learn to be spiritually optimistic. And I will enlist myself in the mission of bringing good news.
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