I enjoy the way Pope Francis sees things and, especially, how he puts things. Recently in a talk at St. Peter’s the Pope asked 20 kids to join him on stage. Apparently, they had been part of their parish pilgrimage when the Pope asked them to join him on stage. They all were wearing yellow baseballs hats. The picture was too good!
Part of the papal address was to focus on the worse enemies for young people. That is an interesting focus. I am not sure I have even given that much thought. So I was eager to see what the Pope would have to say. The first quotation from the article I read offered a zinger. The Pope said, "It is necessary to ask the heavenly father for the gift of healthy restlessness for today's young people, the ability to not settle for a life without beauty, without color.” That is a great sentence. Let’s all ask God for the gift of healthy restlessness. I wonder what healthy restlessness looks like in my life and in your life. I think it is wonderful advice for young people.
The Pope then asks, “If young people are not hungry for an authentic life, where will humanity end up?" I would not leave this simply to the young folks. I also am hungry for an authentic life. Who wants to live one day inauthentically? And yet, I fear I already have done that. Let’s ponder a moment what an authentic life looks like. A couple clues to the meaning of authentic help. In the first place authentic means of “undisputed origin,” according to the dictionary. It is not unusual to hear folks talk about “the real deal.” That’s authentic. Additionally, to be authentic is to be genuine. Authentic people are not fakes.
This is where I know I have not always lived authentically. I know there have been times I have faked it. There have been times I have tried to be someone else. This was not necessarily wrong, but it was not authentic. I know there were too many times in my growing up years when I tried to be the person my parents wanted me to be. It was not bad, but I realized at some point, it was not me. It was at that point I would say my spiritual journey really began. I have been on it ever since.
Pope Francis’ advice to the young people is good advice. Don’t fake it. Ask for the gift of healthy restlessness. “Unfortunately, the pope said, some people believe this restlessness, this desire to live a better life is too dangerous and should be tamped down.” I have known too many people who did tamp down the restlessness they found in their kids and in other people around them. I suspect I have done this tamping down on occasion. I never thought about that as sin, but it probably is a sin against another.
I am captivated by the continued line of papal logic. "I would like to say, especially to young people, our worst enemy is not concrete problems" no matter how serious or tragic they may be,” quips the Pope. We do have some serious problems: climate change, overpopulation, etc. But these are not our worst problems, claims Francis. So what is?
The Pope is clear. “The biggest danger in life is a bad spirit of adapting that is not meekness or humility, but is mediocrity, pusillanimity,’ that is, cowardice or fear, and making the excuse for doing nothing by saying, ‘that's just the way I am.’" A bad spirit of adapting is more than sad. It is ultimately destructive. Adaptation is not sufficient for the big problems facing humankind. Instead, humans are going to have to be imaginative and creative, like their creator God.
As the Pope says, a bad spirit of adapting leads to mediocrity. Too often, I fear, that is what churches settle for. And too often, that is what educational systems want for their students. Of course, no one says they are educating or settling for mediocrity. But any system which does not anticipate and prepare for change---often radical change---is settling for mediocrity. It is hard to imagine Jesus coming to the ones he was calling into discipleship and telling them to follow him---but don’t be daring, bold and courageous. Jesus had changes in mind. He warned that we had to die to the old self. I suspect the old self is the self that is willing to adapt with a bad spirit. It will settle for mediocrity.
Our churches, mosques and synagogues do not near cowards nor people who are afraid. Pope Francis fears “young people who are tame (and) not restless.” Too many places and people want young people who are tame. Restless young people scare us. Indeed, restless old people often are a threat. But I suspect if we really are filled with the Spirit, we will become restless.
We won’t want to settle. We won’t be afraid. We will overcome fear. I experienced this in the 1960s when I was young and felt called to engage the tumultuous culture of that time. I join the Pope in hoping young people feel that same call to become restless---restless in a healthy, maybe, even holy way.
And I hope I can, too.
Part of the papal address was to focus on the worse enemies for young people. That is an interesting focus. I am not sure I have even given that much thought. So I was eager to see what the Pope would have to say. The first quotation from the article I read offered a zinger. The Pope said, "It is necessary to ask the heavenly father for the gift of healthy restlessness for today's young people, the ability to not settle for a life without beauty, without color.” That is a great sentence. Let’s all ask God for the gift of healthy restlessness. I wonder what healthy restlessness looks like in my life and in your life. I think it is wonderful advice for young people.
The Pope then asks, “If young people are not hungry for an authentic life, where will humanity end up?" I would not leave this simply to the young folks. I also am hungry for an authentic life. Who wants to live one day inauthentically? And yet, I fear I already have done that. Let’s ponder a moment what an authentic life looks like. A couple clues to the meaning of authentic help. In the first place authentic means of “undisputed origin,” according to the dictionary. It is not unusual to hear folks talk about “the real deal.” That’s authentic. Additionally, to be authentic is to be genuine. Authentic people are not fakes.
This is where I know I have not always lived authentically. I know there have been times I have faked it. There have been times I have tried to be someone else. This was not necessarily wrong, but it was not authentic. I know there were too many times in my growing up years when I tried to be the person my parents wanted me to be. It was not bad, but I realized at some point, it was not me. It was at that point I would say my spiritual journey really began. I have been on it ever since.
Pope Francis’ advice to the young people is good advice. Don’t fake it. Ask for the gift of healthy restlessness. “Unfortunately, the pope said, some people believe this restlessness, this desire to live a better life is too dangerous and should be tamped down.” I have known too many people who did tamp down the restlessness they found in their kids and in other people around them. I suspect I have done this tamping down on occasion. I never thought about that as sin, but it probably is a sin against another.
I am captivated by the continued line of papal logic. "I would like to say, especially to young people, our worst enemy is not concrete problems" no matter how serious or tragic they may be,” quips the Pope. We do have some serious problems: climate change, overpopulation, etc. But these are not our worst problems, claims Francis. So what is?
The Pope is clear. “The biggest danger in life is a bad spirit of adapting that is not meekness or humility, but is mediocrity, pusillanimity,’ that is, cowardice or fear, and making the excuse for doing nothing by saying, ‘that's just the way I am.’" A bad spirit of adapting is more than sad. It is ultimately destructive. Adaptation is not sufficient for the big problems facing humankind. Instead, humans are going to have to be imaginative and creative, like their creator God.
As the Pope says, a bad spirit of adapting leads to mediocrity. Too often, I fear, that is what churches settle for. And too often, that is what educational systems want for their students. Of course, no one says they are educating or settling for mediocrity. But any system which does not anticipate and prepare for change---often radical change---is settling for mediocrity. It is hard to imagine Jesus coming to the ones he was calling into discipleship and telling them to follow him---but don’t be daring, bold and courageous. Jesus had changes in mind. He warned that we had to die to the old self. I suspect the old self is the self that is willing to adapt with a bad spirit. It will settle for mediocrity.
Our churches, mosques and synagogues do not near cowards nor people who are afraid. Pope Francis fears “young people who are tame (and) not restless.” Too many places and people want young people who are tame. Restless young people scare us. Indeed, restless old people often are a threat. But I suspect if we really are filled with the Spirit, we will become restless.
We won’t want to settle. We won’t be afraid. We will overcome fear. I experienced this in the 1960s when I was young and felt called to engage the tumultuous culture of that time. I join the Pope in hoping young people feel that same call to become restless---restless in a healthy, maybe, even holy way.
And I hope I can, too.
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