Mercy

We have neither the will nor a system/structure to hold mercy as the pattern of our approaches. So easy recourse is to legal justice system which rarely bring about lasting reconciliation and peace. Mercy extends without definitions and boundaries. We look for clarity, order, judgement and a conclusion. Mercy looks for even unseen roots of failures and pain. To reach there is effortful and holds everyone responsible one way or the other. What we need is grace-structures in societies, organisations, deciding bodies etc. Of course, it challenges our moral and dogmatic brackets.

What was wrong with Pope Francis?

Pope Francis didn’t envision a heaven with gold-plated walls, pillars, and symbols of glory. Instead, his papacy focused on realizing a ‘heaven among us’ by prioritizing the values and joy of the Gospel. His heaven was not reduced to church sanctuaries but extended to the rejected, marginalised, and stigmatised. He was near the least. The stance Pope Francis has taken during his papacy represents a stand against greed and power, elements fundamentally opposed to the Gospel. Was he radical, yes radical following gospel values. Catholic beyond Catholicism, a Christian beyond Christianity.

For Francis, the Church was a home for all, always open for all. because Christ himself is the home of all and the way open for all always. He envisioned a church which essentially has tenderness, closeness, and compassion in clergy, laity, religious institutions, and church systems. He cherished the concept of the Church as a ‘Mother’ (Mater Ecclesia), and often warned against the dangers of the Church losing its essential motherly nature or ‘maternity’   which is characterised in patience, forgiveness, attitudes of welcome and openness, especially to sinners. When the Church lacks a motherly character, the church becomes rigid and disciplinarian, overly focusing on rules and doctrines without the warmth, tenderness, and compassion of a mother. The church ends up in being a ‘stepmother Church,’ an ‘orphanage,’ merely an efficient organisation’ losing its spiritual fruitfulness and maternal closeness to its children. A cold, judgmental, and unwelcoming Church fails to show the merciful face of God.

On similar note, he held the wounded world in compassion and mercy. He used the analogy of ‘field hospital after battle’ for the Church. The world is like a battlefield where many people are injured and suffering. He saw humanity as deeply wounded by sin, conflict, poverty, indifference, loneliness, and social injustices. Pope Francis believed the Church’s primary mission right now must be to heal these wounds. This means focusing on mercy, forgiveness, compassion, and accompaniment. To address the pain and abandonment, the Church must be actively present in the world, going out to the peripheries, seeking out those who are hurt, rather than waiting for them to come to its doors. The urgency is to live the core message of God’s love and mercy, warmth, nearness and offer healing before potentially burdening people with complex rules or doctrines they aren’t prepared for due to their woundedness.   

Some labelled him a heretic, diluting core Catholic teachings and the Christian identity of the West. Pope Francis’s criticised those trapped in a ‘dogmatic box’ rather than a rejecting tradition itself, highlighting a distinction between rigid adherence and a living reverence for the past. The open criticism of the Pope also carries theological weight, considering the Catholic doctrine of papal primacy. 

Pope Francis emphasized Jesus’ message of mercy and inclusion, welcomed marginalized groups. Many were worried that his approach watered down traditional Catholic teachings. This progressive bent contrasted sharply with the views of some conservatives who prioritized strict adherence to established interpretations of scripture and tradition. They failed to understand the pastoral kindness, the openness of the church to the world, and a needed Chrit-like nature. Truth of the dogmas cannot function as definitions and equations, they are to be the Word speaking to the wounded world.

He encouraged role of women in the Church, appointed women to important decision-making roles within the Vatican, allowed them to serve as lectors and acolytes in parishes, and permitted women to vote alongside bishops in certain Vatican meetings. He was criticized for feminising the church.  

Some felt that the Pope’s actions demonstrated a lack of respect for tradition and alienated a segment of the faithful who cherished the older liturgical practices.  The beauty and glory of traditions cannot be captured as they are preserved in amusement; it cannot be a museum piece ‘preserved,’ it is not handed over as some treasure boxed. Traditions grow and evolve and keep its continuity, and carry the present and takes a new form. It has happened in the past through history. Fixation to certain ‘traditions’ do not converse, it does not welcome, and speak language of mercy. He opposed clericalism which tarnished the face of the Church, and left many wounded. 

He understood Christ so well that he was able to see the divine language in other religious traditions. He was sure that we are able to walk together amidst differences. Religious elites found a closed kingdom of God which was tightly closed by themselves; there was no place for Pope Francis in that kingdom of their God.

All these someway disturbed the enjoyment of power. He had the authenticity, humility, and courage to speak against the ugly power structures in the church. It was natural that he was ‘wrong’ in many ways. A few dubbed him the ‘antichrist.’  For some, he was foolish to meet people of all spheres, asking for communion, reconciliation, peace and forgiveness.

He also opposed greed. Greed generated an ugly face of humanity; those who won in the race and those who were victims of it. His opposition to war and his condemnation of greed during the COVID-19 pandemic often irritated many of them. What he always asked for was collaboration of all humanity. 

He voiced strong criticisms on ‘unfettered capitalism’ and the ‘idolatry of money.’ He denounced economic models that prioritize profit over people, using powerful language to highlight the moral implications of such systems. “This economy kills,” he said. He called for a universal basic income, dignified wages, and working conditions, advocating for policies aimed at reducing inequality and ensuring a basic standard of living for all. he also condemned the ‘throwaway culture’ and excessive consumerism, linking these practices to environmental degradation and social disparities. He argued that the relentless pursuit of consumption and waste strained the planet's capacity and marginalized those deemed economically unproductive.   

Many capitalist corporations were unhappy due to his strong critiques of economic inequality and environmental exploitation. Proponents of the free-market system in the US expressed unease with his criticisms, defending capitalism as a system that ultimately promotes innovation, wealth creation, and positive externalities for society. They succeeded translating their opposition in religious language and under traditions and pure theology, and accused him of socialist attachment.   

His encyclical ‘Laudato Si’ gave a comprehensive theological framework for understanding the interconnectedness of social justice and environmental responsibility, directly challenging economic systems that prioritize short-term gains over the long-term well-being of both people and the planet.  He was called an idol-worshipper, new age-satan, and a pantheist. 

His opposition to war was also deeply connected to his broader theological vision of human fraternity and solidarity, as articulated in his encyclical Fratelli Tutti. This vision emphasizes the interconnectedness of all people and the inherent wrongness of violence against one another.   The warmongers who trade on ammunitions could not tolerate that.

Despite all oppositions, Pope Francis consistently used his platform to advocate for a more just, peaceful, and humane world, challenging established norms and calling for a fundamental shift in values and priorities. His willingness to directly critique economic systems and political decisions demonstrates a continuation of the Church's efforts to be a moral voice in the world, challenging injustice and advocating for the marginalized.  

He was a true witness to the beatitudes, where the kingdom of God is of those such as these little ones. It is a challenge to those reinforce power over sharp divisions upon religion, ethnicity, language, nationality... Francis was 'wrong' because the 'right's could not allow a home of God open for all. 

Pope Francis

He lived with Christ, He will be with Christ.

He had a heart of mercy, the face of God,
He had a heart of Christ who was the door.
He hungered for justice and peace,
spread the joy of God.
He condemned war,
sided with migrants.
He held God's kingdom in his heart,
stretching the boundaries of the tent,
embracing all.
He loved the earth, and all children of the earth.

So, he was also condemned,
he did suffer accusation of blasphemy,
he was called an idolator and an agent of devil.

He lived with Christ, He will be with Christ.

They crucified Him

They crucified Him
according to the law of Moses.
Christ gave (lived completely and fully) his life
according to the will of God.

Pilate released Barabbas
according to the custom.
Christ offered Paradise to the thief
according to the love flowed out.

Cross is only a dry wood

if there is no crucified. 

It is in us the crucified lives.

Life of God is shared among all,

not from a heaven above.

Christ stretched out his arms

we are all in him.

Was that death a ransom,

Christ's Father would not ask for it.

He offered his life,

to complete the will of the Father that all may have life.

According to the 'divine laws' and customs,

we can escape from the life of the cross. 

Seeking the will of God, with love,

we meet the wounded healer;

in us for others, in others for us.

Christ has 'entered'

'Christ came to die' does not describe him well. Christ gave us life, fully and completely; he emptied himself of the fulness of life because he was the author of life. He saves us by filling us with life, not by saving from .... Hosanna to Him. 

Life offers consolation and peace to the pain and burdens of ours. Christ's life gives that consolation which is a longing of all humanity. It answers the cry 'why have you forsaken me?' Once this consolation is a nurturing reality in our lives, it is visible that the glory of God shines once again. 

God who is confined to holy places and liturgies is not a giver of life. It is only an object of worship. If we are sufficiently hypocritical, we can very well find comfort in a religious environment. But if we want to really experience and live the life of salvation, Christ has 'entered' our lives; the reality of the passion, death and resurrection of Christ is here in our flesh. Because he lives in us. The very moment we want to give our life for others, there is a cross erected. Our sufferings and pains are not the crosses. But the willingness to offer our lives is the lifegiving tree.

Imagine the entry of ours into the lives of different people, imagine those who have entered our lives. Were we able to pour out our  life completely and fully in a life-giving manner? Perhaps, we were not. Are we willing? Have we seen the self emptying of others for us? You lived for me and emptied yourself for me. Is it a social figuration of Christ events? No, its Christ lived and experienced in reality.

Grace-Body

Sin is gracelessness, and there may be many reasons for this condition more than a particular action called a sin. Settled sorrows, disappointments, sense of loss, despair ... can make that condition where sin, lifelessness, can set in. 

As formed from repeated choices, breaking away from vices involved in our gracelessness and moving to virtue is not easy. restructuring the routine, finding alternative rewards, finding satisfying motivation ... are significant. Often, the 'individual' sense has left each of us alone to be in this struggle. Growth in virtues is possible as we make our efforts together.

There is an emotional side of every emptiness from which sin emerges. So, an emotional letting to experience consolation, comfort, strength, nurture, care, companionship are also important. It is important to practice self-compassion as part of personal experience of divine life. 

Often, a neglected reality is our body except for finding fault with it as the cause for all sins. Experience grace in and through the body. Our physicality can be  sacrament of the divine embrace. Allow body to sense it and be immersed in it. Never to be afraid in body experiencing the intimate love of God.  

powered God- Christ

Deified and politicised God is all powerful, but is in need of human defense and protection. That is an idol at the service of power.

Christ within a religious framework is not Christ at all. Because truth of Christ cannot be contained in definitions. He became one among us, and we claim that we have known him fully.  Christ is not in an up-above heaven. The truth of Christ involves all of us, all humanity, all differences. To understand him, we need openness to the other despite all the differences. To realise in-Him, we need the vibrance of with-the other and through-the other. Christ lives in us, and we all live in Christ. Without learning to trust the other whom we can see how are we to trust Christ who lives in all others and in us together in entirety?

Super-imaging of Christ is, in fact, marking boundaries for Christ. It influences the understanding of sharing of the gospel, being the Church, and relating to others. Every existence is a mutual-existence. and in Him every being a co-being.

I too do not condemn

 These days of lent help us to be closer to Jesus and enter into the heart of God. We began with understanding our struggles and temptations with the presence of Jesus and strengthened by the voice of God. We reflected on ways of closely imitating him, believing and walking with him through the daily realities on the plane. Then we began looking deeper into the heart of God and reflected how we enter. Now, these days we are meditating how we possess the nature of God in our person and community.

We know that it is not easy, and demands a lot of effort. Let us keep the passage of last Sunday also to reflect on the passage given today. “… the Pharisees and Scribes complained, … and then He told them a parable: …” He came to the temple, all the people came to him, he sat down and began to teach. Then the scribes and Pharisees brought a woman …” Women like this are to be condemned to death by stoning according to the law of Moses. A similar tone is seen also on the woman who washed the feet of Jesus with her tears, “What sort of woman is she …” We heard the same accusation last Sunday from the elder son, “this son of yours who devoured your living with harlots ….”
According to the law of Moses, what is to be maintained and achieved? It is a covenantal bond. It does not aim at an individual righteousness which can hounour someone with the position of judge. The covenant is to a people, and any failure in the covenantal bond needs to be repaired by the ‘people’ together. ‘Anyone of you who has no sin…’ is not only a reminder of sinfulness, but also a call to build each other in grace so that no one may be in a state that one loses themselves and unable to experience God’s grace. Are you a righteous one? Thank God, and extend yourselves after the heart of God that they may also live.
‘This one’ was lost but is found, was dead and is alive is a cause of rejoicing and celebrating; not an occasion to condemn. We can go to the extreme that we can find fault with God too. Because these are condemnable according to the law of Moses; they are sinners, immoral, strangers, outsiders, pagans, and unholy. We cannot believe that God can love them. Somewhere there is wrong with the approach of God. Perhaps some need a judge-saviour and judge-deity to serve their own ethical codes. We may not be able to apply fixed definitions to participate in God's nature. Entering into the heart of God is a celebration without biases and judgment. It is a giving and receiving of life to the full.
Jesus asks us to grow a bit more from the possibilities of the law. More than surety of discipline, order and perfection, life is to be directed to a maturity in Christ in whom we grow and participate in the nature of God. St Paul presents it as the goal of life, a goal for which Christ has made us his own. The past is gone; perhaps using the law as a judgment tool, or being condemned by the law, or being guided by the law. But, now “all I want is to know Christ and the power of his resurrection, and share in his suffering by imitating the pattern of his death.”
Christ is not an obligation-framework, he is the source of life. Being in Christ fills in us the newness of life, the power of the resurrection. Life, the Christ-nature has a creative restlessness until this same life flows into all those who are weak, oppressed, and those who don’t see a time of grace. So, naturally, our life and attitudes take a life-giving mode. Life grows as we take a mutually-consoling manner. “No need to remember the past, don’t think of what was done before” is not a denial or break away from the past, but a total reception of the entirety of life into God’s unfathomable love.
People coming back home, people thrown at our feet may not be in a religious context all the time. According to religion, according to our daily life routines, many are easily judged, and those judgements are justified. Can we examine in us for a Christ-response in our attitudes, evaluations and judgments? Recently I heard some holy Christians instructing that it is against the first commandment to help someone or donate blood to someone of a different faith. If our very Christianness becomes an obstacle to be Christlike and make us judge in a godless nature, there is a lifeless chair of Moses still in function. Christ is the door to enter to God and the home we enter into. Christ is the model to follow, in him we have celebration and joy. We welcome, we accept, we embrace, we do not condemn, we desire life and mercy. Let us try, let us ask God’s help to realise the righteousness, peace and joy of the kingdom.

Coming Home

Did Christ die as a rebellious acceptance of violence?
Did he die as a victim of Jewish religious hypocrisy and Roman cruelty?
Did he die as a ritualistic sacrifice for sins; Did he die as a ransom before a judging deity who would pardon only if a cruel death would be offered?

He was a victim of Jewish religious hypocrisy and Roman cruelty. But he lived his life to the full, emptying himself. The abundance of life he would give to humanity would not be defeated by the wicked holiness of the jews.

Perhaps some need a judge-saviour and judge-deity to serve their own ethical codes. We may not be able to apply fixed definitions to to participate in God's nature. Entering into the heart of God is a celebration without biases and judgment. It is a giving and receiving of life to the full.

As we 'enter' our house, there is no home to reach, we make the home and we are the home. Repentance and homecoming is similar as we become one home that is Christ.