Pope Francis Restores the Good Sense of Jesus–by Leonardo Boff

Editor’s Note: We at Tikkun continue to rejoice in the good teachings of the world’s most prominent Spiritual Progressive– Pope Francis. If only his teachings could become mainstream within his own church instead of being resisted by so many conservative forces within the Catholic hierarchy! And if only all the other branches of Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Budhism, Jainism, Quakerism, Unitarian Universalism, Moromonism, and the varieties of secular humanism and atheism could produce leaders with this level of courage and insight to bring the world closer to becoming drenched in the love and compassion that this great teacher of humanity seeks to spread. For our part, and with all due humility at our own limitatiions, we once again invite those who want to build a global transformation of consciousness in the direction that is described below by Leonardo Boff (explicating the teachings of Pope Francis) to join with us as members of the interfaith and secualr-humanist-welcoming Network of Spiritual Progressives (read the Spiritual Covenant atwww.spiritualprogressives.org/covenant and then join the Network as full members at www.spiritualprogressives.org/join). Together we can amplify this message of love and compassion and build support for those in every sphere who want to build economic, political, social, religious and spiritual practices and ways of life that embody this way of being! Each retaining our own particular traditions and scriptures, but nevertheless embracing each other as comrades in global healing and transformation (tikkun olam). Joining with us is one powerful way of saying “No” to the forces of darkness that are (hopefully only momentarily) in ascendency in aspects of the politics of American society, Israeli society, Chinese society, Iranian society, Saudi Arabian society, the European countries who are turning away refugees, the Islamic societies who are engaged in ruthless treatment of some of their alternative versions of Islam, the dictators and military coups that are running Egypt and Pakistan, the terrorists, the self-righteous in every sphere. The forces of love and justice will ultimately triumph, it you will actively join with them and with us.

 

 

– Rabbi Michael Lerner  RabbiLerner.tikkun@gmail.com  

Pope Francis restores the good sense of Jesus

Leonardo Boff

        Theologian-Philosopher

      Earthcharter Commission

Pope Francis has engendered a revolution in the thinking of the Church, returning to the praxis of the historical Jesus. He is restoring what is now called “The Tradition of Jesus”, that precedes the present Gospels, written 30-40 years after His execution on the cross. The Tradition of Jesus, or as it is also called in The Acts of the Apostles, “the path of Jesus”, is grounded more on values and ideals than on doctrine. The essentials are  unconditional love, mercy, forgiveness, justice and preference for the poor and the outcast, and a total openness to God the Father. Jesus, to put it bluntly, did not intend to found a new religion. He wanted to teach us how to live. To live with fraternity, solidarity and caring for each other.

What stands out most in Jesus is His good sense. We say that someone has good sense when that person has the right word for each situation, appropriate behavior, and the ability to quickly identify the gist of a question. Good sense is linked to the concrete wisdom of life.  It distinguishes the essential from the secondary. It is the capacity to see and put things in their rightful places. Good sense opposes exaggeration. This is where the madman and the genius, who are so close in many aspects, are fundamentally distinguished. The genius radicalizes good sense. The madman radicalizes exaggeration.    

Jesus, as the Gospels witness, manifested Himself as a genius of good sense. A matchless freshness runs through everything He says and does. God in His goodness, a human in his frailty, society with its contradictions and nature with its splendor, appear with crystal clear immediacy. Jesus neither preaches theology nor appeals to superior moral principles. Jesus does not get lost in tedious and heartless questions of right and wrong. His words and attitudes go directly to the point where reality bleeds and the human must make a decision for himself and before God.

His warnings are incisive and direct: “first be reconcíled to thy brother” (Mt 5,24). “Swear not at all” (Mt 5,34). “Do not fight back against evil; but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right check, turn to him the other also” (Mt 5,39). “Love thy enemies, and pray for those who spitefully use thee and persecute thee” (Mt 5,44). “When thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth” (Mt 6,3).

This good sense has been missing from the institutional Church (popes, bishops and priests), but not from the Church of the bases, especially on moral questions. The institutional Church is hard and implacable. Humans with their pain are sacrificed to abstract principles. The institutional Church is ruled by power, rather than mercy.  As the saints and wise men and women warn us: where power prevails, love vanishes and mercy disappears.

How different is Pope Francis. The principal quality of God, he tells us, is mercy. He often repeats: “Be merciful as your heavenly Father is merciful” (Lk 6,36). And Pope Francis explains the etymological meaning of mercy: miseris cor dare: «give the heart to the miser», to those who suffer.  In his Angelus talk of April 6, 2014, he said in hushed tones: «Listen well: there are no limits at all to the divine mercy offered to all». And asked the multitude to repeat with him: «There are no limits to the divine mercy offered to all».

He reminds us as a theologian that Saint Thomas Aquinas affirms that, where practice is concerned, mercy is the most important virtue«because it overflows to the others and also succors them in their weaknesses».

Filled with mercy in the face of the dangers of the zika virus epidemic Pope Francis opens a space for the use of contraceptives. It is about saving lives: «to avoid a pregnancy is not  an absolute evil», the Pope said in his visit to Mexico on February of the current year. To the new cardinals, he admonishes them with the words:«The Church does not condemn forever. The punishment of hell used to torment the faithful is not eternal». God is a mystery of inclusion and communion, never of exclusion.  Mercy always triumphs.

This means that we must interpret the Bible references to hell not in a fundamentalist way, but pedagogically, as a way to lead us to do good. Logically, we do not enter in any form into the Kingdom of the Trinity. We must first pass through the purifying clinic of God, until we emerge, purified, into the blessed eternity.

This message is truly liberating.  And Pope Francis’  apostolic exhortation confirms “The Joy of the Gospel”.  This joy is offered to everyone, including non-Christians, because it is the path of humanization and of liberation.

–Liberation Theologian Leonardo Boff