Habemus communicationis defection est! Part II

Habemus communicationis defection est!  Still.

I was chatting with my son late last night and he quoted somebody who said something that somebody else has said to me earlier in the day...and so my mind got stuck there, even as my son likely revealed the secrets of the universe to me or what to expect from the new season of MadMen.

If God was speaking through the Cardinals when the elected the Pope, then why weren't they unanimous in their voting?

A fair question.

But one that reveals a certain understanding of God, that I do not share.

For many people this talk of “God” is about a great big bearded man in the sky, throwing lightning bolts, pulling strings, occasionally mooning Moses (look it up) and watching over Justin Beiber’s career.  With time and sophistication, we've moved away from the lightning bolts, most of us “the man” and a few of us “the beard”…. But we stick with the God who pulls strings.  A master marrionettist who makes Cardinals vote. 

I sometimes struggle with my understanding of God.  Do I choose a distant, removed clock maker who put thing in motion and then disappeared?  An eternal kid tapping on the glass of a giant ant farm?  Why would the creator such an elegant design as the universe, break in from time to time and suspend the very laws and machinations so lovingly created?   Tough to choose; hard to figure out...

What I do know is that the God that Jesus reveals is not coercive.  We can talk one day about the nature of Jesus humanity, divinity and combination skin, but for now, let’s agree that somehow, someway, Jesus reveals the nature and intent of God – either because he is so begotten, or because he’s very careful and intentional in all his actions.  Looking at Jesus very carefully tells Christians something about God… in fact, studying or following Jesus informs Christians about God more than studying or following anybody else.   

AND 

Jesus is not coercive.   

You can search the text and find a sentence that might be in tension with my assertion, but by and large – Jesus is not, himself coercive and so reveals that God is not coercive.   Jesus asks people if they want to be healed, he doesn't just show up and take leprosy away (no matter what Monty Python says)… He doesn't demand, he invites the rich man to give up his wealth… Jesus teaches in parables, inviting people to wonder and think for themselves… He doesn't impose a new order, he invites people to consider their own lives and traditions..  Not coercive, always persuasive.

That’s how I believe that God acts in the world: Persuasively.  Not pulling strings, but speaking to me from within; catching my eye and moving my heart from without; engaging my imagination and helping me to see new possibilities… to that end, almost all of my decisions are in fact, mine.  (except where my wife is involved… but that’s for the best).  My decisions are mine, influenced by God, but ultimately an expression of Norm in relation to God.  Which means that I am likely to make a different decision than Cardinal Thomas Collins  (how great is it to have a gin and lemon Cardinal?  But, I digress…)

For me, it’s almost the lack of unanimity that’s affirming to me.  It reveals to me God who is persuasive, not coercive; not imposing, but inviting… the very God that I find in the stories and experience of Jesus.

So, now... off to call my son and figure out what he was talking about last night...

Habemus Communicationis Defection est!

Habemus Papam?

Habemus communicationis defection est!

(my Latin is a little rusty… but what I hope that I said was something to the effect of “We have a failure to communicate!”)

If I may, allow me to rant and respond to statements that you probably haven’t made, but somebody did!(Hey, it’s my blog)

He’s been Pope for less than 24 hours.  Don’t be stunned that he hasn't swept through the Curia or cleaned up the Vatican Bank.  That may take weeks. 

I know that Francis is a name that speaks of humility and reform, but reform takes time and rarely looks like reform to those of us occupying or marching on the left.  This Pope is apparently not swayed by Liberation Theology – it’s not the only theology available – but he has shown a devotion to the poor, even if not always in the right circles.  We were never going to get a Pope Che.

Don’t worry about the name Francis.  Nobody remembers the Donald O’Connor and Francis the Talking Mule movies.   Really.  Almost nobody….

Matthew Fox thinks that the Dalai Lama would have been a better choice as Pope.  And he wonders why he was silenced by the Roman Catholic Church when he was a Priest and ultimately ex-communicated?  Might have been his belief that Buddhists should the successors of the Apostle Peter (just sayin’).   And, Rev. Fox, I have enjoyed and been influenced by many of your books, but your insistence that the Spanish Inquisition is alive and well is getting tiresome.  Yes, the office continues (now called the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith) and Pope Benedict was the head of it when he was a Cardinal, but they didn’t torture you; they made you get another publisher for your books.  Not the same thing.

And Media… where do I begin? 

The election of a Pope is not a reality show.  It’s NOT Survivor, the Bachelor or Toddlers and Tiaras.  It’s not a human endeavor; or a process of elimination in which the strongest, smartest, best looking or obnoxious survives.  It is meant to be Divinely Influenced process:  A gathering of individuals who strive to be open to the influence of God; the moving of the Holy Spirit.  It’s not supposed to be about campaigning or strategizing – it’s about hearing the call of God. Not about plotting the growth of the company or re-visioning of the brand.  And that confuses us…. This idea that it might not be all about us is hard to imagine.  Even now, you’re thinking “yeah, but the Cardinals all had their favourites; the Pope stacked the deck with conservatives so that things would keep going his way….”  I know that you’re thinking that, because I think the same thing.  And then I remember how hard I tried to let go of my preconceptions when I was a Commissioner to United Church of Canada General Council and we elected a new Moderator.  (kind of the same thing as a Pope, only without the authority, the great view of Rome and the red shoes… only Dorothy gets red shoes!).  When it came time for us to elect a new Moderator, I prayed… I let go of my preconceptions…  I didn’t vote my friends or my region… my gender or my sexual orientation or cultural background.  And if I can do that, I am sure that a bunch of Cardinals can, too.  I’m not that amazing.   (well….  Maybe somewhat amazing).

I like the election of the Pope. It’s a reminder to me that there are people who take seriously that idea that God is active in the world… not just floating around in the sky endorsing and affirming our decisions; but actually gently calling and persuading us into a better future.   Is that what happened with the election of Pope Francis?  I don’t know… some folks think so.  I hope so.

In the end, I don’t know if it really matters all that much what I think,   I’m not a Roman Catholic.   I married one and raised three  - but the election of new Pope is not about me.  We don’t really talk the same language  - although clearly my Latin is fabulous (if you speak Latin, I just made a brilliant joke).  It’s kind of like Walmart to me…  I don’t like their labour policies or the power that they have over so many economies, so I don’t shop there.  I don't hate Walmart, I recognize that many reasonable people think that Walmart has a lot to offer... but I choose not to spend my money or time there.  But that's me... 

And now that I've finished ranting, I really should get back to work.