In a column in today's Washington Post titled If you have a problem with Pope Francis’s message, you have a problem with Christ, he lays out clearly what should be unsettling to many about this Pope, and why it is very worthwhile even for those of us who do not identify as Christians to listen carefully to what he says.
Zarakia begins with a personal note:
I am not a Christian. But growing up in India, I was immersed in Christianity. I attended Catholic and Anglican schools from ages 5 to 18, where we would sing hymns, recite prayers and study the Scriptures. The words and actions of Pope Francis have reminded me what I, as an outsider, have always admired deeply about Christianity, that its central message is simple and powerful: Be nice to the poor.
Somehow I find myself remembering the words of another man from India, Mohandas K Gandhi, who once offered that he liked Christ, it was Christians with whom he had a problem. And as one who has studied in a Catholic Seminary (Master of Arts in Religious Studies with a concentration in Scripture from St. Charles Borromeo in Wynnewood PA, where the Pope will be staying while in Philadelphia) while never having been a Catholic (I was an Orthodox Christian at the time), I found much of what Zarakia writes to resonate with me.
In his 2nd paragraph, he notes
When I came to the United States in the 1980s, I remember being surprised to see what “Christian values” had come to mean in American culture and politics — heated debates over abortion, abstinence, contraception and gays. In 13 years of reading, reciting and studying the Bible, I didn’t recall seeing much about these topics.
I can say quite plainly, neither did I.
Please keep reading.
Zakaria then turns to the writing of Garry Wills, who has written about this Pope in a book titled The Future of the Catholic Church with Pope Francis, in which he (Wills) notes
“Many of the most prominent and contested stands taken by Catholic authorities (most of them dealing with sex) have nothing to do with the Gospel.”
I will leave it to you to read through that portion of the column, which might surprise many listening to some of the rhetoric both of conservative Catholics who obsess about sex and many Evangelical Christians. It is clear that much of what they assert lacks solid biblical foundation, although in fairness it has always been the position of the Catholic and Orthodox Churches that the Bible does not define the Church, rather the Church determines the Bible, both by deciding what is included and how it should be approached.
That said, Wills and Zakaria are clearly correct on the importance of how we treat the poor and dispossessed in the message of Jesus. This Pope clearly takes seriously the words of the Last Judgment in Matthew 25, that whatsoever we do to these the least of the brethren of Jesus we also do to him.
As one of Jewish background, I can find much of that in tune with the Hebrew Scriptures, which among other things remind us that we are to treat the sojourners in our land fairly and mercifully, because we ourselves were sojourners in the land of Egypt, from which Adonai - the Lord - brought us out.
About the treatment of the poor, Zakaria notes
Jesus has specific advice on how to handle the poor. Treat them as you would Christ himself, sell your possessions and give to the poor. When you hold a banquet, Jesus says, do not invite the wealthy and powerful, because you do so in the hope that they will return the favor and reward you. Instead, invite the dispossessed — and you will be rewarded by God. It is because he expects so much from the rich that he said that it was easier for a camel to get through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to get to heaven.
He quotes the Bible to remind us that our sometimes near-worshipping of the wealthy and successful might be a problem, noting
In other words, be thankful for your success, but don’t think it makes you superior in any deep sense.
To those who criticize this Pope with labels meant to diminish those parts of the message of Francis - Marxist; unionist; radical environmentalist - Zakaria offers a cogent response:
I don’t think the pope is proposing an alternative system of politics or economics. He is simply reminding each of us that we have a moral obligation to be kind and generous to the poor and disadvantaged — especially if we have been fortunate. If you have a problem with this message, you have a problem not with Pope Francis, but with Jesus Christ.
Read the column. It might help you understand both this Pope and the main thrust of the message he not only preaches, but lives.
Peace.