Pope Francis: Get moving if you want to follow Jesus
(Vatican Radio) During his homily on Friday morning in
the Chapel of Santa Marta, Pope Francis said that authentic faith must be ready
to take risks and that real hope is the reward.
Commenting on the Gospel account of the paralytic who is lowered
from the roof of the house where Jesus is teaching, the Pope said people follow
Jesus out of self interest or because they are looking for a comforting word.
Even if no intention is totally pure or perfect, he said, the important thing
is to follow Jesus. People were drawn to Him because of the “things He said and
the way he said them. They understood Him. He healed them and many people
followed Him to be healed”. There were times, said Pope Francis, when Jesus
admonished people who were more interested in their own well-being than in the
Word of God.
Don’t be Christians to look at life from the balcony and
judge others
There were other times, continued the Pope, when people
wanted to make Jesus King, thinking He was “the perfect politician!”. But they
were wrong and Jesus “went away and hid”. Even so, the Lord let anyone follow
Him because He knew that we are all sinners. The bigger problem, confirmed the
Pope, “was not with those who followed Jesus”, but with those who stayed where
they were.
“Those who didn’t move…and watched. They were sitting
down…watching from the balcony. Their life was not a journey: their life was a
balcony! From there they never took risks. They just judged. They were pure and
wouldn’t get involved. But their judgements were severe. In their hearts they
said: What ignorant people! What superstitious people! How often, when we see
the piety of simple people, are we too subject to that clericalism that hurts
the Church so much”.
Reflecting on those who don’t move in their lives, Pope
Francis referenced the man who “sat beside the pool for 38 years, without
moving, embittered by life, without hope…someone else who failed to follow
Jesus and had no hope”.
Encountering Jesus means taking risks
But those who did follow Jesus, continued the Pope, were
ready to risk in order to meet Him, in order to “find what they wanted”. Going
back to the day’s Gospel reading, Pope Francis said “the men who made a hole in
the roof took a risk”. They risked the owner of the house suing them and taking
them to court to pay for the damages. They were ready to risk because “they
wanted to go to Jesus”. The woman who was sick took a risk when she furtively
touched the hem of Jesus’ cloak: she risked being ridiculed. But she risked:
because she wanted to be cured, “she wanted to reach Jesus. Remember the
Canaanite woman: women risk more than men do! That’s true: they are better at
it! We have to admit that”.
Following Jesus, the Pope went on, “isn’t easy, but it’s
wonderful! And it’s always a risk”. There are times, he said, when we risk
“being ridiculous”. But we achieve what counts: “our sins are forgiven”.
Beneath whatever request we are making, whether it be for good health or for a
solution to a problem, “there’s the desire to be healed in spirit, to be
forgiven”. All of us know we are sinners, said Pope Francis, “and that’s why we
follow Jesus: to meet Him. So we take risks”.
Beware of a soul that is static, closed and without hope
Let’s ask ourselves, concluded Pope Francis: “Do I take
risks, or do I follow Jesus according to the rules of my insurance company?”
Because “that’s not the way to follow Jesus. That way you don’t move, like
those who judge”.
Do we follow Jesus because we need something, or do we
follow Him because we are ready to risk? “This is faith: trusting in Jesus,
having faith in Jesus. And with this faith in Him, these men cut a hole in the
roof and lowered the stretcher down in front of Jesus so he could cure the sick
man”. “Do I put my faith in Jesus?”, asked the Pope. “Do I entrust my life to
Jesus? Am I walking behind Jesus even if sometimes I seem ridiculous? Or am I
sitting still, watching what others are doing?” Am I watching life with a soul
that is static, “with a soul that is closed with bitterness and lack of hope?
We should each be asking ourselves these questions today”.
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