Pope Francis: Itinerancy,
promptness, decisiveness keys to Gospel proclamation
Following Jesus means no looking back. At the Angelus on
Sunday, Pope Francis says that being a disciple of the Master means being
prompt, decisive, and always on the move.
By Christopher Wells
In his reflection at the Sunday Angelus, Pope Francis
pointed out three figures Christ meets in the Gospel, which “highlight what is
required of those who desire to follow Jesus.”
The first figure is generous, and promises to follow Jesus
wherever He goes. Jesus responds that the Son of Man “has nowhere to rest His
head,” but is always on the move. The Church, similarly, is called to always be
in motion. “Our mission cannot be static, but is itinerant,” the Pope said. The
Church, he explained, is called to go along all the paths of the world in order
to arrive “at the human and existential peripheries.”
When another would-be disciple asks permission to bury his
father, Jesus replies with the “deliberately provocative” words, “Let the dead
bury their dead.” With this reply, the Pope said, Jesus “intends to affirm the
primacy of following” the Lord, and of “the proclamation of the Gospel.” This,
he said, requires promptness and full availability.
Finally, the Pope takes up Jesus’ response to a third
person, who desired to say goodbye to his relatives before following the Lord.
Jesus said, “No one who sets a hand to the plough and looks back… is fit for
the kingdom of God.” With this answer, the Pope said, “Jesus excludes regrets
and looking back, but requires the virtue of decisiveness.”
These three “conditions” of discipleship are not meant to be
a series of “noes”. Instead, they are meant to emphasize “the principle
objective: becoming a disciple of Christ.” This, the Pope said, is a “free and
deliberate choice, made out of love, to reciprocate the inestimable grace of
God, and not made as a way to promote oneself.” Jesus, he continued, “wants us
to be passionate about Himself, and about the Gospel” – and passionate in a way
that results in concrete actions of love toward our most needy brothers and
sisters.
At the conclusion of the Angelus, the Holy Father noted the
meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim
Jong-un, and offered a prayer that their encounter might be one more step along
the path of peace – not only for Korea, but for the whole world.
He also wished workers a restful summer, and offered prayers
for those who are suffering most from the summer heat, especially the sick, the
elderly, and those who work outdoors.
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