We are in the midst of a curious phenomenon. Everyone loves the pope except conservative Catholics. Elton John loves the Pope.I think he thinks the Pope is about to change Church teaching on homosexual practice and the definition of marriage.
“He is a compassionate, loving man who wants everybody to be included in the love of God,” John said of the Pope. “It is formidable what he is trying to
do against many, many people in the church that opposes. He is courageous and he is fearless, and that’s what we need in the world today.”
James Robison, conservative Evangelical Southern Baptist, also loves the Pope.I think he thinks the Pope is leading people more to have a fervent, personal experience of Jesus Christ. Robison described his meeting with Pope Francis
this way:
He said he wanted everyone to have a personal life-changing encounter with Christ and enter into a personal relationship with Jesus and become bold witnesses
for the Gospel. Religion is not the way; Jesus is. So fervent was his message that as he concluded I said, “As an evangelist, I want you to know what
you just said deserves a high five!” The translator communicated what I was saying and in a moment of exuberance he raised his hand and gave his first
high five ever. What a beautiful picture of love and supernatural oneness for the sake of the Gospel and those Jesus came to redeem.
Is it possible that Elton John and James Robison are both correct in their assessments of Pope Francis? Or is Pope Francis duping one side or
the other, either deliberately or inadvertently, as Dr. Paul Kengor has recently suggested? Truthfully, I don’t really know. But I prefer to place the most generous interpretation on the situation. I prefer to assume
that the Holy Spirit is in the midst of doing some work that we cannot fully see: a work of unification and healing, a ministry of drawing people
together who cannot be drawn together through argumentation. After all, what exactly do Elton John and James Robison have in common? I’m pretty sure
they would disagree with each other on the definition of marriage, on the morality of homosexual practice, and on many other things. On the agreement
side of the ledger: they are both alive at the beginning of the 21st century. They both have XY chromosomes. They both speak English. The
both love the pope. Surely this is a remarkable thing. So what should faithful Catholics say when someone says, “I just love your new pope?” (Or in
a truly southern, Southern Baptist’s case, “I just love ya’lls new pope!”)
Here is what I think we should say: “Thank you. I love him too. Would you like to come to Mass with me someday? That is where he is getting his spiritual
nourishment, you know. My church has Mass every day at 8 AM. I’ll take the morning off from work. We can go together, and I’ll take you out to breakfast
afterwards. What day would work for you?” Practice this in your mind. Picture yourself saying it to James Robison. Picture yourself saying it to Elton
John. Same set of words: two very different conversations. But who cares? If you can picture yourself issuing that invitation to an aging liberal pop-singer
and a Southern Baptist Evangelical preacher, you’ll be able to handle pretty much anybody in between. Let’s set aside politics. Let’s set aside our
preconceived notions of who God wants to save, and how He wants to save them. Get the person into Church. Trust Jesus to do the rest. The Ruth Institute is committed to the interfaith defense of man-woman marriage. Like us on Facebook, and share with your friends, if you agree!
