Devin Strong

Spirit of Peace Lutheran Church

Tributes to Pope Francis are all over the news and social media after his recent passing on Easter Monday from complications of a stroke. The Pope had just returned from a lengthy hospital stay and was still recovering from double pneumonia.

Many others are more capable than I at listing his accomplishments and evaluating his tenure as the head of the Roman Catholic Church.

I know that this Pope was a strong advocate for justice at peace, saying more than most about the importance of justice for immigrants worldwide. He spoke and wrote about the need for peace in Israel and Palestine, advocated for serious efforts on climate change, and delt pastorally with members of the LBGTQ community. Pope Francis also apologized publicly to victims of sexual abuse and for various acts of genocide committed by countries whose populations are predominantly Christian.

At the same time, women are still not allowed to be ordained as priests. Priests are still not allowed to marry (unless they were married and ordained in another denomination and convert to Catholicism), and no doubt sexual misconduct by the clergy continues in the Roman Church, as it does in all churches. My point is not to diminish the structural achievements of the pontiff. Rather, it is to say that all large organizations, including the Catholic Church, wrestle with institutional sins and are slow to change and heal.

From my vantage point as a non-Catholic Christian, this pope’s most significant accomplishments have more to do with his style and personal demeanor than his ecclesiastical policies. Pope Francis was gentle and soft-spoken. There are countless pictures of him hugging children and washing the feet of the poorest among us. He eschewed the pomp and circumstance normally associated with his station and opted for simpler ways, right up to his funeral which was a stripped-down version of the rite usually given for a pope.

Like all high religious officials before him, Francis preached the Gospel and taught church doctrine, but he did it in a way that was gentler and more accessible than most. In his person Pope Francis did much to embody Jesus, and in so-doing, I believe he made people more curious about Jesus and brought thousands and thousands to a deeper faith.

I will leave it to others to assess this pope’s legacy as well as where the Roman Catholic Church can or should go from here, but as we believers make our way through the Easter season, Francis is an excellent model for us. This is not to say that larger decisions and broader policies are unimportant. Of course, these things matter, but you and I witness to Jesus not just by WHAT we do but HOW we do it. Gentleness, openness, honesty, humility, joy, peace, and quietness all matter immensely.

People are not looking for you to quote scripture as much as they are wanting you to listen to them and love them in tangible ways.

My wife Chris is excellent at chatting up and blessing all the cashiers, janitors, and service people that she meets every day. This may not be a traditional Easter sermon, but I bet that both Pope Francis and Jesus approve. How can you and I embody the risen Jesus throughout this Easter season?