It takes an awe-inspiring lot to disrupt the go-for-the-jugular gladiator fest that is political season in America. Yet that is precisely what Pope Francis’ whirlwind visit accomplished last week.
Which is near-miraculous really, considering our national tenor these days. We have become a people for whom spiteful hissy fits at best, and low, ugly blows at worst, too-routinely mark our interactions across the razor-wire barriers dividing us by personal politics, class, race and a host of other things.
Last week’s tarrying on our soil of the leader of the Roman Catholic church reminds us that we can be better than that. That so many took note of the pontiff’s presence is reason for hope that humankind’s higher nature can somehow trump the base instincts that are in full flower these days.
We’ve always been a people who’ve valued scrappy individualism, hard work and the blessings that often accrue from the hustle of honest labor. Words like collectivism and redistribution are anathema to many here. Taken to an extreme, our natural focus on self-reliance can fuel a cold-hearted, hardened society of the kind that religious leaders warn us against. It is the eternal struggle of human urges against spiritual ones, many believe.
Yet, taken as a whole, our nation’s arc has more often than not bent toward trying to do the right things. History shows that, across time, we’ve often learned from our mistakes when it counted, and sought to right past wrongs.
Pope Francis’ ministry on our shores models the human ideal of perpetually striving, as individuals and communities, to live up to a high, if not supernatural, standard.
Francis reminds people of faith of the wise sentiment of the Old Testament prophet Micah, who asked: “And what does the Lord require of you, but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?”
That is a tall, but not unattainable, bar for us all, religious or otherwise. Especially when backbiting, finger-pointing and contention have become a popular religion for too many. It is good to be reminded that we are called to rise above such.
Francis’ words and deeds urge us all toward what’s really important, transcendent even. As in trying, however imperfectly, to do the right things each day. Listening to the inner voice urging compassion and service to others, and so on.
The pope’s mission embodies the words of the prophet Isaiah, who challenged, “ Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord.” In speaking with youth in Cuba last week, Francis posed a similar question: “If you are different than me, why don’t we talk?” he asked the crowd. “Why do we always throw rocks at that which separates us?” We owe it to ourselves to answer that question.
The papal visit should lead us to examine the merits of the politics of the partisan versus the higher, eternal callings of the soul. Which will best lead us toward building and maintaining that shining “city upon a hill” that Ronald Reagan spoke of? The one that’s an example to all the world.
We should continue this soul-searching quest long after the pontiff has returned to the Vatican. We will be the better for it.
About the Author
