Here is the video message Pope Benedict has prepared for his upcoming apostolic journey. Two main themes which I noticed: his invitation to prayer and his message of Christ as our Hope. (which is the official theme of the visit)
I am struck by the Pope's choice of theme for this visit. Americans seem to live under a plague of fear and very little in their day to day experience offers hope. We are born and bred to believe that we determine our lives, that we make things happen for ourselves; all we need is a little bit of hard work and some good 'ol fashioned American ingenuity. Yet, our experience of the day to day bustle shows us that there is much which lies outside of our control: soaring gas prices, identity theft, taxes, overall cost of living, the recent epidemic of flight cancellations at major airlines, etc. The natural response is a certain degree of fear that what we desire, what we are striving for, at the very least, our happiness and security, will be taken from us, or never realized at all. Then, add to this perfect storm things like 9-11, the never-ending war in Iraq, natural disasters, and threats from nations like Iran, North Korea, or even China (in an economic sense) and you have a very large nation of basically perpetually frightened citizens.
Enter Jesus Christ.
He is "the face of God present among us. Through him, our lives reach fullness, and together, both as individuals and peoples, we can become a family united by fraternal love, according to the eternal plan of God the Father." Christ brings hope, because he brings God. As the Pope says in chapter two of his book Jesus of Nazareth
Surprisingly, this is not a new message for the Christian ear: There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. (1 John 4:18) We need to reclaim this understanding and seek to imitate our Lord in his self-sacrificing gift of love. Imagine a United States of America in which each person lived solely for the other. Kinda nice, huh?
I am struck by the Pope's choice of theme for this visit. Americans seem to live under a plague of fear and very little in their day to day experience offers hope. We are born and bred to believe that we determine our lives, that we make things happen for ourselves; all we need is a little bit of hard work and some good 'ol fashioned American ingenuity. Yet, our experience of the day to day bustle shows us that there is much which lies outside of our control: soaring gas prices, identity theft, taxes, overall cost of living, the recent epidemic of flight cancellations at major airlines, etc. The natural response is a certain degree of fear that what we desire, what we are striving for, at the very least, our happiness and security, will be taken from us, or never realized at all. Then, add to this perfect storm things like 9-11, the never-ending war in Iraq, natural disasters, and threats from nations like Iran, North Korea, or even China (in an economic sense) and you have a very large nation of basically perpetually frightened citizens.
Enter Jesus Christ.
He is "the face of God present among us. Through him, our lives reach fullness, and together, both as individuals and peoples, we can become a family united by fraternal love, according to the eternal plan of God the Father." Christ brings hope, because he brings God. As the Pope says in chapter two of his book Jesus of Nazareth
Now we know the path that we human beings have to take in this world. Jesus has brought God and with God the truth about our origin and destiny: faith, hope, and love. It is only because of our hardness of heart that we think this is too little. Yes indeed, God's power works quietly in this world, but it is the true and lasting power.So, what, specifically, do we do, in Christ, to bring fulfillment to this hope? As he states in the video, "this hope can never be fulfilled without obedience to the law of God, which Christ brought to fulfillment in the commandment to love one another. Do to others as you would have them do to you, and avoid doing what you would not want them to do." It seems like it all goes back to those simple lessons we learned in elementary school, doesn't it? The commandment of love is what must drive us in seeking out solutions to the problems which plague us individually and collectively. It must be the modus operandi of the Christian in particular.
Surprisingly, this is not a new message for the Christian ear: There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. (1 John 4:18) We need to reclaim this understanding and seek to imitate our Lord in his self-sacrificing gift of love. Imagine a United States of America in which each person lived solely for the other. Kinda nice, huh?
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