A Pastoral Concern re: teaching God's word with clarity

I have seen a few headlines for stories about Pope Francis giving approval for priests blessings same-sex couples and for making advances in the inclusion of the LGBTQ+ community to the Roman Catholic Church.  Many articles quote or summarize Pope Francis’ words in a similar fashion.  I am working under the assumption that they are quoting him fairly.  However, even accurate portrayals of the Pope’s comments are still open to interpretation.  In my opinion, they are so vague (intentionally?  By this time, I have to think so) that opposing view points can claim that the Pope supports them.

The article, taken from Deutsche Welle and picked up by the AP and Reuters, is in bold print.  My comments are interspersed between paragraphs.

Days after approving blessings of same-sex couples, Pope Francis has warned against ideological inflexibility in the Catholic Church he leads. He said that too rigid stances could prevent the church from seeing reality. Pope Francis on Thursday told members of the Vatican's central administration that holding views that remain too rigid could be an obstacle to perceiving reality and moving forward.

The summary above is probably the most disconcerting thing the Pope said.  He warned against “ideological inflexibility” and “too rigid stances.”  What does this mean? 

When we conclude a reading from the Bible in our Divine Service, we conclude with the pastor stating, “The word of the Lord.”  That is a declarative statement.  Is it supposed to be a question now?  The congregation responds, “Thanks be to God,” indicating their confession that the reading from the Bible is, indeed, the word of the Lord.  We are grateful that the Lord has been pleased to reveal his will to us in an unchanging, firm way.  The congregation does not respond, “Well, the word of the Lord for now.  We’ll see how things change next year.”  Yes, we are quite inflexible on what the Lord has to say.  He has not given us permission to alter his word, and he has indicated that we should not anticipate any further editing.  Quite the contrary, we have warnings from God not to change his word in the Old and New Testaments (Deuteronomy 4:2; Revelation 22:18-19).  It seems that God is quite inflexible on his word.  Our “ideology” is to come from God’s word.  If it does not, then I agree with the Pope.  We can shuck and jive our way to whatever works.  If it does, then it seems we should be rigid and not yield even an inch.

But for the sake of argument, if God can be flexible and is not so rigid on his stance, I would contend we have to hold that opinion about all of his word, including his promises.  Is the death of Jesus sufficient for the payment of sins, or has God now added to the bill so that we have to cough something up?  Does the word of the Lord endure forever, or does God change his stance from time to time?  Does our faith rest on solid ground, or do we need to prepare for a seismic shift?  In short, can we depend on anything we read?  If the word of the Lord is rigid, we can.

The Pope also expresses that such inflexibility “could prevent the church from seeing reality.”  Does the word of God fail to do that?  Does the Lord not know what the sinful world is like?  We all are sinful; that is reality.  We are all called to repent of our sins; that is the reality.  There is a damning judgment that awaits all who will not repent and order their lives according to the word of the Lord.  That is reality.  No Christian wants to see anyone perish eternally.  Love compels us to uphold God’s word so that people will see their sins and flee from them.  There is boundless mercy found in Jesus Christ.  There is abundant forgiveness which Jesus won.  This is reality.  But to tell people that their sins are not sins is not loving, nor is it reality.  To allow “flexibility” for sins to go on unrepentant may be popular now; it will result in damnation later.  This is the reality.  God says so; therefore, his Church does too.

One more thought about the above paragraph.  What does it mean for the Church to “move forward”?  As positive as that is supposed to sound, not every move forward is a good one.  If one is at the edge of a cliff, moving forward is a bad idea.  If one is standing firmly on God’s word, any move from there is a bad and deadly idea.  What move does the Pope want to see?  Does he desire more people to hear the word of the Lord, to join the Church, and to be saved?  Then, bravo!  But to suggest that blessing people who persist in sin is the way to do this is blasphemous.  It is a move forward right off the cliff, and the landing will not be a safe one.

His comments came just days after he angered many church conservatives by issuing a declaration allowing blessings of same-sex couples.

That approval went against a 2021 policy by the Vatican's doctrine office, which forbade such blessings because God "does not and cannot bless sin."

A confessional Lutheran says: “The Vatican is right on this.”  Why?  Because that is what the Scriptures say.

Francis didn't specifically mention his decision in his comments on Thursday.

What did Francis say?

During his traditional Christmas greetings to members of the Curia, Francis said, "Let us remain vigilant against rigid ideological positions that often, under the guise of good intentions, separate us from reality and prevent us from moving forward."

"We are called, instead, to set out and journey, like the magi, following the light that always desires to lead us on, at times along unexplored paths and new roads," he said.

"The Christian faith -- let us remember -- is not meant to confirm our sense of security, to let us settle into comfortable religious certitudes, and to offer us quick answers to life's complex problems," he added.

Did anyone hear a loud ripping sound regarding the context of the Bible?  We journey “like the Magi, following the light that always desires to lead us on”???  Yes, the Magi followed a star.  But this is what the Magi testified, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews?  For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him” (Matthew 2:2).  The star directed them on a very specific quest, not some generic quest for knowledge “along unexplored paths and new roads.”  It is a safe bet that the Magi traveled well-worn roads on their way to and from the Christ child.  They came to worship their King, Lord, and Savior.  Why?  Because they had a specific word which directed them to him.  The star was merely the sign that tipped them off that the prophetic word had been fulfilled.  We do not journey away from the word of God to follow unexplored paths and new roads.  The Bible says, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path” (Psalm 119:105).  If we are not following that, we are being led away by something else.

It is also disturbing to hear the Pope suggest that “The Christian faith -- let us remember -- is not meant to confirm our sense of security, to let us settle into comfortable religious certitudes, and to offer us quick answers to life's complex problems.”  Ummmm…. What?

The Christian faith is not to confirm our security?  The Christian faith is not to provide certitudes?  (I actually looked up “certitudes,” wondering if it meant something different than “absolute certainty or conviction that something is the case.”  Nope, that is the very definition of the word.)  The Christian faith does not offer quick answers to life’s complex problems?  That last one is vague enough to spark debate.  Oftentimes, life is messy.  Oftentimes, we are left to make the best out of a bad situation.  But the Pope’s comments suggest that the Bible offers little in the way of certainty, security, guidance, or instruction.  If that’s the case, why bother with the Bible at all? 

The annual greeting is a high-profile event to which all cardinals based in Rome are invited.

Since becoming pontiff 10 years ago, Francis, who turned 87 on Sunday, has made some steps toward more inclusivity in the Catholic Church, notably by expressing more tolerance of the LGBTI+ community than has previously been shown.

However, he has tried to do so without making any actual changes to the church's moral teachings; in his declaration on Monday, he made it clear that the blessing given by priests to same-sex couples must not make the impression of a wedding ceremony.

Then what’s the point of the blessing?

The Vatican holds that homosexual relations are "intrinsically disordered," while saying that gay people must nonetheless be treated with dignity and respect.

Agreed!  Everyone should be treated with dignity and respect.  The LGBTQ+ community are human beings.  Every human being deserves respect.  Every person should be treated with dignity.  There is hope for everyone.  Dignity and respect, however, are not the same as fully, unquestioned acceptance of everything one believes and does.  We should also treat prisoners with dignity and respect, but it does not mean that we approve of whatever resulted in their prison sentence. 

Conservatives and traditionalists have slammed Monday's declaration as going against biblical teachings about homosexuality.

“Conservatives” and “traditionalists” sound like political terms.  That works well in a news article which looks for clicks or in a debate where we draw up sides.  But what is it that conservatives are trying to conserve?  What tradition are the traditionalists holding to?  If it is status quo for the sake of status quo, then they should be corrected and/or criticized.  If they are upholding the Scriptures and seeking to preserve the word of God, then they are being the faithful. 

tj/sms (AP, Reuters)

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