ads
The Popes as Prophets
The word prophet connotes many things to many people. Within our local context, the word prophet generally means a seer. However, my use of prophet in this essay goes back to the standard biblical understanding of prophet as malkam – a messenger of God, a person whom the spirit of God captures and sends on a specific mission, to proclaim, to reprimand, to encourage, to console and to restore hope.
Prophet Isaiah can largely be described as one whose significant mission from God was to give hope and encouragement to his people. Prophet Ezekiel’s distinguishing mark was proclaiming new life and new conscience. Prophet Amos was outstanding as a messenger, condemning social evil and injustice.
Prophet Jeremiah was focused on lamenting the effects of contravening the Covenant, the destruction of moral fabrics of society and raising consciousness about the dire consequences of evil. Prophets Joel and Jonah preached repentance and metanoia. Prophet John the Baptist prepared the way for the coming of Christ and directly confronted kings and rulers, denouncing their evil actions as seen in the case of Herod.
Each prophet has a distinctive message and mission for God’s people living in a historical setting.
I apply this image and understanding of prophets to the popes. My argument here is that in each pontificate we encounter an enduring and dominant trait which can be seen as divine oracles. I choose three popes who are well known to many reading audience today. One has died. Another is alive but has resigned. The other is alive and reigning. Each of these pontificates is unique. Each pope largely proclaims a distinctive message and leaves a unique message to the Church and world.
St. Pope John Paul II
John Paul II was elected pope on 16th October 1978 and reigned as pope until he died on 2nd April 2005. This is a period of about twenty seven years. Within these years, there were clear messages of openness of the Church to the world, social sensitivity, reaching out to the ends of the earth, emphasis on theological orthodoxy and the one truth which the Church proclaims in the name of Jesus.
Each of these issues remains a powerful message from the pontificate of John Paul II. However, the television images of the once energetic John Paul II consistently going down in health, weak, sickly and barely managing to speak remain unforgettable.
These images together with concerns for the pope’s own health conditions vis-à-vis the onus of his office elicited varied reactions from pity to public calls for his resignation. While some called on him to resign, he however insisted that he will emulate Jesus who carried his cross till the bitter end. This he did.
I consider this stance prophetic in a world where many governments and people are arguing for euthanasia and extermination of weak, sickly and elderly people, where many people reduce the dignity of human life to cosmetics and where the metaphysical properties of beauty is confused with plastic surgeries.
John Paul’s insistence on carrying the burden of his health till the bitter end was simply proclaiming to the world that human life cannot be reduced to activity and ability to function. It is wonderful when one is healthy, strong and able to execute functions.
However, human life cannot be diminished when it falls short of these expectations. John Paul used his own life to buttress the validity of his own writings on the dignity of life (even in excruciating pains and old age) especially as seen in Evangelium Vitae. From a deeper spiritual perspective, John Paul demonstrated before us all how to carry the various crosses of our life behind our divine Lord Jesus Christ. There is no doubt that our world today is deeply influenced by cable television networks, social media and growing entertainment industries which are almost forcing us to believe that human life is about elegance and enjoyment.
Those who are not able to fall into this line, see themselves as outcasts and cursed. Some trends of religion especially as seen in the prosperity gospel preachers fall into this current. John Paul’s life directly challenges this conception and encourages those who suffer that they are not cursed but actually share in the life of Christ.
Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI (Joseph Ratzinger) is one of the most intelligent and academically brightest popes of recent history. He was elected pope in 2005 and voluntarily resigned in 2013.
His pontificate was marked by a determined effort to renew the Church from within, confronting secularism, paying deep attention to theology and the relationship between faith and reason.
sponsored
None of these would be compared in depth and significance to his announcement on 14th February 2013 that he would voluntarily resign as pope on 28th February 2013.
What is prophetic in voluntary resignation as pope? The voluntary resignation is a divine message to a world that is drunk with domination and held captive by Fredrich Nietzsche’s will to power.
From Africa to Asia, from America to Australia, from Europe to all corners of the earth, ruthless crave for power in its various dimensions have continued to ignite conflicts and frustrate the dreams of a just and peaceful world.
One person was so annoyed with the resignation of Pope Benedict that he began to compare Benedict’s age and health condition with that of John Paul II. I replied him that each pope is unique and has a mission from God to declare some specific message to the world.
From this perspective, I explained to him that although John Paul II stayed on till the bitter end, Benedict’s resignation which came like a thunderbolt proclaims a specific message from God to the world.
Benedict XVI challenges us to learn how to let go even in things that rightfully belong to us. His resignation challenges us to be realistic with life, to be courageous to take principled decisions for the good of the common good rather than focusing more on ourselves. It challenges us not to let power to blind us from other realities of life. Robert Mugabe is ninety one years old and has been president of his country since the 1980s. He has not yet had his fill of power. He just contested and purportedly won his country’s election. How many people are dying in Zimbabwe because of this one man’s unquenchable thirst for power? Paul Biya has been president of Cameroon since the 1980s.
His fascination with power is still unending. After about nine years as Head of State, Yakubu Gowon’s lust for power was still not satisfied. The 1976 military coup that killed Murtala Mohammed has been largely traced to plans to bring back Gowon to power. When that failed, he made another attempt to contest for the Presidency under the defunct National Republican Party (NRC) in the early 1990s. He was humiliated by Dr. Tafida in his own home – thanks to the ‘option A4’ formula. How much blood was shed in Nigeria under Gowon? Ibrahim Babangida ruled Nigeria for about eight years. His craze to cling to power in perpetuity nearly brought Nigeria to the gates of Hell. After dribbling himself to a corner without any route of escape through his annulment of the 1993 June Presidential election and was eventually forced to leave power, he has been making several unsuccessful efforts to return to power as president. How much money has been wasted in Babangida’s search for perpetual power? How much human blood has been shed in this process? Olusegun Obasanjo was not satisfied with being a military Head of State for three years (1976 – 1979) and a civilian President for two terms (a period of eight years). He was alleged to be gunning for a third term and even more. How many people lost their lives and how much money was wasted in this wild pursuit? Our State Governors would have loved to rule in perpetuity but for the constitution. Even at that, after serving out the maximum two tenures (eight years), they still attempt to virtually remain in power by choosing stooges with the illusory hope that they will continue to rule from the background. Many have learnt bitter lessons but those in power are still sadly blinded by this virus and thus perfecting new plans of clinging to perpetual power. How many people’s lives and public precious resources are flushed down the drain in these ventures? In our communities, how many lives are lost in the struggle for some almost useless chieftaincy and traditional titles?
Pope Benedict’s resignation is a prophetic message to our world and its people. He simply declares to us: “learn how and when to take a bow”. Contribute your best when you have the opportunity and leave the scene for others to make their own inputs as well. Even when you mean well but discover that you are becoming an obstacle to public peace and common good, learn how to be gracious and offer up your position. Know that the community can exist without you. Know that you are not the community but only a part of it and a part cannot be greater than the whole.
Pope Francis
On the evening of 13th March 2013, the world was surprised with the election of Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio as the new pope.
From the choice of his name to his receiving of the congratulations of the Cardinals standing rather than the traditional manner of sitting and his appearance on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, all speak volumes of a simple holy man. Very striking was his initial greeting of bouna sera (good evening) and at the end of his blessing with buona notte and buon riposo (good night and sleep well) to the crowd gathered at the square. It was unprecedented that a pope should salute people with “such greeting of commoners.” More striking was his invitation to the people to first of all pray for his predecessor and for himself. He bent down as the people prayed for him. He did not appear dressed in the usual attire of papal majesty but on a simple soutane with the same pectoral cross he wore as a cardinal.
Pope Francis is clearly challenging the Church and her ministers to simple life in imitation of Christ the Lord. Beyond the Church, Pope Francis is acting as God’s oracle to a world that is drenching itself into the deep waters of megalomania; where unreasonable ostentation and profligacy are becoming a norm. In our present society, unnecessary aspirations to outlandish prestige have become common place. Being down to earth is increasingly becoming less attractive. From lifestyles to celebrations, one notices the alarming rate with which our people are gathering the clouds of flamboyance around themselves.
Pope Francis calls us all to rediscover the meaning of life through simplicity. We can contribute more to humanity and savour the sweetness of life through a simple life. Pope Francis calls us to imitate Jesus who emptied himself totally. St. Paul wonderfully presents this in his letter to the Philipians 2:5f “Though he was in the form of God, Jesus…emptied himself.” He further dramatized this during his Last Supper with his disciples. “He got up from table, removed his outer garments…” (jn 13:4) This goes directly to the heart of the inception of the mission of Christ. He got up from the table and removed his outer garments simply signifies the kenosis – Jesus’ radically emptying of himself. Getting up from the table of banquet represents Jesus’ leaving his throne on high and coming down to earth. Not satisfied with leaving the table of banquet, he removed his outer garment. Outer garments are usually indicative of a person’s status and other cover ups. When Jesus removed his outer garments, he beckons on us to strip ourselves of what we think we are, separate the substance of existence from the accidents of position. Just as Jesus removed his outer garments and stooped down in order to teach and serve his disciples, we must follow this same example if we are to touch humanity and be of service to it. This is what Pope Francis is proclaiming to us today.
Conclusion
St. Paul writes: there are many gifts but it is the same spirit giving all these gifts. The essence of this reference in this reflection is to emphasise the diversity of God’s gifts working in different people and building up the body of Christ. Each of these popes is different. Each is unique and each has proclaimed God’s message to the world forcefully through different images.
The popes are prophets because they are messengers of God and have proclaimed the divine message through their lives. The question now for us is: are we listening to what the spirit of God is proclaiming to us through them?
Written by Rev Fr. Uzochukwu Njoku
sponsored