Open Letters to Popes and Pops

(Fathers Day)

Introduction

Context: persecution

In this tenth chapter of Matthew, who is our instructor for the next twenty Sundays, Jesus is speaking about the persecution awaiting those whom he calls and sends forth as prophets. “I am sending you forth like sheep into a pack of wolves. So be cautious like snakes but gentle as doves. Be on your guard. There are persecutors out there who will take you to court and will scourge you in their synagogues. They will drag you before governors and kings because of me.... Do not worry about what you are to say; when the time comes words will be given you; for it will not be you who are speaking but the Spirit of your Father speaking in you…. What I tell you in the dark proclaim in the full light of day. What I whisper into your ears announce from housetops” (Mt 10: 16, 26).

Be not be afraid

It is in that context of persecution that Jesus in the gospel today twice bids us not to be afraid. “Don’t be afraid of those who can kill the body but cannot kill the soul…. Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin? Yet not one of those tiny little creatures falls to the ground without God being mindful of it. God is even mindful of every single hair on your head. So do not be afraid; you are worth much more than many sparrows” (Mt. 10: 28 & 31).

The gospels abound with the exhortation not to be afraid. When Joseph is troubled to discover that Mary is pregnant, an angel of the Lord appears to him saying, ”Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for it is by the Holy Spirit that she has conceived” (Mt 1:20). When the Angel Gabriel appears to old priest Zachariah offering incense before the altar of God, he’s frightened, and the angels says, “Zachariah, do not be afraid! God has heard your prayer, and your wife Elizabeth will bear a son, and you will call him John” (Lk 1:12-13). When the same Angel Gabriel appears to Mary and she is troubled by his salutation, the angel says, “Mary, do not be afraid. You have found favor with God. You will conceive a son and call him Jesus” (Lk 1: 30-31).When an angel of the Lord appears to shepherds guarding their flocks by night, and the glory of the Lord shines over them, they are terrified, and an angel says to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you tidings of great joy. This day is born to you in the city of David a savior who is Christ the Lord” (Lk2: 8-11). When a strong wind tosses the disciples’ boat, Jesus appears and says,”Do not be afraid! It is I” (Mt 14:27)! When the women entered the tomb of Jesus to anoint his body, they see an angel sitting at the right who says to them, “Do not be afraid. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth who was nailed to the cross. He is not here. He has been raised! Behold the place where they laid him” (Mt 28:5-6).

Prophets aren’t afraid

It is especially when God calls someone to be a prophet that God bids one not to be afraid. Prophets are called to tell people what they need to hear but do not want to hear, and that can make people mighty angry. So nobody likes being a prophet. In the Book of Jeremiah we read, “The word of Yahweh was addressed to me, saying, `Before I formed you in the womb I knew you. Before you came to birth I consecrated and appointed you as prophet to the nations.’” That appointment scares the daylights out of Jeremiah. Scripture says he cried out stuttering, “Ah, Ah, Ah. Lord, I do not know how to speak. I am just a kid.” But the Lord God replies, “Do not say to me, `I’m just a kid.’ Go now and tell the people whatever I command you, and do not be afraid of them, for I will protect you” (Jer 1:4-8).

Prophets are people who are not afraid. They are, by no means, bulls in a china shop, but they are, indeed, not afraid. Archbishop Raymond Hunthausen was not afraid. Thirty years ago when he became Seattle’s Archbishop, he was not afraid to move out of the Episcopal mansion and into an ordinary house in town. He was also not afraid to disagree with the Vatican over various issues. In a letter on July 1, 1977, he publicly defended the rights of gays and lesbians. Sometimes the church’s persecution can be rather unrefined, as it was in the case of St. Joan of Arc, whom the church burned at the stake. The church’s persecution of Archbishop Hunthausen was also unrefined. Rome eventually stripped him of his authority because “his lack of clarity about homosexuality had confused the faithful.” In the context of persecution Jesus says, “Do not be afraid of those who can kill the body but cannot kill the soul.”

Prophets are people who are not afraid. Bishop Kenneth Untener of Saginaw was not afraid. He, too, wasn’t a bull in a china shop, but he was, indeed, not afraid. 1993 was the twenty-fifth anniversary of Pope Paul’s encyclical letter Humanae Vitae reaffirming the church's stand against artificial birth control. Bishop Untener urged the church to use the occasion to open a new and brave discussion, a holy conversation, about birth control. That, indeed, was courageous and prophetic of him because for twenty-five long years Humanae Vitae was a litmus test of Catholic loyalty. That invitation quietly dismayed Rome. In a case like this the church often uses a refined form of persecution: if it doesn’t demote you it certainly will not promote you. The Bishop of Saginaw was never made a Cardinal. In the context of persecution Jesus says, “Do not be afraid of those who can kill the body but cannot kill the soul.”

Last Sunday we spoke of Fr. Francis Gonsalves, a Jesuit in India. In an open letter to the new Pope published in the NCR, he quotes a line from the Pope’s homily preached on the day of his inauguration. That line reads, “My real program of governance is not to do my own will, not to pursue my own ideas, but to listen together with the whole Church.” Then Fr. Gonsalves cries out, “Bravo, Pope Benedict! Many Indians who religiously listen to God’s voice in nature and in other faiths and in their neighbors complain that the Roman Catholic Church only speaks but never listens, only teaches but is never taught.”

Prophets are people who are not afraid. Archbishop Rembert Weakland was by no means a bull in a china shop, but he was, indeed, not afraid. Some years ago he was not afraid to not speak for a change but simply listen. He was not afraid to not teach for a change but simply be taught. He courageously held hearings with the women of the Archdiocese to know their views on abortion. In his report after the sessions, he unequivocally upheld the Catholic teaching that abortion is immoral. He warned, however, that the anti-abortion movement is counterproductive when its focus is narrow, its tactics aggressive, and its rhetoric ugly and demeaning. The Archbishop also said his hearings revealed how far apart the church's teaching prohibiting the use of birth control is from the views of some very conscientious women.

The Archbishop wasn’t talking but was simply listening. He wasn’t teaching but was simply being taught. That brought on the great displeasure of some here in Milwaukee. It also brought on some unrefined persecution from the Vatican. When the Theology Faculty of the University of Fribourg, Switzerland, wished to confer an honorary degree on Weakland for his work on the US Bishops' pastoral letter concerning economics, the Vatican refused to approve the degree. The reason offered was that “his lack of clarity on abortion had confused the faithful.” In the context of persecution Jesus says, “Do not be afraid of those who can kill the body but cannot kill the soul.”

With a bit of humor the Archbishop later remarked to another prelate how interesting it was that he should get his name in the New York Times twice in one year -- both times for doing nothing! First for not talking but just listening for a change, and then for not receiving an honorary degree.

An open letter to Pope Benedict

In these days of open letters to the new Pope, we write one of our own: Dear Pope Benedict XVI, do not be afraid to be a prophet. Do not be afraid of being speechless at times like the prophet Jeremiah. Do not be afraid of stuttering and not having all the answers. There are some who want you to have all the answers, but do not be afraid of them.

Dear Holy Father, there are some, and perhaps many, who complain that our church only speaks but does not listen, only teaches but is not taught. Do not be afraid to listen to God’s people and to be taught by them. They are, in fact, always speaking to you. They have their own way of speaking to you. Many of them have spoken to you with their feet: they have walked away from their mother, the church. When, in fact, you, Cardinal Ratzinger from Germany, were elected Pope, instead of someone from South American or Africa, some said the College of Cardinals wished to draw attention not to Africa where the church is alive and well but to western Europe--to Spain, France, Germany, and Italy where most of the people have spoken with their feet and have left their mother, the church.

Others have their own way of speaking to you by simply ignoring what you say about birth control or women in the church or homosexuality, and by simply getting on with their Catholic lives without you. Holy Father, in our following of the humble Christ, we may not simply lay all blame on them and dismiss them as “cafeteria Catholics.”

Dear Holy Father, do not be afraid to invite our church to hold holy conversations in which all speak and teach, and in which all listen and are taught, as the great issues of birth control, divorce, intercommunion, celibacy, women in the church, homosexuality and priest shortage are being debated. What a wonderful family such holy conversations would make of us Catholics!

Dear Holy Father, do not be afraid to proclaim in the full light of day what Jesus tells you in the dark, and to announce from housetops what Jesus whispers into your ears. Dear Pope Benedict XVI, do not be afraid to be the Vicar of Christ who was, indeed, a prophet whom religious leaders persecuted and crucified.

We’ve just spoken our piece to the Pope. The homily is never ended until we’ve finally spoken to ourselves. Ite, Missa est. Go, the Mass is ended. Mothers and fathers, husbands and wives, sons and daughters, go home and don’t be afraid of being speechless and not having all the answers. Go home and don’t be afraid of listening and of being taught. What a wonderful family that will make of you!

An open letter to pops

And on this Fathers’ Day we write also an open letter to fathers. Dear fathers, do not be afraid of the mission of fatherhood to which you’ve been called. It’s a difficult mission in this father-unfriendly culture of ours. That’s a culture which seems to exercise far more influence in raising your kids than you yourself are able to exercise. That’s a culture which even looks down on you fathers as being quite dispensable (as screen doors are for submarines) and even regards the fatherless trend in society as progress.

Dear fathers, be consoled. Heaven knows better than we humans do. Heaven knows that every child should have a father. Heaven knows that every woman should have a helpmate in the arduous task of realizing the incredible potential born of her. So to him who was born fatherless, Jesus, son of the virgin Mary, heaven bestowed a father—Joseph the carpenter. See how important fathers are!

Conclusion

Hear what they are saying

Dear fathers, do not be afraid to speak to your kids. Speak to them about drugs, addictions, sex and especially selfishness. But also do not be afraid to listen to them. They have their own way of speaking to you. Listen to it and hear what they are saying. When Gary Rosberg, a family expert , was cramming for his doctrinal thesis in counseling, his young daughter came into his study and presented him with a sketch she had just drawn. She entitled it "The Rosberg Family." He gave the picture a quick glance because he was knee-deep in his thesis. When the daughter left he gave it a second look. There he saw his wife Sarah, his other daughter Missy and their dog Katie but no dad did he see there. He called Sarah back and asked, "Honey, where's Daddy?" She nonchalantly replied, "Oh, you're at the library." And Gary listened to her way of speaking, and he heard what she was saying. Ite Missa est. The Mass is ended.- Go, you fathers, and listen to what your kids are saying.