The Passing of Pope Francis Reminds Us That What We Do in This Life and How We Treat Others Matters As We Go to The Next.
The world has lost a true shepherd, a pastor, a priest, a true light in an increasingly dark universe. Pope Francis was a true Jesuit. He was the first Latin American Pope and the first Jesuit Pope. And he was also the first to do many things that were both well received and some that rattled and shook the church to its core.
If I were to use just one word to describe this man, it would be: humble. A man of great power and acclaim, who instead chose not to be like many of his predecessors of old Roman glory and wield an iron fist of doctrine and condemnation. And instead chose to embrace the life-changing power of humility.
And although the tributes and the eulogizing have rightly begun, one of the things that most troubles me about what I have read about this Pope, throughout his tenure, is that he was somehow too “liberal”, or “rogue”, or “out of line” with the teachings of the church. Or more pointedly, with the Holy scriptures.
As a non-Catholic and as an Evangelical Christian, I could not disagree more with this sentiment. In his last sermon, preached yesterday on Easter Sunday 2025, the Pope said: “On this day, I would like all of us to hope anew and to revive our trust in others, including those who are different than ourselves, or who come from distant lands, bringing unfamiliar customs, ways of life and ideas!”
And that is the crux of the matter: to spread the good news of the gospel of Christ to those who are not like us, and to those who come from distant lands. For those who would condemn Francis for this perspective, I think you miss the example of Christ himself. Christ the Savior, who redeems us on the Cross. And who hung out quite literally with prostitutes (think Mary Magdalene), or drunken fishermen with potty mouths (think the apostle Peter), or perhaps, worst of all, Matthew, the once Roman Tax collector, turned apostle of Christ. So yes, the Pope embraced the LGBTQ+ community. Yes, the Pope embraced the migrant, the poor, and the left behind. Yes, the Pope believed that women, the sisterhood of Nuns, as it were, who have faithfully served in secondary roles in the catholic church for centuries, should have a bigger role in the church, not just as servants but as leaders. He was doing exactly what Jesus did.
Think about someone like the late Mother Teresa, she would have made one hell of a Bishop, Cardinal, or Pope. But she was never given that opportunity in a church, a thousand of years old, where men are still the only authority and leaders. In a 21st-century world, this seems woefully outdated and, in fact, hostile and discriminatory to Catholic women, when most of the world’s great Christian faiths ordain women as pastors, Bishops, and leaders of the clergy. It is time for the Catholic church to catch up with the modern world. I think Francis saw this, and he felt it deeply.
Francis knew it was time for the church to “open her heart” and face the world as it is, right now, not as we would like it to be in perfection. He understood that inclusion is superior to condemnation. I think that Pope Francis, despite being 88 years of age and having been shaped by a post-World War II world order, understood that to be a true servant of Christ, one must truly embody the heart of Christ. The heart of Christ, of course, is found most deeply in his compassion toward those whom everyone else rejected and condemned. Christ was a master teacher of grace, forgiveness, and drawing people closer to him. Unlike the Pharisees of his day, who condemned, sentenced, and judged harshly their fellow Jews (including judging Jesus himself). Christ models for us how we are to engage others, even when we disagree with them. Even when we do not approve of their lifestyles or their choices. We are to treat them with respect and with grace. Just as we want to be treated when we are the outcast, or the outlier in any given circumstance, we may find ourselves in.
Here are three (3) life lessons I think we must learn from the life of Pope Francis, and as Christians, we must endeavor to live them out every day as we model our faith.
1.) Grace. And Compassion. The Apostle Paul writes in Romans 6:1, “What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?” Here, Paul is addressing the idea that believers should somehow be allowed to continue to sin because God’s grace is abundant. Paul’s answer is a resounding “no”. He argues that believers are dead to sin and should not live in it. I think this is likely Pope Francis’s greatest admonition to us as Christian believers–that we must embrace with grace those who are outside of Christ’s teachings and those of scripture. You hate the sin and love the sinner. However, we must endeavor to reach them and bring them into the fold outside of a life of disobedience and sin. We do this with humility and by leading by example. No one ever converted an unbeliever with harshness, condemnation, and threats of hell. The Bible is clear–we must be obedient to God’s commands. Yet, all of us fall short. Daily. The key is not to abound in sinning, failing, or falling short.
2.) Humility. I have raised it several times throughout this article. Humility is a pathway toward reconciliation, peace, and brotherhood. The world and its leaders are lacking in humility right now. We are harsh. Coarse and unkind. Arrogance reigns. Bombastic is in. Whereas humility is out. Think Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos, or American President Donald J. Trump. Think about the cruelty and the bullying of social media, and how it has radically changed our children and young people. Think about how we celebrate celebrity, money, and more. Versus celebrating the humble. The kind. Those who connect and center us on what matters. Pope Francis called us higher. He called us to humility, and he modeled it well.
3.) Inclusion. This one is the one we struggle with. Not just in our faith walk, but in our day-to-day living as human beings. We are tribal. We like people who look like us, have our same socio-economic standing, who speak our language, and who share our values. This is not new. Humans have been tribal since the beginning of time. And therein has been our undoing spiritually. Pope Francis understood, in a way other Popes never did (or at least never spoke out loud), what former President Barack Obama posted today in his memorial statement: “Pope Francis was the rare leader who made us want to be better people. In his humility and his gestures at once simple and profound – embracing the sick, ministering to the homeless, washing the feet of young prisoners – he shook us out of our complacency and reminded us that we are all bound by moral obligations to God and one another.”
President Obama’s words sum up my point perfectly. More gestures of kindness and less grandstanding. More washing the feet of those who are condemned and lost. Less condemnation of their past sins. More listening and less talking. Inclusion does not mean we will always agree, align, or share our faiths or our viewpoints. What inclusion means is: I see you. I see your humanity. I respect your right to exist. I respect your humanity. I want to hear your thoughts. I want to dialogue with you. I want to grow with you and because I have heard you.
When all is said in done–Pope Francis, the humble priest from Argentina, modeled for us goodness. He modeled for us Christ’s love and compassion for those who are often forgotten, harshly judged, and excluded. That is something the rest of us must put into practice now more than ever.