Scripture: John 1:9
The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.
Thought for the Day: While visiting Brazil a little more than a week ago, Pope Francis said to a group of 300 bishops who had gathered for lunch: “At times we lose people because they don’t understand what we are saying, because we have forgotten the language of simplicity and import an intellectualism foreign to our people…” Personally, I’m pretty happy being a pastor within the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), but the new Pope has impressed me so far. It is these kinds of challenges that knock the church (and not just the Catholic Church) off its pompous place where too often it has preached over the people. The very light of God has made this dramatic move, and has done so for the purpose of bringing the contents of the divine character into the vocabulary of a finite people. God simplified the Good News, putting it in terms that could easily be understood. The world was blessed by this accessible and humble act, but as the church developed, it desired to control the message of grace. It did so by making it more and more inaccessible, controlled by the powerful and haughty. Something went very wrong, and it’s funny how the man who carries the most authority in all of Christianity today (the Pope) continues to empty himself of arrogance and power, living the simple message of Jesus for all to see. I appreciate the wonderful message our Catholic brother is giving all Christians.
Prayer: Giver of Light, Provider of Grace, as you have brought your message to the world in such a clear and candid way, may we share with the world in a similar fashion. Amen.
