To conclude the first chapter of this papal exhortation, Francis formulates his desires for the Church a little more strongly: What if, the Universal Church were to take up this missionary impulse that is in us all? Can you imagine, this body of 1.2 billion people, going out to their friends,families and neighbors and encouraging them to receive the Word? This would be a great dream, but it's actually not what Pope Francis desires from us. Don't get me wrong, he wants everyone to receive the word, to be embraced by the loving arms of Mother Church. However, he also wants to remind us that, before we go to our families and friends,
we ought to go to those that Jesus went to first. No, not the fishermen and tax collectors, but " the poor...sick... those despised and overlooked."( EG 48) Those who will not repay our efforts ( Luke 14:14). Francis does not mince words on this: He often speaks out against those who reduce our faith to a few ideological positions or even those who are Sunday Catholics that ignore the word of the Lord 6 days a week, but he proclaims with a loud voice that it is inconceivable that a Christian could ignore the poor, for the simple reason that there is a deep bond between our faith and the poor (EG 48).
This particular exhortation -the request that we begin our evangelization with the marginalized- may not be always well received in the Universal Church, but it makes sense. Our faith is not one that says 'go tell the good news to all people! Start with those you love most, and then make your way to others if you have the time'. Nor does it say 'go to those who have money so that they can contribute to your parishes and keep your community wealthy'. It says: 'go forth'. And this is what we're exhorted to do here (EG 49), to know no limits to how far and wide we are willing to go to share the joy of the Gospel with others. To accept, as Francis has said again and again, that our invitation is to be a poor Church. Indeed, this is in fact what he would prefer to see: a Church that is "bruised, hurting, and dirty' by going out on the street, as opposed to the Church we often see in the West, one that is clinging to its own wealth and security (EG 49).
The problems with wealthy churches should be self explanatory. As for ones that dwell in their own 'security', I suppose one could argue that in the end, there is nothing wrong with security. In fact the desire for it is profoundly human. The issue that Francis has is when people create a 'false security' in their faith, one where they are complacent with the status quo of our world that allows such a tremendous gap between the rich and the poor and almost encourages our world to be indifferent to the plight of those who suffer around us. We should indeed be disturbed how many of our brothers and sisters around us live 'without strength, consolation born of friendship with Jesus..without community' (EG 49). Why is it that Pope Francis keeps reminding us of caring for them (much more than any of his predecessors, to be sure!)? Because he knows that many in parish communities around the world are caught up in a system of rules and habits that prevent them from being pastoral and caring Christians. Because Jesus himself never tired of saying to us 'Give them something to eat'. There are many institutions out there that can help with feeding the poor, but it's up to us to be present and loving to them to spiritually nourish them.A tall order perhaps, but not one we should ever back down from.
48. If the whole Church takes up this missionary impulse, she has to go forth to everyone without exception. But to whom should she go first? When we read the Gospel we find a clear indication: not so much our friends and wealthy neighbours, but above all the poor and the sick, those who are usually despised and overlooked, “those who cannot repay you” (Lk 14:14). There can be no room for doubt or for explanations which weaken so clear a message. Today and always, “the poor are the privileged recipients of the Gospel”,[52] and the fact that it is freely preached to them is a sign of the kingdom that Jesus came to establish. We have to state, without mincing words, that “there is an inseparable bond between our faith and the poor”. May we never abandon them.
49. Let
us go forth, then, let us go forth to offer everyone the life of Jesus Christ.
Here I repeat for the entire Church what I have often said to the priests and
laity of Buenos Aires: I prefer a Church which is bruised, hurting and dirty
because it has been out on the streets, rather than a Church which is unhealthy
from being confined and from clinging to its own security. I do not want a
Church concerned with being at the centre and then ends by being caught up in a
web of obsessions and procedures. If something should rightly disturb us and
trouble our consciences, it is the fact that so many of our brothers and
sisters are living without the strength, light and consolation born of
friendship with Jesus Christ, without a community of faith to support them,
without meaning and a goal in life. More than by fear of going astray, my hope
is that we will be moved by the fear of remaining shut up within structures
which give us a false sense of security, within rules which make us harsh
judges, within habits which make us feel safe, while at our door people are
starving and Jesus does not tire of saying to us: “Give them something to eat”
(Mk 6:37).
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