Homily for Easter 4
May 11, 2025
The Pope-Shepherd
How
beautiful in God’s timing that the election of our Holy Father comes right
around Good Shepherd Sunday. Jesus calls Himself the Good Shepherd, but since
one of the titles of our Pope is “Vicar of Christ”, we hope that he will have
the same care for the sheep that Jesus has. Let’s discuss what the Pope is all
about so that we can better understand the role of our new shepherd.
It was
Jesus Himself who made Peter the first Pope. In Matthew 16, he takes the
Apostles on a field trip to a town just north of the Holy Land, where He asks
them, “Who do you say that I am?” Simon is the only one to get it right: “You
are the Christ, the Son of God.” And Jesus gives him a new name and a new identity,
“You are Peter, and upon this rock (your faith) I will build my Church, and the
gates of Hell will not prevail upon it. To you I give the keys of the kingdom
of Heaven, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in Heaven.” To hand
someone keys is to give them the authority and ownership of the house – hence,
Jesus is giving all power over His Church to Simon Peter, the first Pope. Since
then, 266 Popes have taken been elected in the lineage of Peter.
But
there are some myths about the Pope’s role in the Church. So before we talk
about what the Pope is, we have to talk about what the Pope is NOT.
First,
the Pope is not an oracle from God. Not everything he says is always
true, and Popes can (and have been) very imperfect people. For example, in the
800s, there was a Pope who disagreed with the previous Pope’s political
leanings, so he had his corpse dug up and put on trial for treason! Of course
the skeleton couldn’t defend itself, so he was found guilty, and as punishment
he wasn’t reburied but thrown into the Tiber River! A crazy political rivalry
gone haywire! We’ve had some very imperfect Popes in history, and they can even
make mistakes in their words. We believe a Pope is infallible (i.e., protected
by the Holy Spirit from making an error) only when officially teaching
about faith and morals, in union with the other Bishops and in continuity with
what has always been taught. So if a Pope gives an interview to a journalist,
he can make mistakes! A Pope is not automatically an oracle from God.
The Pope
is also not a political leader. Over the past few weeks we have heard
many news outlets talk about whether this or that Cardinal is “liberal” or “conservative”.
But these political labels don’t belong in the Church. All that matters is whether
or not we are faithful to Jesus Christ and His perennial teachings in Scripture
and Tradition. The Pope’s role isn’t to be just another world leader, but to point
to a Kingdom yet to come.
Finally,
the Pope is not a religious celebrity. We’ve had some wonderful Popes in
the last century, but many were aware of their own weaknesses. For example,
Pope John XXIII was a rather large man who was short with huge ears. One day
after his election to the papacy, a woman who saw him whispered to her friend, “Goodness,
he’s so fat!” The Pope overheard and replied, “Surely you understand, madam,
that a conclave isn’t a beauty pageant.” As much as the world wants to make the
Pope into a religious rock-star, the reality is that they are frail men,
sometimes quiet, sometimes weak – regular human beings, just like us, entrusted
with a monumental task.
So,
then, what is the role of the Pope? Three elements. First, his role is
to be a shepherd and father. The name “Pope” comes from “Papa” – an intimate
term for a dad. One of my favorite stories of Pope John Paul II is that he used
to leave the Vatican in disguise to go skiing, one of his favorite activities
(according to the Swiss Guard, he snuck out over 100 times in his papacy). One
time he was skiing incognito when an eight-year-old boy kept staring at him in
line for the ski slopes. Finally, the boy got up the courage to ask him, “Are
you the Pope?” And John Paul II said, “Why, yes I am. Would you like to ski
together?” So they skied a couple runs together, and then the young lad
excitedly ran in to the lodge to tell his mother that he had been skiing with
the Pope. The mother thought he was just telling stories, until he said, “No!
Come out and meet him!” She reluctantly came out and was utterly shocked to
meet John Paul II there on the slopes! But what a beautiful story about a Pope
who was truly a father – someone who loved his children, so that he could tell
them about Jesus. This was the Pope who traveled 750,000 miles during his
papacy – three times the distance to the moon and back – because he wanted to
be with his flock.
Secondly,
the Pope must preach the truth in love. He does not have the power to make up a
new teaching, but only to faithfully hand on what Jesus has always taught. At
the Last Supper in Luke’s Gospel, Jesus makes a really powerful prediction
about the trials that the Apostles will go through, when He said: “Simon,
Simon, listen! Satan has demanded to sift all of you [Apostles] like wheat, but
I have prayed for you that your own faith may not fail; and when you have
turned back, strengthen your brothers.” In other words, do not be tossed about
by the trials of this world, by the whims of popular culture, but preach the
Truth, in love.
Back in
1960, there was considerable controversy about whether or not the Church could
change its teaching that artificial birth control is gravely immoral. Pope John
XXIII started a commission with theologians, scientists, doctors, and regular
married folk, to discuss this topic. After six years, the commission was
divided, but the majority said that the Church should change its teaching. The
world collectively held its breath when awaiting the final document of Pope
Paul VI. Much to everyone’s shock, in 1968 the Pope put out a famous encyclical
“Humanae Vitae” in which he reaffirmed what the Church always taught, that the
marriage bed needs to remain open to life. Although it caused no little
controversy, it was also a profound example showing that the Pope’s job isn’t
to change teachings according to the whims of the culture or majority opinion,
but to strengthen that which has always and everywhere been taught by Christ
through His Church – speaking truth in love.
Finally,
the Pope is the “visible sign of unity”. You know you are Catholic if you believe
the same things as the Pope teaches, and consider him your spiritual leader. Ever
since Martin Luther began the Reformation in 1517, our Protestant brethren have
since fractured into 45,000 different denominations – without a central figure
of unity, everyone becomes their own pope, each interpreting the Scriptures as
they see fit. But Christ so desperately desired Christian unity that his final
prayer in John’s Gospel was, “Father, make them all one, as we are one.” And we
have a visible sign of this unity in the office of the Pope.
One of
the debates in the early Church was whether or not Jesus was truly human.
Perhaps He merely appeared to be human, but was only an apparition? The bishops
met at Chalcedon in 451 to debate this. Pope Leo the Great was too sick to
attend, but he sent a letter to the bishops, confirming that Jesus was indeed
fully God and fully man. When this letter was read aloud, the bishops ceased debating
and instead cried out, “This is the faith of the fathers! This is the faith of
the apostles! So we all believe! Peter has spoken through Leo! . . . This is
the true faith!” The Pope was able to unite these warring factions, as he is
the sign of the Church’s unity.
So, as
the Church prepares to elect/inaugurate a new Holy Father, we pray that above
all else, he is holy and filled with the Spirit. We do not want a Pope who is
merely a nice man, one who “puts a good face” on Catholicism, or only says the
right words. Rather, we want a Pope who is in constant union with Christ. The
Church is not just a charity or an NGO or social service organization – the Church
is the supernatural Body of Christ in the world, with a supernatural founder
(Jesus), supernatural goal (Heaven) and supernatural means (the Scriptures, the
Sacraments). Hence, we pray that our Holy Father may be a supernatural man, led
by the Holy Spirit to be in constant communion with Christ.
For our
part, there are three things we must do. We must love the Pope, because if we
love Christ, then we love what He loves, and He loved the Church unto death. We
must pray for the Pope, for he is our spiritual father. And we must respect the
Pope, no matter who he is, because the Papacy itself is willed by God. Once a
saint was asked how they could remain faithful to the Church when there was an
evil Pope, and he responded, “I respect the seat, but not the sitter.” In other
words, we can respect the authority of the Church, even if the members are imperfect.
After all, at the end of the day, it’s Christ’s church, not the Pope’s. Every
night before bed, Pope John XXIII would go to the chapel and tell the Lord all
the troubles of the day – bishops fighting with each other, Christians persecuted,
financial woes, secularism winning the day…and at the end, he would close with,
“Well, it’s your church, Lord. I’m going to bed.”
My
friends, it is a great gift that we have/will have a new Holy Father. On this
Good Shepherd Sunday, let us recommit ourselves to praying for the Pope, that
he may truly become a good shepherd after the heart of Christ.
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