BLOG 9/20/15. ASLAN THE LION … AND POPE FRANCIS: NOT TAME
The dismay of some at some of the evident agendas that Pope Francis will be bringing with him as he arrives in this country reminds me of the dismay that the innocent Pevensie children brought with them when they arrived in Narnia, frozen in winter under the rule of the evil white witch (in C. S. Lewis’s classic children’s stories: The Chronicles of Narnia). They began to hear stories of a lion named Aslan who was on the move, and who would bring the end of the witch’s winter, but who had awesome power and was capable of ferocious acts to accomplish his will. (To bring the culturally deprived, who have not read these classics, up to speed) When the children are rescued from their immediate danger by Mr. Beaver and hustled away to his den, they express their misgivings: “But we thought Aslan was safe,” “Safe?” said Mr. Beaver; “don’t you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good.” From that point it becomes axiomatic in these stories that Aslan is not a tame lion.
Pope Francis brings with him a life formed by Jesuit disciplines, and as Time Magazine reports: “Above all, though, Francis’ views are grounded in Catholic social teachings that sees itself as above world systems, offering a corrective to both communism and capitalism, . . . he is siding with the victim, with the poor, with the detritus of international politics, frankly, the people who suffer the mistakes most directly from climate change and corporate exploitation of natural resources to people caught in the cross fire of war.”
Many of his critics ridicule his naiveté and that of the papal encyclicals on these subjects. This is especially true of their ridicule of the encyclical on global warming and environment. But such critics underestimate the weight of these encyclicals. These are not the personal opinions of the pope, but the product of profound study and research by Vatican scholars, and are never to be taken lightly. I am a card-carrying Reformed Christian and Protestant, but I always find the encyclicals worth my profound study and reflection. They are the church’s attempt to nurture its laity in the realities of the world in which they live and operate.
The Christian church has always stood in missionary confrontation with the economic, political, cultural, and military principalities and powers of this age. It is always a witness to the design of God as God’s Age to Come invades this present age. And the social teachings of the Catholic Church are founded in the very teachings of Jesus himself. Jesus is “not a safe lion!” The Sermon on the Mount does not consist of sweet spiritual stuff that is of no practical value. It is radical to the core. It is salt and light.
What is thrilling is that the Pope brings with him that prestige that will give him a hearing in some very influential venues—but he will not be “safe.” His witness is certain to rankle and upset many. But it has always been so. In my own very modest career I have been assaulted verbally for publicly questioning Desert Storm, because of the enormous number of non-combatant casualties it inflicted. The assault on me came from the families of those service men and women who were part of that. I was also assaulted publicly for questioning the Mutual Assured Destruction nuclear policy of this nation at the height of the Cold War. And again for questioning the ethics of some major American corporations. And I am just a little guy.
So I am anticipating eagerly what this fresh Christian voice will herald in a country beset with a lot of confusion in its political, ethical, economic, and military policies. Be it known, that ultimately the will of God and the kingdom of God will prevail. So this Protestant guy is cheering for Pope Francis, even is some powerful figures seek to write him off. He’s not safe!
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