Being fools for Christ

It is heartening when Paul reveals the more human side of himself, as we read in today's first reading from Paul's second letter to the Corinthians 11:1-11. After all, he was trained to be a zealous Pharisee. Discipline, study and strict adherence to the Law of Moses were all part of his training. There would have been no time for foolishness. And here he is begging the community at Corinth to allow him to show “a little foolishness”. I believe that this came from his conversion experience on the road to Damascus and the experience of living with the community at Antioch for a year before he began his missionary journeys. Meeting Jesus on the road to Damascus and among the Christians at Antioch helped him to come into contact with his own humanity or his feelings for people. This meant that he felt for the community in Corinth because they were being deceived by others who were preaching in Jesus’ name. So he told them how he felt about how they were being charmed by smooth-talking Judaisers, those who insisted that a person had to be circumcised or become a Jew before they could be baptised. He also said that, although he was not a polished speechmaker like these Judaisers were, he demanded nothing from them for his work of preaching the Gospel.

 

I suppose this is how Pope Francis attracted people. He lived simply and he spoke in a way that people understood what he was talking about. He wasn’t afraid of appearing foolish even as he aged. There was something deeply human about him. That is why I say this passage from Paul is so heartening. We shouldn’t be afraid to appear foolish or weak or old. Nor should we be afraid to show our feelings for people when we are telling them about our belief in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. There is something charming and attractive about us when we are willing to be fools for Christ. After all, we are not trying to draw people to ourselves but rather to Jesus and assuring people that Jesus simply calls us to be more deeply and truly human.