I really like Pope Francis. But I’m biased. I like him not primarily because he strikes me as so “different” or “humble” or for the other things the press says about him.
No, I like him because he strikes me as a bit goofy. He talks to people he’s not expected to talk to and says things people don’t expect, not always the things he’s “supposed to.”
His desire to reach people explodes out of him so eagerly that even he worries sometimes afterwards whether he may have been misunderstood. I wish I had a dime for every time that had happened to me.
So, given my own personality, I enjoy that sort of person.
I also like St. Peter, largely because he strikes me as so delightfully goofy.
When the Risen Christ appears upon the shore to Peter and his brothers while they’re fishing, Peter gets so excited that he throws on his cloak and jumps in the water to swim ashore. You’d have expected him to take his cloak off, but not Peter.
And, of course, he’s very often saying the wrong thing (prompting Christ’s “Get thee behind me, Satan”); at the critical moment, he denies that he even knows Christ.
And yet, he is the Rock upon which Christ built his Church. Goofiness like Peter’s gives me hope. Continue reading.
Randall B. Smith is Professor at the University of St. Thomas, where he has recently been appointed to the Scanlan Chair in Theology.
Source: The Catholic Thing
Image: The Guardian