Look at the moon, not the finger

There is a good reason why our present pope is the first to take the name of St. Francis: St. Francis rejected the power and wealth of the Church, and went instead to find Jesus with the poor and in nature. Pope Francis is the first pope, to my knowledge, to reject wealth and power.

After his conversion St. Francis stripped off his fine clothing and wore a plain brown robe. He had always been repulsed by lepers, but after his conversion he began to kiss their sores and identify with them. He spent so much time with lepers he contracted leprosy himself.

Pope Francis points us to the poor and oppressed, where he finds the spirit of Christ. Like St. Francis, our pope finds Christ in the poor, the vulnerable and oppressed — even in animals and the rest of God’s Creation. You can see his face light up when he is with children. He finds joy and freedom with them.

Jesus calls us to leave our fine clothes and find the same joy and freedom. “Fine clothes” is a wonderful metaphor, representing the way we want to appear to others — the way of our egos: I am an attractive person, an important person, an intelligent person, a funny person — even a humble and loving person. These fine clothes – what a burden they are! Francis got rid of his — literally and metaphorically — and found joy and peace.

I get irritated when TV commentators view Pope Francis through a political lens: What point is he trying to make? What is his agenda?

Furthermore, we are dualistic when we analyze Francis (and others): he is either this or that, left or right, right or wrong, black or white. The best answer to the question, “is someone this or that” is often — “yes.”

I see the pope as a finger, pointing at the moon. The Buddha said, “My teaching is like a finger pointing at the moon. A thinking person will use the finger to see the moon; an unthinking person will never see the moon.” 

Pope Francis is the finger, pointing us to the Ultimate Truth of Christ. But most of us are blind. We obsess about the finger.

The Gospel of John reports a confrontation between Jesus and the Pharisees. Jesus heals a blind person, but the Pharisees couldn’t “see” it. He says to them, “you see, and yet you are blind.”

Quit studying the finger! Take a deep breath. Look at the radiance of this Moon. Open your heart; let go of the things you are proud of. Embrace mercy, compassion and justice. You will find peace and joy there. Jesus said, “My yoke is easy and my burden is light.”