Mr. Pope's Take on Judgement and The Great Commission

"I want you to Shut Up!"

I've said in the past that while I'm inspired by good teachers, I am also inspired by bad teachers. I made myself an expert on First World War bombing tactics by a history professor who claimed that there were no heavy bombers used in the First World War. I studied the US Constitution night and day for weeks thanks to an English Professor who told me it was illegal to mention God in her classroom. Yet another history professor told me that Neville Chamberlain was right and that the Byzantine Empire had no bearing on the development of the west. Needless to say my term paper was on the failures of Neville Chamberlain and my future college plans included a major in Byzantine studies at the University at Buffalo. 

Now we have Mr. Pope re-writing the Great Commission.

First of all, he did this in a homily, which is different than a sermon. A homily is a "preaching event" that is informal, scriptures are used in a laid back kind of way. It's an attempt to inject a bit of scripture and dogma into the congregant's daily lives. A sermon on the other hand is a lesson in theology, a deep dive into the Word of God, and a plea to live our lives as Christ demands. Or, to be quicker and clearer, Joel Osteen gives Homilies, John MacArthur gives sermons. In my experience being raised in the Roman Catholic church and saved from that man centered institution by my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ; a homily feeds the goats and starves the sheep. A sermon feeds the sheep and chases off the goats.

Let's look at what Mr. Pope laid down in his homily.

“We have this freedom to judge whatever is happening around us.  But in order to judge, we must have a good knowledge of that is happening around us.  And how can we do this?"

Nowhere in the Bible does it give us "the freedom to judge whatever is happening around us. Jesus commanded us, if we must judge, to judge with righteous judgement.

"Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment." (John 7:14)

Righteousness doesn't have a lot to do with what is going on in the sin sick world around us, any astute observer of today's world can testify to that, but righteousness has everything to do with what is going on in the word of God. The news report of Mr. Pope's oration says that his homily was based on Romans.  I would dearly love to know what portion of Romans he got this idea from. 

Readers: Please correct me if I'm wrong but I can only find three references to judging in Romans, and freedom to judge whatever is happening around us is not mentioned:

1 Therefore you have no excuse, everyone of you who passes judgment, for in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. 2 And we know that the judgment of God rightly falls upon those who practice such things. (Romans 2:1-2)

Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own [b]master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand. (Romans 14:4)

12 So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God. 13 Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather determine this—not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother’s way. (Romans 14:12-13)

None of those verses fill me with the desire to run around freely judging everything I see. The only freedom I see in judgement is God's freedom to judge

12 For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Do you not judge those who are within the church? 13 But those who are outside, God judges. REMOVE THE WICKED MAN FROM AMONG YOURSELVES. (1 Corinthians 5:12-13)

A lot of Mr. Pope's homily had to do with discerning the changing of the times.

Understanding the signs of the times, noted the Pope, should not be confined to an elite cultural group. He recalled how Jesus didn’t tell us to look at how the professors, the doctors and the intellectuals do things but instead urged us to look at the farm labourer who knows how to “separate the wheat from the chaff.”

I really don't understand what Mr. Pope is saying here. If anyone is completely and utterly out of touch with the changes of of the times it's the powerful elite that he holds up as an example of those that are 'in the know'. Any parent that sends their children off to a public school knows how horribly the world is changing, anyone who watches the nightly news knows how horribly this world is changing, anyone who walks down a city street at night knows how horribly this world is changing, anyone who views popular culture on the TV, radio, in movies, in the music, on the internet knows that this world is changing, and it's for the worse.

The people who don't appear to know what is going on in the world is the intelligentsia, those self appointed masters of a societies culture and politics. Those folks who make political hay out of nonsense like global warming while their people starve, who go on lavish vacations while riots break out in the streets, who sit on thrones wearing triple crowns and lavish robes bemoaning how the little people don't understand that the world is changing, while those very same little people are being  captured, beaten, sold into slavery, raped, tortured, crucified, and beheaded by Islam.

I think what set me off is Mr. Pope's  insistence that Christians must change. Change to what precisely Mr. Pope? Change so we can fit in to a world that is tearing itself apart with sin? Turn our backs on our suffering brothers and sisters so we can concentrate on a politial agenda of global warming like you Mr. Pope?

We are not called to change because the world is changing, we aren't even part of this world any more. Instead we are to be changed by the Holy Spirit into what God wants us to be. Had Mr. Pope been reading from Romans he may have noticed that.

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:2)

 Mr. Pope finishes with

But our job is to look at what is happening within us, discern our feelings, our thoughts and what is happening around us and discern the signs of the times – through silence, reflection and prayer.

Where does the  Word of God tell us to sit down and shut up? Readers, please help me with this but I can't think of a single verse in the bible that tells us to hide quietly and meditate. Instead Jesus called us out to be His beacons, a bright shining light

14 You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; 15 nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 5:14-17)

We are not to be quiet but to proclaim the gospel!

Tell of His glory among the nations, His wonderful deeds among all the peoples. (Psalm 96:3)

This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come. (Matthew 24:14)

 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. (Mark 16:15)

19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. (Matthew 28:19-20)

No, Mr. Pope, my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, He who died for my sins, did not tell me to sit quietly in my little room and contemplate my navel. He has things for me to do.