April 26, 2022 – Click here to listen
I rarely agree with much of anything that Pope Francis has to say, but recently I read an article where he said on Sunday that, “The Lord is not looking for perfect Christians.” He went on to compare Jesus’ merciful words to a doubting St. Thomas which reminds us that the Lord does not expect us to be “perfect Christians”.
Instead, Jesus wants us “to seek Him, to call on Him, or even, like Thomas, to protest, bringing him our needs and our unbelief.”
Thomas, who was not present the first time the resurrected Jesus appeared to the apostles, “represents all of us,” the pope said. The pope went on to speak in strong terms against an attitude of righteousness and self-assurance.
“I tell you: I am afraid when I see a Christian, some associations of Christians who believe themselves to be perfect. The Lord is not looking for perfect Christians; the Lord is not looking for Christians who never doubt and always flaunt a steadfast faith. When a Christian is like that, something isn’t right,” the pope observed.
“No, the adventure of faith, as for Thomas, consists of lights and shadows. Otherwise, what kind of faith would that be? It knows times of comfort, zeal, and enthusiasm, but also of weariness, confusion, doubt, and darkness.
“The Gospel shows us Thomas’ ‘crisis’ to tell us that we should not fear the crises of life and faith,” Pope Francis continued. “Crises are not sins, they are part of the journey, we should not fear them. Many times, they make us humble because they strip us of the idea that we are fine, that we are better than others. Crises help us to recognize that we are needy: they rekindle the need for God and thus enable us to return to the Lord, to touch his wounds, to experience his love anew as if it were the first time.”
The pope then said what I believe to be the most poignant words of his statement: “Dear brothers and sisters, it is better to have an imperfect but humble faith that always returns to Jesus, than a strong but presumptuous faith that makes us proud and arrogant. Woe to those, woe to them!”
Pope Francis went on to highlight the fact that, after appearing to the apostles while Thomas was not present, he returns a second time. “Jesus does not give up, he does not get tired of us, he is not afraid of our crises, our weaknesses. He always comes back: When the doors are closed, he comes back; when we are in doubt, he comes back; when, like Thomas, we need to encounter him and to touch him up close, he comes back,” the pope said.
“Jesus always comes back, he always knocks on the door, and he does not come back with powerful signs that would make us feel small and inadequate, even ashamed, but with his wounds; he comes back showing us his wounds, signs of his love that has espoused our frailties.”
When we think about it we know we cannot be perfect because the Bible states that Jesus was the only perfect One who ever walked on this planet. If you doubt or backslide the important thing is to come back to Jesus. I’ve run back to Him countless times begging forgiveness and He always accepts me. It is nothing to be ashamed of and even the Apostle Paul at times faltered. 2 Cor. 12:9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”
God loves us with unconditional love and is ready, willing, and able to forgive our sins and that includes oftentimes wayward Christians. Jesus told Peter of His outlook on forgiveness, and we can know for sure Jesus expects the need for Him to forgive us our sins as many times as it takes.
Peter had more than doubled the Jewish practice of the Old Testament pardoning someone three times for an offense, and in this context, seven might seem like a large number.
To this, however, Jesus famously replied, not even seven, but “seventy-seven.” Some translations even say, “seventy times seven.” The point is not to get fixed on a specific number, checklist, or scorecard as Peter was doing. The phrase “seventy times seven,” which we first encounter in Genesis 4:24, is a certain number used to signal an uncertain, nearly indescribable amount. According to R.C. Sproul, when Peter asked Jesus how many times he should forgive, Jesus essentially told him, “As many times as it takes”. This is not a license to sin but a guarantee that when we sin and then repent we will be received with open arms by our Savior who Himself was tempted in every way.
Matthew 18:21-22.
Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy times seven.”