Pope Francis. The Joy of the Gospel: Evangelii Gaudium. New York: Image, 2013, 2014. See here to purchase the book.
The Joy of the Gospel is primarily about evangelism. For
Pope Francis, this includes sharing one’s faith about God’s love for
each human being, God’s forgiveness, Christ’s sacrificial death to bring
people salvation, and Christ’s triumph over death and evil at his
resurrection. And yet, while Pope Francis does offer helpful advice
about how Christians can share their faith effectively in interpersonal
relationships and in the pulpit, he discusses other issues as well,
including the importance of hopeful service to others and being a
prophetic voice against income inequality and systemic abuse of the
poor. For Pope Francis, evangelism is not just a matter of sharing the
good news, but also of embodying the good news.
There are many jewels in this book, and I cannot do them all
justice. I did, however, have some favorite passages. I enjoyed his
discussion of Bible study and how we should be honest with God when
something in the Bible offends us, for God is patient with us, even if
we are not entirely ready to obey God right now; at the same time,
elsewhere in the book, Pope Francis says that Christians should not try
to lessen the difficult commands of Jesus, as certain commentaries do. I
appreciated that Pope Francis thought of those who did not have much
joy in the Gospel, as he encouraged them to pray. Pope Francis’
discussion of Judaism and non-believers also impressed me, for the Pope
said that both Judaism and Christianity draw wisdom from God’s
revelation, and that even non-Christians partake of “practical wisdom”
from the Holy Spirit that helps “people to bear suffering and to live in
greater peace and harmony” (pages 170-171); Pope Francis still affirms,
though, that belief in Jesus is important and makes a difference.
Most interesting to me was Pope Francis’ discussion of Mary as a
spiritual mother. Pope Francis offers a Scriptural rationale for that
position (e.g., John 19:26-27; Revelation 12) and talks about Mary’s
virtues, including her love for Jesus and her passion for social justice
in the Magnficat (Luke 1:46-55). I myself do not believe in praying to
Mary (and Pope Francis recommends a certain prayer to Mary on pages
194-196), but, in reading this book, I did gain an appreciation for
Mary’s virtues and reasons that people may desire a nurturing and caring
spiritual mother.
There were some things in the book that I did not particularly want
to hear but needed to hear, even if it is an open question how I would
apply certain principles. Pope Francis is a promoter of Christian
extroversion—-Christians going out and being with people and ministering
life to them. He tries to embody that in his own life. But what about
people who struggle socially or who are loners, either by choice or due
to a condition that they may have (i.e., autism)? I do give Pope
Francis credit for saying that Jesus brings the lonely into community,
but the sad reality is that this does not necessarily work for
everybody. As a person with Asperger’s, I wish that Pope Francis had
highlighted that even introverts and people who are in solitude can make
a contribution to life. At the same time, his statements about how we
should listen to people’s stories and respect them as a creation of God
are an important challenge to me, especially when I get misanthropic and
self-centered.
Overall, I enjoyed this book. I found it to be profound, challenging, prophetic, and also full of love, joy, and hope.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest review.