At his inaugural homily on the Feast of St. Joseph 2013, Pope Francis introduced a word that he has repeated time and again. That word is ‘Tenderness’!
He spoke of Joseph’s tenderness as guardian and ‘father’ to Jesus. He spoke of a tenderness that each of us should show to our world, to our earth, to creation. He introduced a whole new way of relating.
What a wonder there is in that word if we are brave and gentle enough to welcome it!
That wonder is contained in the following quote from the great theologian of last century, Hans Urs von Balthasar: “The infant is brought to consciousness of himself only by love, by the smile of the mother.” Tenderness is right there at the first glimpse of a child.
What a wonder!
I see glimpses of tenderness in the readings of today’s liturgy: the way the young community in Jerusalem responds to the emerging Christian community in Antioch – by sending a delegation of two of its best, Paul and Barnabas, with a letter, gently indicating their concern for the early infant Christian community there.
Then in the second reading, we are presented with that apocalyptic vision of John: the holy city Jerusalem ‘gleaming with the splendor of God’.
In spite of its massiveness, it enshrined deep respect for the traditions of its people and leaders, and then went further – it revealed the city’s true splendor. It was the Lamb and what the Lamb represented.
There was no temple for its temple was the Lord God almighty and the Lamb. It needed no light for its light was the Lamb, the true splendor of God.
The figure of the Lamb is also a symbol of tenderness.
The Gospel of John then takes us to a scene where Jesus, sensing the broken frailty within his disciples, speaks with deep tenderness and understanding. He reassures them right there in the midst of their pain.
“The Advocate, the Holy Spirit will teach you everything . . . My peace I give you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid. I am going away and I will come back to you. Rejoice that I am going to the Father for the Father is greater than I.”
Tenderness! Tender loving care! Jesus expresses it so well.
As I said earlier, “Tenderness is right there at the first glimpse of a child.”
It is right there in the words and presence of Jesus to his followers when they feel so frail and lost.
Can we sense it?
Can we allow it to touch us?
Can we allow it to transform us, to take way our fear and self-questioning, and to open us to the horizons of God’s love for us and for all creation?
If we can, then the splendor of God will shine in and through us!
It surely will, and it is all the work of the Holy Spirit!
The ‘Tenderness’ that Pope Francis often speaks of is really an invitation to be open to the smile of God to us in every moment and every situation.
Frank Gerry SVD