{"id":9380,"date":"2014-04-29T10:39:26","date_gmt":"2014-04-29T14:39:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/?p=9380"},"modified":"2014-04-29T10:39:26","modified_gmt":"2014-04-29T14:39:26","slug":"a-discerning-pareidolia-pope-francis-bookclub","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/2014\/04\/a-discerning-pareidolia-pope-francis-bookclub.html","title":{"rendered":"A Discerning Pareidolia [Pope Francis Bookclub]"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

In 2014, I\u2019m reading and blogging through Pope Francis\/Cardinal Bergoglio\u2019s\u00a0<\/em>Open Mind, Faithful Heart: Reflections on Following Jesus<\/a>. \u00a0Every Monday, I\u2019ll be writing about the next meditation in the book, so you\u2019re welcome to\u00a0peruse them all<\/a>\u00a0and\/or read along.<\/em><\/p>\n

In this week\u2019s chapter of\u00a0 Open Mind, Faithful Heart<\/em><\/a>, Pope Francis is discussing the promise of Christ\u2019s return and the good fruits of its uncertain timing. \u00a0Let\u2019s recap that part of Christian thinking briefly using Handel\u2019s\u00a0Messiah<\/em>:<\/p>\n<\/iframe>\nWhile we are waiting, Pope Francis exhorts us to a committed kind of vigilance, a watchfulness that is not simply dutiful or anxious, but suffused with longing. \u00a0I thought of Hobbes lying in wait, tensed and happy, behind the door to leap out at Calvin when he returns home. \u00a0My little brother used to do the same thing\u2013except he started his run from the back of the house, and got up to a very painful speed\u2013because he was so happy to have me home from kindergarten.<\/p>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/84\/2014\/04\/calvin-and-hobbes-calvin-and-hobbes-1395529-1280-1024.jpg\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-9382 aligncenter\" title=\"calvin-and-hobbes-calvin-and-hobbes-1395529-1280-1024\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/84\/2014\/04\/calvin-and-hobbes-calvin-and-hobbes-1395529-1280-1024-1024x819.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"393\" height=\"314\"><\/a><\/p>\nHowever, the Pope chose to illustrate his point with some slightly more Biblical images:<\/p>\n<blockquote>There is a special kind of vigilance that is more than just paying close attention: it is vigilance that anticipates. \u00a0In the scriptures we read that among God\u2019s faithful people, there were many just men and devout women who hoped with great longing. \u00a0There was John the Baptist, who sent to ask Jesus if he was the one they were hoping for (Matt 11:2-3), and there was Joseph of Arimathea, who was keenly awaiting the kingdom (Mark 15:23)\u2026 We would do well to ask ourselves whether our own vigilance has this same element of impatient hopefulness\u2026 This attitude of expectation has the virtue of hastening the coming of God\u2019s kingdom, for, as Saint Peter tells us, we ought to be \u201cwaiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\nBut it\u2019s easy to imagine that everyone is perhaps a little quick to jump the gun and discern the Lord. \u00a0The <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Pareidolia\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">pareidolia<\/a> that spots Jesus in a burned piece of toast <a href=\"http:\/\/www.smbc-comics.com\/index.php?db=comics&id=1990\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">is often parodied<\/a>. \u00a0So, what\u2019s wrong with that kind of watchfulness? \u00a0I might guess that one of the problems is that, for most people, it\u2019s sterile. \u00a0Playing \u201cWhere\u2019s Waldo\u201d with images of God might be exciting, but it\u2019s probably not convicting \u2014 it doesn\u2019t \u201cmake all things new.\u201d<\/p>\nOne kind of watchfulness I\u2019ve found more fruitful is just looking for signs of \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/2010\/07\/here-i-am-dressing-up-as-christ.html\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\">dressing up as Christ<\/a>\u201d from friends, coworkers, acquaintances, etc. \u00a0This kind of Christ-watching\u00a0does<\/em> require vigilance, since many kindnesses are small and fleeting. \u00a0Unless I\u2019m actively watching, I may not notice a concerned look, a thoughtful question, a quick movement to remove an obstruction. \u00a0And, when I\u2019m not being vigilant, my resting levels of perceptiveness aren\u2019t very trustworthy.<\/p>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/84\/2014\/04\/do-unto-others-20-better-than-they-do-unto-you-to-offset-subjective-error.png\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-9385\" title=\"do-unto-others-20-better-than-they-do-unto-you-to-offset-subjective-error\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/84\/2014\/04\/do-unto-others-20-better-than-they-do-unto-you-to-offset-subjective-error.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"415\"><\/a><\/p>\nVigilantly watching for Christ in others helps teach me to better imitate Him myself. \u00a0It helps me better love the people I encounter, since it corrects for my natural, defensive biases. \u00a0And, more than anything, it helps me see the world a bit more accurately, as dappled with grace and promise, and whets my desire to reflect that light back to the next watcher.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_9387\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-9387\" style=\"width: 512px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/84\/2014\/04\/beacons1.jpg\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-9387 \" title=\"beacons1\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/84\/2014\/04\/beacons1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"512\" height=\"215\"><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-9387\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The beacons are lit!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In 2014, I\u2019m reading and blogging through Pope Francis\/Cardinal Bergoglio\u2019s\u00a0Open Mind, Faithful Heart: Reflections on Following Jesus. \u00a0Every Monday, I\u2019ll be writing about the next meditation in the book, so you\u2019re welcome to\u00a0peruse them all\u00a0and\/or read along. In this week\u2019s chapter of\u00a0Open Mind, Faithful Heart, Pope Francis is discussing the promise of Christ\u2019s return and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":127,"featured_media":9381,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,177],"tags":[227],"class_list":["post-9380","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-parsing-catholicism","category-spiritual-practice","tag-pope-francis-bookclub"],"yoast_head":"\n<title>A Discerning Pareidolia [Pope Francis Bookclub]<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In 2014, I\u2019m reading and blogging through Pope Francis\/Cardinal Bergoglio\u2019s\u00a0Open Mind, Faithful Heart: Reflections on Following Jesus. \u00a0Every Monday, I\u2019ll\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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