One year after becoming Pope in 1978, John Paul II came to America for a six day visit. He was received with wild enthusiasm everywhere he went, not just by Roman Catholics but by nearly everyone else. He was young (59 years old),a playwright and mountain climber, the first non Italian pope in 455 years.He had fresh ideas and a charismatic presence. People were enthralled by him, myself included. I remember reading a reflection on his visit that has stayed with me nearly fifty years later. The writer said that most leaders and almost all celebrities, when receiving applause or adulation and unremitting approval, keep it to themselves. They soak it in. And hunger for more.
Not John Paul II, the writer said. The pope received the accolades and affirmations from the crowds that welcomed and celebrated him— and instead of hoarding it, he gave it back to his audiences. He deployed his charisma, which was his personal charm and magnetic trait that drew people in, and turned it around by acknowledging people’s charism, which is the innate gift we each have to flourish and to serve others. The pope blessed his audiences — in official and ritualistic ways, yes, but his very presence and manner sent forth a subliminal message that they mattered, that they had gifts, that they were blessed.
As John Paul II continued in his 26 year papacy, I thought he became more theologically and morally territorial; it was my perception that his priority became the need to protect and preserve the hegemony and traditions of the church, and less committed to offering the extraordinary gifts and blessings he bestowed during that first American visit, whose impact on me — and on so many of us — still resonates a half century later. But I cannot remember a time when Pope John Paul II demonstrated a need to be fed and filled by adoring crowds. Even though I and many others may have disagreed with his pronouncements and policies, it was always clear that he was committed to carrying out God’s mission — as he discerned it.
For six days in October 1979 Pope John Paul fully captured the minds, if not the hearts, of millions of Americans. For the past ten years, and especially in the last few months, Donald Trump has captured the psyches of millions of Americans. Some feel recognized; and increasing number feel that they are being held hostage. President Trump — and so many politicians of all stripes — represent a sinister and stark contrast to the hospitality of Pope John Paul II’s first visit to the US. Trump consistently demonstrates an insatiable need for adulation, accumulation, and adoration. He demands it. He soaks it all in and gives none of it back. His inner circle is comprised of people who feed him a daily diet of A’s: awards, achievements, approbations, accumulations, adorations, affirmations.They won’t quit. He won’t let them quit.Those who don’t line up this way are ignored, dismissed, demeaned — and often cursed. No blessings to be offered or charisms to be acknowledged; just transactions to be made.
I have had moments in my life when I received a few A’s — achievement and affirmations most notably, and I wanted more. Moments when a crowd applauded me, and I not only soaked it in but hoarded it. Kept it to myself. And scavanged for the next A. Those moments happened when I was least centered and most anxious. And I reventually realized that my thirst can end up being a never ending and pernicious cycle of self justification.
And there are moments when I have denied or dismissed the charism of someone else. Several years ago, while leading a congregational forum as bishop of Newark, I confessed that I was glad my windows were rolled up after being cut off by another driver because my cursing was confined to myself. A woman of great charity said that when she gets cut off while driving she audibly invokes a phrase from the prayer book: “go in peace to love and serve the Lord.” I was skeptical. How do you say it, I asked, expecting her to say she expresses it with venom. She said she really means it, that she has worked on it— that she desires to bless a car driver who has offended, if not threatened her.
I have tried to follow her example. It is not easy. But it is needed. It is necessary, not just to bless the people who cut us off, but to see, acknowledge and claim the charism — the giftedness — of everyone. Everyone. This doesn’t mean that we need to roll over and play dead, and engage in a shallow practice of showering A’s on someone because they want it. It doesn’t mean that we can’t disagree, or engage in a fair fight (which is harder to do these days). It does means that we have the capacity — the charisma — to recognize, affirm, and bless the charism — the innate giftedness — of someone else. Let’s use it. May it be a call to action.
