During his homily at Casa Santa Marta, Pope Francis described two types of lukewarm Christian attitudes. He compares these to the attitudes of the priests who questioned Jesus' authority.
POPE FRANCIS
“Many Christians wash their hands when faced with the challenges posed by society, history, or people of their time, even regarding the smallest difficulties. How often do we hear about cheap Christians who refuse to give alms to one who asks for it: ‘No, I won’t give anything because he will just get drunk.’ They wash their hands… Putting God in a corner and washing one’s hands are two dangerous attitudes because they are like challenging God.”
The pope asked Christians which attitude lays in their hearts. Then, he urged them to take the path straight to God.
SUMMARY OF POPE'S HOMILY:
(Source: Vatican News)
“It was not only Pilate who washed his hands of Jesus; these men do so too: 'We do not know.' Not entering into relationship with others, not getting involved in their problems, not fighting for their rights, not fighting to heal the many people who are in need, saying 'It’s best not to. Let’s not dirty our hands with this.'”
“These are two attitudes of lukewarm Christians, of us – as my grandmother said – 'rosewater Christians': Christians without substance. One puts God in a corner: 'Either you do this for me or I won’t go to church anymore.' And how does Jesus respond? 'Okay, go. Deal with it yourself.'”
“Many Christians wash their hands when faced with the challenges posed by society, history, or people of their time, even regarding the smallest difficulties. How often do we hear about cheap Christians who refuse to give alms to one who asks for it: 'No, I won’t give anything because he will just get drunk.' They wash their hands… Putting God in a corner and washing one’s hands are two dangerous attitudes because they are like challenging God. We can imagine what would happen if the Lord put us in a corner. We would never enter Paradise. And what would happen if the Lord washed His hands of us? Poor things.”
