{"id":4569,"date":"2025-04-22T07:48:18","date_gmt":"2025-04-22T11:48:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/js1cd06kre.onrocket.site\/?p=4569"},"modified":"2025-04-22T07:48:18","modified_gmt":"2025-04-22T11:48:18","slug":"muddy-shoes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/22\/muddy-shoes\/","title":{"rendered":"Muddy Shoes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast,\u00a0<\/em>click here<\/a>

Pope Francis, who stepped into the next world just a few hours after Easter, was a different kind of leader.

In a world where presidents, pastors, and CEO’s all too often become autocratic and self-absorbed as their power increases, Francis grew steadily “smaller.”

The 12 years of his papacy were characterized by memorable acts of kindness and humility.

He invited homeless men to share breakfast with him on his birthday.\u00a0When visiting Washington D.C. he was happy to be driven around in a little Fiat.\u00a0

Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio \u2013 the man would become Francis \u2013 used to look at the shoes of the priests who served in his native Argentina.\u00a0Whenever he saw dirty, muddy shoes, he knew he was in the presence of someone who spent time with the poor.

He spoke of God as few pontiffs have ever spoken before: \u201cI believe in God<\/em> \u2013 not in a Catholic<\/em> God.\u00a0There is no Catholic God.\u00a0There is God, and I believe in Jesus Christ, his incarnation.\u201d

He acknowledged the need for humility:\u00a0\u201cIf one has the answers to all the questions \u2013 that is the proof that God is not with him.\u00a0It means that he is a false prophet using religion for himself.\u00a0The great leaders of the people of God, like Moses, have always left room for doubt.\u00a0You must leave room for the Lord, not for our certainties.\u00a0We must be humble.\u201d

He spoke with open-heartedness.

\u201cSince many of you do not belong to the Catholic Church and others are non-believers, from the bottom of my heart I give this silent blessing to each and every one of you, respecting the conscience of each one of you, but knowing that each one of you is a child of God.\u201d

It may be that Francis\u2019 encounter with an Italian man named Vinicio Riva spoke louder than anything else.

Riva suffers from a non-infectious\u00a0genetic disease called neurofibromatosis type 1.\u00a0His skin is covered with painful growths and bleeding sores. He picks up trash in his home village.\u00a0He is used to stares of shock and fear.

In November 2013, just six months after Francis ascended to the Vatican\u2019s highest role, Riva was escorted by a family member to a general public audience held by the pope.

When Francis saw Vinicio, he walked directly to him.\u00a0At first Riva was confused. Most people flee from his presence. He was even more stunned when the Pope embraced him tightly.

Riva will never forget the moment.

\u201cHe embraced me without speaking\u2026I quivered.\u00a0I felt a great warmth. We said nothing, but he looked at me as if he was digging deep inside, a beautiful look that I would never have expected.\u201d\u00a0

Sometimes there\u2019s no need for words. Sometimes a simple hug can change the world.

As Jim Wallis relates in his book Christ in Crisis<\/em>, after Francis slept through his very first night as pope, he stepped out of his simple guest house in Rome and encountered a Swiss Guard.

“Who are you?” asked the pope. “I’m your guard,” he answered.\u00a0\u00a0

The Swiss Guards, 110-strong, have served as the pope’s personal security unit since 1506.\u00a0Their colorful uniforms were designed by none other than the Renaissance genius Michelangelo.\u00a0

“Where is your chair?” Francis asked.\u00a0“My commandant says we must stand while we guard,” the young man replied.\u00a0“How long have you been standing here?”\u00a0“All night,” came the answer.

Francis declared, “There is now a new commandant.”\u00a0He disappeared inside and returned with a chair.\u00a0Then he asked, “Have you had anything to eat?” “My commandant says…” the Guard began, but his voice trailed off.\u00a0Francis returned with a pair of sandwiches and the two shared a meal.\u00a0 \u00a0

Whenever we enlist as followers of Jesus, we come under new management.\u00a0

As modeled by our new Commandant, we become part of the Great Reversal.\u00a0Leaders become servants.\u00a0“Those at the top” give hugs and wash the feet of “those at the bottom.”\u00a0\u00a0

What would it mean to join this revolution of servant leadership?\u00a0\u00a0

It would mean it\u2019s time to get our shoes muddy.\u00a0<\/em>
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast,\u00a0click here Pope Francis, who stepped into the next world just a few hours after Easter, was a different kind of leader. In a world where presidents, pastors, and CEO’s all too often become autocratic and self-absorbed as their power increases, Francis grew steadily “smaller.” The 12 years of his papacy were characterized… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4570,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[157,131,914,111],"class_list":["post-4569","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-compassion","tag-humility","tag-pope-francis","tag-serving-the-poor"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4569","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4569"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4569\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4571,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4569\/revisions\/4571"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4570"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4569"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4569"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4569"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}