In Solitude and Dialogue: Contemporary Franciscans Theologize

Being a Person in the Church: Contemporary Ecclesiology and the Franciscan Theological Tradition

125 Being a Person in the Church: Contemporary Ecclesiology and the Franciscan Theological Tradition John J. Burkhard, O.F.M.Conv. Introduction Theology today is determined by experience. Together with scripture and tradition, experience is the third component in the process of revelation. This notion of experience, however, is not to be understood in a simplistic sense, as either external or internal, sensate or intramental, conscious or unconscious, spontaneous or reflective, pure fact or elaborated interpretation, but as a rich fusion of all these factors.1 Because human experience plays an indispensable role in our lives, as Christians we must look to the role of experience in our faith life. But this task takes courage, because at any given moment negative experiences may loom large in that life. Our faith life, then, demands that we courageously tap into the rich complexity of our experience. In the Franciscan vision of reality, the turn to experience need not be perceived as threatening, but as something enriching and liberating. Francis’s vision of the world was founded in an incarnational and sacramental imagination.2 Francis encountered the mystery of God in the created order, in the society of interrelated men and women, in suffering, conflict, and limitation, as well as in God’s revealed word and in his ecclesial existence.3 Each was an avenue to the divine. In the emphasis Francis placed on the order of creation, however, he introduced a clear call for the validity and integrity of God’s creation and in particular for the positive value of human experience. This helps to explain why many of Francis’s 1 Dermot A. Lane, The Experience of God: An Invitation to Do Theology (New York: Paulist, 1981), 7-13. 2 Alexander Gerken, “The Theological Intuition of St. Francis of Assisi” Greyfriars Review 7/1 (1993): 71-94. 3 Thaddée Matura, “The Church in the Writings of St. Francis of Assisi,” Greyfriars Review 12/1 (1998): 15-33. 126 John J. Burkhard, O.F.M.Conv. central ideas are drawn from human experiences, both individual and social, which were readily accessible to reflection in his day: minoritas, fraternity, poverty, and joy. On one level, they represent common human experience and can be interpreted humanly, while on another, but wholly related level, they open the person up to the divine. Franciscans, therefore, are open to the turn to experience in contemporary thought and in theology in particular. In an article which aims at examining ecclesiology in the Franciscan tradition, it is incumbent on us that we not flee our experience of the Church today. In adverting to our experience, we must avoid two extremes. We must not tarnish that image by focusing exclusively on the negative aspects of our experience to the detriment of the truly valuable in this experience, nor may we gloss over our experience of pain, confusion, anger, and frustration by pretending that all is rosy and well. This effort at balance requires candor vis-à-vis our experience, but also rigorous discipline at avoiding polarizing positions. And so, I propose in this treatment of the Church in a Franciscan perspective, to begin with a personal analysis of experience of the Church today. In doing this, I frankly admit that I must struggle with the positive and the negative polarities. Like others, I am tempted to take a one-sided position, and so I must work hard at evaluating other, counterbalancing experiences. A Personal Assessment Without losing my confidence in the Church’s mission, particularly as redefined by Vatican II in various documents, and without abandoning my hope for the Church’s future, honesty requires me to admit a growing sense of disillusionment with the concrete actions of the official Church. I do not call into question the good will of the bishops and Vatican officials, nor do I doubt their personal commitment to the goals of Christ for humankind. But it is becoming increasingly difficult to proclaim the Gospel in a spirit of unalloyed joy. It is not even a matter of approaching the task of Gospel proclamation out of a sense of “second naïvité,” which would permit some critical stance on what evangelization is. It is rather a mood of resignation and joylessness. Being a Person in the Church 127 When I began teaching theology in the early 1970s, I was filled with enthusiasm for my courses on the Church and on the ordained ministry...