From
Living Theology in the Metropolitan Chicago Synod
Evangelical Lutheran Church In America
Volume 2, Number 2
Easter 1997
Spirituality
In Memoriam: Joseph Cardinal
Bernardin, Archbishop of Chicago, 1982–1996
Friend—Teacher—Brother in
Christ
On
Friday, August 30, 1996, I listened to the news conference at which Joseph
Cardinal Bernardin shared with his Church, the public, and friends around the
world that he was dying of pancreatic cancer and probably had less than a year
to live. He said that he had placed himself in the hands of God and was at
peace. At the end of the news conference, Cardinal Bernardin made a request of
those present and of all those watching and listening. He asked his “extended
family” of metropolitan Chicago to pray for him, to stand in spiritual
solidarity with him in the days and weeks ahead, and that he in turn would pray
for us and for our families.
As he concluded his remarks, I felt tears begin to
moisten my eyes, a tightness grip my chest, a tremor in my vocal chords that
comes when you want to speak, but instead you cry. I began to realize that
Joseph Bernardin was beginning his final passage from this life to eternal
life, and, that sooner than anyone wanted, he would be gone from us through death.
I prayed:
O God,
your days are without end and your mercies cannot be counted. Make us aware of
the shortness and uncertainty of human life, and let your Holy Spirit lead us
in holiness and righteousness all the days of our life. I pray this day for your
servant, Joseph Cardinal Bernardin, that when he shall have served you in this
generation, he may be gathered to his
ancestors, having the testimony of a good conscience, in the communion
of your Church, in the confidence of a certain
faith, in the comfort of a holy hope, in favor with you, our God, and in
peace with all humanity; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (adapted from Lutheran Book of Worship, p.
208.)
In
praying for him that August afternoon, I also began to remember the various
occasions and ways in which Joseph Bernardin was friend, teacher, and brother
in Christ; always by example, in his words and gestures.
He came
to First Lutheran Church, Harvey, in late September, 1985 to join with Illinois
Synod, LCA Bishop Paul Erickson, the members of First Lutheran and 185 lay and
clergy leaders from Baptist, Roman Catholic, Methodist, Pentecostal and
Presbyterian churches in the south suburbs to enjoy a fellowship dinner and
then to gather with 1,000 plus citizens and community leaders at Thornton High
School to inaugurate the Regional Employment Network. This regional employment
network was initiated in and through the local churches in response to the
thousands of jobs lost due to steel plant closings and the downsizing of steel
related manufacturing companies. Joseph Bernardin was there as a brother in
Christ to show his care and concern for local people in their time of
unemployment and underemployment, and to encourage our local efforts in
assisting people toward re-employment.
During
the month of April, 1987 it was pure joy and total surprise to receive the
following letter dated April 23:
Dear
Pastor Knutson,
I have just learned that you are
celebrating the 95th Anniversary of the First Lutheran Church. I know that
Bishop Gregory will be delivering a sermon at the church and want you to know of my own best wishes and
congratulations at this important milestone. I
pray that the Lord will be with you and the members of your church in
the days and years ahead.
At this Easter season, may we be renewed in
our efforts to love the Lord and live the Gospel. With cordial good wishes, I remain
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Joseph Cardinal Bernardin Archbishop of
Chicago
This
letter, now framed, was written on his personal stationary. It is a lasting
reminder of a man called Bernardin, who always was a brother in Christ, a
friend, and a teacher of the Way of Jesus.
And who
among us in the Metropolitan Chicago Synod will soon forget that memorable
spring afternoon of May 19, 1989 when Lutherans, Roman Catholics and ecumenical
guests gathered at St. Alphonsus Church in Chicago to hear this declaration
(Preamble, L/RC Covenant):
Believing
in the will of the Lord Jesus Christ that we “all may be one,” recognizing our
common baptism in the name of the Trinity, and encouraged by our common witness
in worship and service as our people come together in faith, we, Joseph
Cardinal Bernardin and Bishop Sherman G. Hicks, in the name of the members of
our respective local communions solemnly enter into this Covenant.
By this Covenant with ELCA Lutherans in Chicago,
Cardinal Bernardin set the ecumenical standard forelating with Lutherans
throughout the USA. His own study of the US and International Lutheran-Catholic
Dialogues, gave him the theological and spiritual foundation which led to his
personal commitment to work for this significant ecumenical relationship. His
legacy to us is one of prayerful intercession that the Holy Spirit continue to
lead and guide the Archdiocese and our Metropolitan Chicago Synod toward
greater unity, and, in faithful witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Yes, a
brother, a friend, a teacher, he was also a man of humor and wit. When the
South Suburban Action Conference (an ecumenical church based community
organization of 39 Baptist, Roman Catholic, Pentecostal, Lutheran, Methodist,
and Disciple congregations) gave birth to its New Cities Community Development
Corporation in the fall of 1989, it was Joseph Bernardin who brought the 1100
people in attendance to a moment of laughter and applause when he said, “It’s
so good to be here in Flossmoor, Illinois at this Cathedral of Joy Baptist
Church. I come from a Cathedral Church too, but it is often the center of
protest not joy, so it’s really good to be in this joyful place on a peaceful
and hopefilled occasion”. He went on to remind us in his prepared remarks that
our concern for affordable housing for middle income and lower income working
families, the need to rehabilitate vacant and abandoned properties making them
habitable once again, was all part of the church’s responsibility in being a
faithful steward of God’s Word and God’s world.
All
along the way as Archbishop of Chicago, he was a friend, a teacher, a brother
in Christ, always leading by example, through words, and with gestures. So too
at the very end of his earthly pilgrimage, in written form through his personal
reflections called: The Gift of
Peace, he gave us a lasting testament, a gesture of love. In the meditation
which follows, Cardinal Bernardin gives us a foundational insight in Christian
spirituality leading to closer communion with God, so fitting for this issue of
Let’s Talk. In tribute to him and with thanksgiving to God for his
servant ministry and leadership, we hear Joseph Cardinal Bernardin in his own words:
EMPTYING
ONESELF
God speaks
very gently to us when he invites us to make more room for him in our lives.
The tension that arises comes not from him but from me as I struggle to find
out how to offer him fuller hospitality and then to do it wholeheartedly.
The Lord is clear about what he wants, but it is really difficult to let go of
myself and my work and trust him completely. The first step of letting go, of
course, is linked with my emptying myself of everything—the plans I
consider the largest as well as the distractions I judge the smallest—so that
the Lord really can take over.
St. Paul’s
description of Jesus’ mission is never far from my thoughts: “though he was in
the form of God, he did not deem equality with God something to be grasped at.
Rather, he emptied himself and took the form of a slave, being born in the
likeness of men. He was known to be of human estate, and it was thus that he
humbled himself, obediently accepting death, death on a cross” (Phil 2:6-8).
To close
the gap between what I am and what God wants of me, I must empty myself and let
Jesus come in and take over. I have prayed to understand his agenda for me.
Some things stand out. He wants me to focus on the essentials of his
message and way of life rather than on the accidentals that needlessly occupy
so much of our time and efforts. One can easily distinguish essentials from
peripherals in the spiritual life. Essentials ask us to give true witness and
to love others more. Nonessentials close us in on ourselves.
It is
unsettling to pray to be emptied of self; it seems a challenge almost beyond
our reach as humans. But as we try, I have learned, God does most of the work.
I must simply let myself go in love and trust of the Lord.
When the
hand of God’s purpose enters my life, however, it is usually not from the
front, as I have always expected, but from the side, in murmurs and whispers
that not only surprise but soon empty me beyond anything I could imagine.
(The Gift of Peace pp. 15-17)
Thomas C. Knutson
Pastor, First, Harvey
Founding Member,
Lutheran/Roman Catholic Covenant Commission, Chicago