In May of 2024, journalist Norah O’Donnell interviewed Pope Francis. One of the things he told her was that every evening at 7:00 pm, he called the Catholic parish in Gaza to check on them. I’m not sure he ever took a position on the Hamas-Israeli war except to condemn the whole thing, but he certainly assumed a posture. He cared for his people.

Positions without a compassionate posture are sort of like 1 Corinthians 13:1-3. If I speak in the tongues of men or angels, but do not have love… If I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love…If I give all I possess to the poor, but do not have love…

I am nothing.

Positions are vitally important, but so are postures. For example, if we are pro-Israel, we can lead with our sorrow over the loss of so many Palestinian (and Jewish) lives. Or we can lead with “Hamas started it, so they had it coming.” Same position. Dramatically different postures.

In fact, I wonder if postures are sometimes MORE important than positions. The Pharisees were technically correct in their positions, but they missed the whole point.

Jesus had a position that his father’s house (the temple) shouldn’t be used as a marketplace (rather than a house of prayer). He could have filed a petition, but his position called for overturning tables and driving the culprits out with a whip. Postures don’t mean a milquetoast response. They mean thoughtfulness. Pre-thinking. Making a conscious choice.

The past 100+ days have informed our positions, but putting ourselves in the shoes of those being damaged will inform our postures. That’s what the Pope did. That’s what Jesus did.