20161025 COMMANDING OBEDIENCE
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Green.
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First reading
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Ephesians
5:21-33 ©
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Give way to one
another in obedience to Christ. Wives should regard their husbands as they
regard the Lord, since as Christ is head of the Church and saves the whole
body, so is a husband the head of his wife; and as the Church submits to
Christ, so should wives to their husbands, in everything. Husbands should love
their wives just as Christ loved the Church and sacrificed himself for her to
make her holy. He made her clean by washing her in water with a form of words,
so that when he took her to himself she would be glorious, with no speck or
wrinkle or anything like that, but holy and faultless. In the same way,
husbands must love their wives as they love their own bodies; for a man to love
his wife is for him to love himself. A man never hates his own body, but he
feeds it and looks after it; and that is the way Christ treats the Church,
because it is his body – and we are its living parts. For this reason,
a man must leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two
will become one body. This mystery has many implications; but I am saying
it applies to Christ and the Church. To sum up; you too, each one of you, must
love his wife as he loves himself; and let every wife respect her husband.
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Responsorial
Psalm
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Psalm 127:1-5 ©
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O blessed are
those who fear the Lord.
O blessed are those
who fear the Lord
and walk
in his ways!
By the labour of your
hands you shall eat.
You will
be happy and prosper.
O blessed are
those who fear the Lord.
Your wife will be
like a fruitful vine
in the
heart of your house;
your children like
shoots of the olive,
around
your table.
O blessed are
those who fear the Lord.
Indeed thus shall be
blessed
the man
who fears the Lord.
May the Lord bless
you from Zion
all the
days of your life!
O blessed are
those who fear the Lord.
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Gospel
Acclamation
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Jn15:15
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Alleluia, alleluia!
I call you friends,
says the Lord,
because I have made
known to you
everything I have
learnt from my Father.
Alleluia!
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Or
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Mt11:25
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Blessed are you,
Father,
Lord of heaven and
earth,
for revealing the
mysteries of the kingdom
to mere children.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Luke 13:18-21 ©
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Jesus said, ‘What is
the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it with? It is like a mustard
seed which a man took and threw into his garden: it grew and became a tree, and
the birds of the air sheltered in its branches.’
Another
thing he said, ‘What shall I compare the kingdom of God with? It is like the
yeast a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour till it was
leavened all through.’
COMMANDING
OBEDIENCE
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: [ EPHESIANS 5:21-33; LUKE 13:18-21 ]
In a world of relativism
and individualism, obedience is a taboo. In the name of freedom, we do
not like the word “obedience.” The teaching of St Paul on wives
rendering obedience and submission to the husbands is considered archaic and
out of tune with our times because men and women are equal in dignity.
Even the roles of husbands and wives are confused or at least blurred.
With more and more women in the work force and even more educated and
accomplished than men, it becomes increasingly difficult to speak of women
obeying their husbands.
The challenge to authority
is also prevalent in corporate and religious offices as well.
Subordinates no longer not take to authority easily. They loathe
authority. When reprimanded or corrected, they sulk and become
resentful. When their ego is wounded, they would just walk out and find
another job. Alas, even in priestly and religious life, obedience, which
is a vow or a promise taken, is no longer observed strictly and
seriously. In the past, religious authority in faith was believed
to be the legitimate voice of Christ for His flock. All priests and
religious were to submit to the authority of the bishop and their religious
superiors. Today, this is generally no longer the case. The
superior is expected to obey the subordinates and give in to his whims and
fancies. Otherwise, he or she would go his or her own way. At
any rate, when juridical authority is exercised for the common good, the
individual harbours resentment. Any submission to authority would be
merely an external obedience and not from the heart and not out of faith in
God’s authority invested on those who are in charge.
Accordingly, there is a
move towards gathering consensus and respecting relativism. The truth is
that leaders no longer lead the sheep today but it is the sheep that is leading
the leader. A leader or the head of an organization has been reduced to
the role of a coordinator and a consensus builder. No longer does he
command the organization but works with the members. He seeks to inquire about
their needs and serve them. Authority is exercised in a democratic way
where the majority opinion is the right opinion, regardless of the objectivity
of the truth.
Why is obedience no longer
regarded as a virtue? It is seen as an obstacle to growth and exercise of
one’s potentials. It prevents a person from learning and exercising his
or her freedom. Submission to authority and obedience give an
impression of a slavish mentality without a mind of our own. Yet the
truth is that true exercise of authority need not stifle a person from
growing. It does not take away freedom and creativity. Instead,
true authority empowers a person to grow to his or her full potential whilst
protecting the person from the lack of prudence and failures in judgment.
The root of the problem is
not with obedience but stems from the abuse of authority in the past.
Indeed, history has shown, whether in homes, in offices, politics or
government, and even in religions, authority has often been exercised against
the interests of those whom they govern. Those in power were more
concerned about their own interests and goals than those under their
care. They sacrificed others for their selfish interests and goals.
They made use of them to satisfy their comforts, convenience and even their
sexual needs. In other words, they made use of their subordinates to acquire greater
power, wealth, status and pleasure. Worst of all, many were dictatorial
and tyrannical, imposing their will and wishes on others, threatening their
rice-bowl and even their lives if they did not submit to their demands.
Indeed, the experience of
such abuses in authority has caused the world to lose faith in those who are
entrusted with power. There is a deep distrust in those with power.
As it is said, power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
This explains why in modern times there are so many checks and balances to
prevent corruption by authority. In the past, the head of the
organization had absolute power, but now they need a board of directors to
approve the decisions of the leader. Even in the Church, which is still
hierarchical and semi-democratic, with the final decision resting on the Pope,
the Bishop and the parish priest or the Superior of the religious community,
canon law and civil law have in place measures to prevent such abuses.
In truth, obedience to
authority is not necessarily a disservice to the individual. Authority
must be exercised for the service of love and unity and for the greater good of
the people. As St Paul says, it is for the building of unity and
for the sanctification of those under our care, and their happiness.
“Christ loved the Church and sacrificed himself for her to make her holy. He
made her clean by washing her in water with a form of words, so that when he
took her to himself she would be glorious, with no speck or wrinkle or anything
like that, but holy and faultless.” The objective of authority is
to do what is truly good for those under their care, their happiness and
well-being on earth and for the good of their souls as well.
If we want to command
obedience from our subjects, we must show ourselves to love and care for them
more than for ourselves. All that we do must be seen to be for
their interests and not our own. We are their servants. They are
not our slaves. We are always the last to be served and the last to
benefit from what we do. That is why we need to consult and
dialogue with those under our charge so that what we do is not what we think is
good but taking into consideration what they really need and which is good for
them. We cannot impose our preferences on those under our charge simply
because we feel it is good for us. Rather, what we do we always put their
welfare first.
Indeed, those in authority
must be ready to sacrifice their lives selflessly and unconditionally for their
subjects if we were to command their respect and obedience. We need to
show that all that we do is purely for their good; that we are on their
side. We are not their enemies or competitors. We are for
them; not against them. If they see us as favoring them rather than
ourselves, there should be no problem commanding their obedience. If we
know that our leaders have our interests at heart, then we are willing to obey
even if we do not agree. This explains why St Paul demanded that the
submission of wives is dependent on the principle and presupposition that
“husbands must love their wives as they love their own bodies; for a man to
love his wife is for him to love himself. A man never hates his own body, but
he feeds it and looks after it; and that is the way Christ treats the Church, because
it is his body – and we are its living parts.”
To illustrate what
obedience entails and how we can command obedience from our subordinates, St
Paul gave us Christ as our example. He sacrificed His life for the
Church, which is His spouse. He gave up His life on the cross to keep us
holy. Christ did everything for our interests. His love for us is
sacrificial, unconditional, total and faithful. Because Christ died for
us, it is easy for us to obey Him because we know that whatever He commands us to
do is not for Himself but for our good.
Today, we are called to
imitate Jesus in authority by serving with humility and without vested
interests. We must lead by example first, by learning how to obey
those in authority over us. There are some of us who want to command
respect and obedience from our subordinates but before our own superiors we
refuse them our obedience. To command obedience we must first learn
how to obey. Those who wish to command obedience must remember that they
are under obedience themselves. We are all under obedience and ultimately our
obedience to legitimate authority is to God Himself who appoints our leaders.
So, as the gospel
encourages us, let us begin with small things. Like the mustard seed and
the yeast, if we sow seeds of trust, respect and selfless love, we will win
respect from those under our care. When we respect our subordinates, they
will return the same respect as well. So, exercise personal
authority first, before we exercise juridical authority, if we are to earn
their obedience. In the final analysis, obedience cannot be forced,
especially internal obedience. When we can prove that our exercise
of authority is for their interests, and especially the greater good of all,
then they will support us.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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