Memorial of Saint Martin of Tours, Bishop

Lectionary: 493

Remind them to be under the control of magistrates and authorities, to be obedient, to be open to every good enterprise. 
They are to slander no one, to be peaceable, considerate, exercising all graciousness toward everyone.
For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, deluded, slaves to various desires and pleasures,
living in malice and envy, hateful ourselves and hating one another.

 

Several incidents, developments, scripture readings, and spiritual meditations have reminded me lately of Obedience.

If a sermon can change one’s life, mine was changed in Louisiana when I heard a priest speak to his fellow priests about the necessity of obedience. Given the authority we have to preside over the Eucharist, any priest might lead gullible Catholics out of the church, along with their children, grandchildren, and succeeding generations. If he is charismatically charming, with a modicum of talent for liturgy and preaching, and able to inspire the skills of others to create a congregation and build a church, this wonderful man might do incalculable damage to the Church.

In the United States -- "a very Protestant country" where, as G.K.Chesterton said, “even the Catholics are Protestant” -- many renegade priests and congregations have chosen that primrose path to irrelevance. They become insipid Christians, separated from the Church’s leadership and subject to the ideological forces that continually drive Americans hither and yon.

In today’s first reading, Saint Paul urges his people to “be under the control of” civil authorities. They should “be obedient” and “open to every good enterprise.” He was well aware of the disruption the Gospel was causing in Jewish synagogues and the bemused skepticism of magistrates and governors as they monitored the situation. The Acts of the Apostles records several incidents when the government stepped in to quell riots among Abraham’s spiritual and physical progeny. 

Clearly, It is better to be subject to government authorities than to one’s impulses, fears, whims, and ambitions. The human being, created in God’s image, wants to worship something more worthy than itself. We need to belong to people and causes greater than the self.

The Revelation of the Gospel appeals to that desire, but it does not begin there. The Gospel is not a human product to satisfy a human desire. The Revelation begins when the Lord God speaks to us out of ineffable mystery, revealing his Son by the Holy Spirit. Those who obey that Word find their satisfaction. We no more follow our own desires than Jesus followed his. As he said, “I have not come to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.” and, “Father, not my will but thine be done.”

As followers of Jesus who are not patsies of our own desires, we can submit to government authorities so long as they ask nothing immoral or contrary to the Gospel. We might not enjoy paying taxes, but it is far better than having no government to collect taxes. We might wish someone else would make public policy concerning the common good, but we know our input is vital. We might disagree profoundly with a government that promotes abortion, gay marriage, and divorce, but we would not destroy the government on that account.

As citizens we ask the same Spirit who has shown us Jesus to direct our efforts to shape public policy. If, as young people, we thought the Kingdom of God might appear very soon – and through our efforts! -- we learn the patience of God. Festina lente: “Hasten slowly.”