The greatest among you must be your servant.
Whoever exalts himself will be humbled;
but whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
The prophet Bob Dylan warned us sixty years ago, "The times they are a-changin." I was a student in high school and worked summers in my uncle's plumbing shop. If things were changing in the seminary, the word had not arrived in the shop.
But the changes swept through that world of technology, commerce, and politics before they hit the Church, despite the "changes" following the Second Vatican Council. Few, if any, attending bishops foresaw a reform of clerical culture. If they knew of criminal behavior among the clergy, it was not discussed in Saint Peter's Basilica.
The changin times nonetheless arrived; and Jesus's prophecy -- that the exalted must be humbled -- rumbles through the church like an M1 Abrams tank announcing a new regime.
Jesus's words were apparently addressed to the "scribes and Pharisees" of his time; but, a half-century later, Saint Matthew retained them as a warning to the Church. The wise know that religion is as corruptible as every form of government, academia, or commerce. Religion seems to give a peculiarly unassailable authority to its leaders for it reeks of divinity, holiness, and infallibility. To question one's religious authorities feels like challenging the gods; and blustering deacons, priests, and prelates know that. Even Eucharistic ministers, catechists, and parish secretaries can invoke the gods to cover their inadequacies.
Protestantism owes its origins and continuing existence to the incompetent corruption of Roman Catholic leadership, and remains as a perpetual challenge to its clerical culture. But, being as human as every other institution, that too is frequently staggered by internal scandals.
And so the merciful words of the Gospel persist; they challenge every generation of the Church, and every tier of its authority. With the Lectionary's cycle of readings, all religious authorities from parents to popes are warned annually and repeatedly. The arrogant have no excuse. The condemned cannot complain; they had Moses and the prophets, to warn them. They witnessed one rising from the dead.
That invitation to come to our senses is good. We thank God for it.
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.