Word to the Wise
Monday, January 21, 2008 - Monday in the Second Week of Ordinary Time
[1 Samuel 15:16-23 and Mark 2:18-22]Does the Lord so delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obedience to the command to the Lord? Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission than the fat of rams....Because you have rejected the command of the Lord, he, too, has rejected you as ruler.
"I, Brother Richard B. Williams, make profession and promise obedience to God, to Blessed Mary, to Blessed Dominic and to you, Brother Francis R. Shaw, prior of this convent of St. Thomas Aquinas in place of Brother Aniceto Fernandez, Master of the Order of Preachers, and his successors, according to the Rule of St. Augustine and the Constitutions of the Order of Friars Preachers, that I will be obedient to you and to your successors until death." On August 16, 1968, I made this vow of obedience to the head of the Dominican Order (represented by the local superior). In case you're wondering, the other two traditional vows - poverty and chastity - are contained in the rule and constitutions! Most Dominicans that I've ever asked have said that obedience is the most difficult of the three. And even though the words "to obey" no longer appear in the official vows of marriage, I think most couples agree that it is very difficult to "be obedient." We just don't like the idea of obedience even though we want our children or religious subjects to be "cooperative" and "docile." Saul gets in big trouble because he allowed his soldiers to loot, contrary to God's explicit command. He claimed that it was so that they could get stuff to offer to God! Samuel simply replies: You disobeyed God's orders against looting! It is no excuse to say, "They meant well!" What can we say about that in our day? Does a spouse have the right to do whatever they want to no matter what the other spouse thinks? If you have a company policy or an athletic team for which you serve as coach, is it acceptable for the employees to violate company policy even for what they think are good reasons, or is it acceptable for team members to play in whatever way they want no matter what the game plan is, just so long as they score a goal doing it? What about the military? One may respond that these are all different forms of obedience: family, religious life, business, sports and military. Yes and no. They all have one thing in common: submitting to the will of someone else. That "submission" touches on a very precious and sensitive part of us - our own will! Whether it be the will of God, a spouse, a religious superior, a coach, a boss or military commander, the human will has shown itself to be ever rebellious. Even Adam and Eve thought they were doing a good thing when they disobeyed God! Obedience requires discipline and asceticism of the will! It is rare for me to hear someone who is looking for a Lenten observance say to me that they decided to become more obedient for Lent! However, it might be a useful spiritual exercise to ask about our attitude in regard to obedience to God, to spouse, to employer, etc. It might help us to grow in self knowledge which can lead to greater fidelity. AMEN
config
view
logs
4096.0 KB
73 ms
4
