Word to the Wise
Thursday, May 7, 2009 - Thursday in the Fourth Week of Easter
[Acts 13:13-25 and John 13:16-20]Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever receives the one I send receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.
This statement of Jesus', given right after he has washed the feet of the disciples, is a charter for leadership. It is also a warning! Anyone who claims to act in the name of the Lord must also act as the Lord did! I feel sure that if I tossed this statement into a group of Catholics (and some Protestants and Jews as well) I would get an earful of stories about tyrannical religious authorities who cloaked their tyranny with scriptural robes of quotes such as the one given above. In the sacramental system of our Catholic faith, the quality of the minister may enhance the power of the occasion but it has nothing to do with whether or not God is acting in the sacrament. This is reassuring because I have heard heard of stories of sloppy celebrations or, worse, abuse in the confessional, or 15 minute celebrations of the Eucharist! The question is broader, however, in the style of leadership exercised by anyone acting in the name of the Church, whether that person be clergy or laity! When Lord Acton wrote his famous letter to one of the English bishops in which he said, "Power tends to corrupt. Absolute power tends to corrupt absolutely!" he was referring to Pope Pius IX! It is a bold statement indeed to claim that one is sent by Jesus to continue his work and to claim that those who trust such a person are receiving the Lord himself! Although the Lord has chosen to trust human beings who do fail and fail terribly, I believe history shows that the vast majority of those servants have acted faithfully. It doesn't hurt, however, to remind them once in awhile that the leadership is not the majority! AMEN