Word to the Wise
Wednesday, July 25, 2012 - July 25 - St. James, Apostle
[2 Cor 4:7-15 and Matt 20:20-28]We hold this treasure in earthen vessels, that the surpassing power may be of God and not from us. [2 Cor] Command that these two sons of mine sit, one at your right and the other at your left, in your kingdom. [Matt]
One of the remarkable features of the gospels is that the weaknesses of the apostles are on full display! St. Paul is not afraid to admit to his own weakness, either. His statement, quoted above, about being an earthen vessel containing the treasure of the gospel, rings true to all of us in ministry. In the case of the apostles, Jesus has to confront them about the problem of ambition. It will happen more than once, because the apostles seem to have been typical of their very class-conscious culture. There were arguments about who was "greater." Anyone who has been in church service in the Vatican can tell us about how careful one has to be in knowing who is senior to whom when trying to get something done! We expect this in secular government. There is always a "pecking order" to be dealt with. But it seems shabby to find it in our church, especially among the "successors to the apostles." Some years ago, the retiring prefect of the Congregation for the Bishops, African Cardinal Bernard Gantin, complained about the ambition of certain bishops who wanted to "move up" to better or more prestigious dioceses! The problem doesn't stop there, however. It can be experienced among priests, deacons, religious and laity! There are many who anxiously await the command, "Friend, come up higher!" My experience in preaching retreats for clergy leads me to mention this problem to them from time to time, and I never fail to get an amused and nervous reaction!
The incident in today's gospel scripture shows that the Sons of Zebedee and their mother have a mistaken notion about the kingdom and about power. These are not the same thing, but they are related. The kingdom that Jesus preached has no place for potentates. Jesus promises a special role for the apostles but not the kind they were accustomed to witnessing from Herod or Pilate or other petty tyrants of the day with their courts. Power, on the other hand, can be a problem in any group attempting to accomplish a goal. This is one of the most corrosive problems in our church, from Sunday usher to papal master of ceremonies, from collection counter to bishop! Lord Acton probably had no idea that he would write lasting words when he wrote, "Power corrupts. Absolute power tends to corrupt absolutely." The treasure in earthen vessels is the power of the gospel and the grace of Christ. When the vessel becomes more important than the contents our church is in trouble. Church bureaucracy can be enormously helpful or enormously harmful depending on the "power-consciousness" of the folks involved. The children of Zebedee and all the apostles, etc. needed the occasional "Come to Jesus!" reminder. So do all of us in church service. A lot of good can come out of earthen vessels that are properly maintained! AMEN
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