Word to the Wise
Wednesday, November 15, 2017 - Wednesday in the 32th Week in Ordinary Time
[Wis 6:1-11 and Luke 17:11-19]For the lowly may be pardoned out of mercy but the mighty shall be mightily put to the test. For the Lord of all shows no partiality, nor does he fear greatness, because he himself made the great as well as the small, and provides for all alike; but for those in power a rigorous scrutiny impends. [Wisdom]
NOVEMBER 15 ST. ALBERT THE GREAT, o.p.
One of the fundamental questions that I ask on retreats, especially for priests and deacons, is: How am I serving? But I also note an underlying question that lurks everywhere in matters of service: How am I powerful? This is not just an ecclesiastical problem, but appears everywhere, whether in church or public politics or family relationships. We learn about power from a very early age, when we first learn the word, "NO!" The Book of Genesis makes it clear that humans have been attracted to power from the very dawn of creation.
What the Book of Wisdom underlines for us today is that power carries with it an ultimate reckoning, an accountability before God. One will hear from the powerful about accountability to voters or customers, but rarely about divine reckoning. The clergy sex abuse crisis reached its terrible heights because accountability was missing on all levels in the church. At the same time, part of the problem rises from the vagueness that some attribute to accountability to God, seeing it as something at the end of time. But we are accountable every day. An active awareness of this is healthy, and not necessarily a matter for constant guilt. As long as we keep in mind that all power comes from God and is to be used wisely for service, we can be confident of God's mercy. AMEN