Relating to Authority

A Reflection on the First Reading for August 23rd, 2020:
Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time

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Isaiah
22.15, 19-23

Thus says the Lord God of hosts: Go to the steward, to Shebna, who is master of the household, and say to him:

“I will thrust you from your office, and you will be pulled down from your post. On that day I will call my servant Eliakim son of Hilkiah, and will clothe him with your robe and bind your sash on him. I will commit your authority to his hand, and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah.

“I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David; he shall open, and no one shall shut; he shall shut, and no one shall open. I will fasten him like a peg in a secure place, and he will become a throne of honour to the house of his ancestors.”
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Pause. Pray.

And then read more...

In this first reading, God entrusts Eliakim with authority in a way that parallels Christ’s action in Matthew 16 when He gives Peter the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven. Throughout scripture, God places His children in positions of leadership with power — all the while knowing their strengths and imperfections with their potential to do great good and terrible harm.

Authority is frightening for those who hold it, and for those under it. No human on earth is perfectly married to the good, true, and beautiful — yet the role of those in any position of authority is always to “work and care for the good of all” (CCC 1897). The Church teaches that authority, “does not derive its moral legitimacy from itself,” and it must act “for the common good as a ‘moral force based on freedom and a sense of responsibility’” (CCC 1902). Accordingly, legitimacy of authority exists when the common good is sought and when its means to arrive at the good are morally acceptable (CCC 1903).

Unfortunately, there are countless examples to draw from where people have failed to truly act in ways that are good and moral. Merely looking at the last century of human history is immeasurably heartbreaking. People have been used, abused, mistreated, and killed as means to a variety of ends — in scenarios where persons with power forgot human dignity and their own role as their brothers’ and sisters’ keeper. We can see this on macro levels, between nations, and on micro levels, even between parents and children. Hurt can also originate from the distrust and disobedience of good authority, or the silence and inaction of good people with influence under unjust authorities.

The common good requires “respect for the person… the social well-being and development” of communities, and “peace” (CCC 1906-1909). It seems so simple, yet these require the fullness of love — the act of which is an art that takes a lifetime to learn — the source of which comes from communion with Love. Christ affirms that all authority comes from God (Matthew 28:18; John 19:11) and the Church encourages us to practice obedience to authorities when morally permissible (CCC 1900) and take personal responsibility to do good in our spheres of influence (CCC 1914).

There is much to reflect on with regard to authority — whether our hearts need healing to learn to trust and rightly identify authorities who are working for the common good, or we need courage and wisdom to discern when to speak out when we encounter either the neglect of persons in authority’s care or the abuse of power. We might be inclined to defiance, simply because we desire our liberty or personal preferences.

I invite you to join me in reflecting deeply on this theme — asking the Holy Spirit to gift us with the grace to accept where we are, our responsibilities, and however He is calling us to act in true freedom, responsibility, and love towards our neighbour and in the world.




Kendra L.
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Photo by Jehyun Sung on Unsplash

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