Obedience: The Dirtiest Word in America

So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any incentive of love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.

Do nothing from selfishness or conceit, but in humility count others better than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross.

Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Philippians 2:1-11

Let's stop for a second and consider the passage above.

Why did God highly exalt Christ Jesus? Why did God bestow on him the name above every name, that at that name every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth? Why shall every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father?

Obedience.

He took the form of a servant, did not count equality with God something to be grasped (even though he could have), and became obedient unto death.

Paul exhorts us to have "this mind" ourselves. In other words, to be like Christ. To love others so much that we are obedient unto death. (As Christ does us and also loves and trusts the Father.)

Christ undid the sin brought about by Adam's and Eve's disobedience and lack of trust in God with his own complete obedience and trust. Even unto death.

Let's all stop. Really stop. And read it again. Slowly, aloud, thinking about it.

=====================

So. If we are to follow in Christ's footsteps, our love is the fruit of the Holy Spirit we should show each other. Our self-giving as a servant should be a complete pouring out of ourselves, an emptying, in complete obedience.

This is what the great saints have done.

Even the ones who were in disagreement with the Church teachings at the time still were obedient. To be less than that, while working for change, is to not trust God or the Holy Spirit. It is to make yourself too important. If Christ's bride is the Church, then shouldn't we also give the Church that respect?

That is why those saints are our models in tempestuous times. They help us walk as Christ did, with obedience.

=====================

Contemplating this over the last year has helped me care immensely when I am disobedient. And I am disobedient, I am sorry to admit. Much more often than I care to say.

Aren't we all?

Beginning with Adam and Eve, disobedience is the original human sin. It is the one that makes us ignore our inner voice of "what is right" and do what we want anyway.

Obedience.

It sounds fine until it interferes with what we'd really like.

Then, in fine American independence we spit the word "obedient" as if it is a curse and defiantly stamp to emphasize our right to do what we like. If we have to stamp on the person next to us who doesn't agree, well then, so be it. That's what they deserve for trying to restrict my right to do whatever I like. I'd better tell everyone while I'm doing it so they may applaud my independence.

That is all very American.

But is it Catholic?

Is it Christ-like?

=====================

This comes to mind with great force as I've been thinking about being Catholic and being American lately. In the last couple of days I've encountered a surprising number of Catholics rejecting pastoral direction* and recommendations. With great vigor and varying levels of rhetoric and skill, they have proudly (and loudly) pointed out their defiance. Some of this has been online and one, to my startlement, was to my face at a most unexpected time.

Interestingly, it has all been a rejection of advice on how to weigh issues' importance when voting.

In every case, people were offended by the manner, rhetoric, or tone with which they were advised. No one, however, stopped long enough to scrape aside the "tone" and look at the actual issues being propounded. "How dare they tell me how to vote!" is reason that needs no response. In America anyway.

I have come across this before and still find it perplexing.

Lest you think I am picking on one "side" or the other, rest assured I am not. I have had the same frigid silence come up when discussing voting for immigration and the death penalty as I have when discussing voting for an end to abortion or contraception.

But I just don't understand the triumphant tone and proud face that I am shown every time this sort of thing comes up. Despite what either "side" thinks, the attitude is identical on the surface.

We count on our pastors to advise us on practically everything in our lives. They are our shepherds. When we are running full tilt for a cliff, we need them to put out their shepherd's staff and turn us from the path of destruction.

Granted, some do a better job than others and we are out of practice after many years of some bishops and priests who have done a lackluster job of counseling.

Do we have to do what they say? No. We, in turn, have our own obligation to use the minds that God gave us and consider the facts and issues carefully.

Facts and issues.

Not tone. Not the "outrage" of being advised of what issues matter more than others.

I began wondering about my concept of priest as shepherd. And I found this wonderful statement from a recent shepherd.

One could say that by his own example Jesus himself, the good shepherd who "calls his own sheep by name" (cf. Jn 10:3-4), has set the standard of individual pastoral care: knowledge and a relationship of friendship with individual persons. The presbyter's task is to help each one to utilize well his own gift, and rightly to exercise the freedom that comes from Christ's salvation, as St. Paul urges (cf. Gal 4:3; 5:1, 13; Jn 8:36).

Everything must be directed toward practicing "a sincere and practical charity." This means that "Christians should be taught that they live not only for themselves, but according to the demands of the new law of charity; as every man has received grace, he must administer the same to others. In this way, all will discharge in a Christian manner their duties in the community of men" (PO 6). Therefore, the priest's mission includes calling to mind the obligations of charity, showing the applications of charity in social life, fostering an atmosphere of unity with respect for differences, encouraging programs and works of charity, by which great opportunities become available to the faithful, especially through the new emphasis on volunteer work, consciously provided as a good use of free time, and in many cases, as a choice of life.

Pope John Paul II, The Priest Is a Shepherd to the Community

General Audience, May 19, 1993

Our bishops and priests have the duty to show us the applications of charity in social life. To me, that includes advice on how to weigh issues when we vote.

They aren't going to follow us into the booth and pull the lever. Just like they don't come into our bedrooms and make sure we are living our marriage well. But it is their duty to advise, even if we don't like it.

Our duty, and we do have one here, is to carefully consider that advice.

Not to give a knee-jerk reaction of the usual sort because that advice may not fit what we want. Or the tone may not be right. We can be angry. We may even say something we regret. But we have to think further, go farther, and carefully consider issues, facts, and the Church's teachings.

If we don’t agree with Church teachings or pastoral advice, treat that disagreement as the important thing it is. Go to source materials, study the Catechism, read the Church Fathers, look at the 2000 years’ worth of discussion on the subject. Dig into it and don’t let go until you understand the logic that led the Church to that teaching.

So, yes, use your brain.

But also keep in mind that simply not “liking” something is not reason to disobey.

In that we also must keep in mind Paul’s counsel from the beginning of that passage. Are we showing the fruit of love, affection, sympathy? Are we humble, counting others better than ourselves, looking to the interests of others?

Can they tell we are Christians by our love?

I know. I have trouble with it too.

In today's Mass readings there was a line that I just can't shake. It echoes round and round in my head. I've learned to pay attention when that happens.

Jesus, speaking of being our good shepherd says:

"I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly." (John 10:10)

But to do that, we have to be the kinds of people our fellow Americans (and many fellow Catholics) may not understand. We have to follow our good shepherd.

We have to stop treating "obedience" like a dirty word.

* And I'm not talking about the sort of thing that led to the sexual abuse scandal. That's not the sort of thing the Church has ever taught was right and that no one in their right mind would expect to find justified anywhere.

Real Christianity in Action: Path to Conversion of Heart is Through Actions Inspired by Love

I'm staying off the internet for the most part until after Easter, but wanted to drop in to share this story.

You may recall last week I pointed out a story about an atheist who was dumbfounded by Christians who offered to help pay for his vision problems despite the fact that he'd been on the opposing side in a struggle over having a Nativity scene at the local courthouse.

It has borne fruit in a most unexpected way. Thus does God work in hearts when we have done our part to show His true nature through our actions.

A few months ago Patrick Greene was an atheist who was threatening to sue Henderson County, Texas, if the county didn’t remove a Nativity scene from its courthouse lawn. Today he is a believer in Christ who underwent a radical change of heart that was catalyzed by the compassion of one Christian woman.

In late 2011, Greene joined the fight against a Nativity scene that had been set up outside the courthouse in the town of Athens, Texas, threatening to file a lawsuit over it. Shortly after he made his threat, however, he discovered that his ability to see was rapidly deteriorating and he would soon be blind, so he withdrew his threats and left the Nativity alone.

That’s when Jessica Crye, a Christian woman from Athens, asked her pastor, Erick Graham of Sand Springs Baptist Church, if they could help Greene. As a result of her kindness, thousands of dollars in donations have gone toward helping Greene, who has reconsidered his view of God as a result.

“There’s been one lingering thought in the back of my head my entire life, and it’s one thought that I’ve never been able to reconcile, and that is the vast difference between all the animals and us,” Greene told The Christian Post on Tuesday, as he began to explain his recent transformation from atheist to Christian. The theory of evolution didn’t answer his questions, he says, so he just set those questions aside and didn’t think about them anymore.

But when the Christians in a town that had reason to be angry with him showed him a gesture of love, he began reconsidering his beliefs altogether. He eventually began to realize that evolution would never have the answer to his questions, he says, and it was at that time he began to believe in God.

“I kind of realized that the questions I [was] asking you just had to accept on faith without doubting every period and every comma,” he said. He later began studying the Bible, both the Old Testament and the Gospels, and also discovered his belief that Jesus is the Son of God.

Read the whole story. Again, this is via The Deacon's Bench.

Today is Good Friday when Christ showed his love for us through His own self-giving and sacrificial love, even unto death. We are called up on to follow in His footsteps for thus shall others know our Master.

This is the Christianity that made  Romans say, "How they love one another."

Truly actions speak louder than words. May we all translate our love into such self-giving action as Holy Week ends and Easter comes.

I Love It When a Plan Comes Together: Keeping the Sabbath

Before our whole relocating process started, my husband and I had been keeping Sabbath for several months.

Since there is no Sunday shopping here,anyway, that wasn't an issue, so we were doing a technology Sabbath. No computer, cell-phone etc. No housework or house "projects". I also tried to have something cooked ahead of time, so meal prep wouldn't be complicated. Sundays were really and truly days of rest, quiet and renewal.

It was *incredible* how wonderful it was! I can hardly wait until our move is finished so we can get back to it. It made such a difference in our lives and mental states.

expat expressing interest in The Power of Pause

It really is interesting to see how events converge to give you a new understanding.

You'd think that with both kids in college, Tom and I would have oodles of free time. Alas, not so. With the challenges of owning a small business (as a fellow business owner told us when we began, you only have to work half a day and you get to pick which twelve hours), our volunteer activities/ministries, and hobbies which have somehow turned into communities that we don't want to let down (such as my podcast), our plates are very full. Originally we looked at our free-er evenings and weekends as time to get that eternal "To Do" list taken care of. After several stress-filled weekends of feeling as if we had no weekend at all, we came to the conclusion which wiser minds than ours already knew ... there is no end to the "To Do" list. Ever.

Gradually we began backing away from commitments as much. Quite a bit of this has consisted of saying "No" to new requests. This takes a surprising amount of steeling oneself to letting others down.

Also, as I have detailed recently, we began enjoying a weekend cocktail hour which quickly became a welcome break in the need to cross items off of our lists.

In writing a series for our parish Sunday bulletin about the ten commandments, I was surprised at the force of feeling I had in the need to follow the third commandment to keep the Sabbath holy. You know us converts. We get pushy.

I began reading The Power of Pause which simply reinforced all those previous events and made them jell into the desire to "keep the Sabbath" as a day of rest.

Tom instantly agreed when I ventured to bring up this idea. That meant a commitment to honing our lists so we could get things done on Saturday. No easy task.

Last weekend was our first Sunday of resting. We didn't have the "no technology" concept as a condition, as expat does, but I already was working toward staying away from the computer on Sundays anyway. Tom delved a bit into reading his favorite sites, but not much. I set aside the iPod for the most part.

It was glorious, people.

Glorious.

We felt as if we were on vacation.

What did we do?

We got up earlier than usual for a Sunday and took the dogs to the dog park. That was an hour of watching God's creation in the dogs and in the nature of White Rock Lake where the park is located. (Note: this is not how Tom would probably think of it.) There was one moment when I was standing in the sunlight by myself, glanced up, and was overcome with wonder at the site of dozens and dozens of dragonflies zipping around overhead. Just in that spot. Amazing.

Later that morning we went to Mass. I don't remember just what sparked it but something was said that suddenly brought a vivid image of those dragonflies to mind. I had to smile. A little nudge, perhaps, that God was present then and now to me, using all things to help pull back that veil between us? That's how it hit me.

The rest of the day, I read for pleasure ... three Emma Lathen mysteries (more about her later, also I was rereading which we know always goes quickly) .... and dipping into a few of those theological review books I'd received (for me, this also is pleasure reading. I know. Go figure). We worked on a crossword puzzle together. And suchlike.

We can't wait for this Sunday. In fact, we already started rearranging our weekend schedule so nothing would interfere with it.

It made me clearly understand expat's comment about not cooking as we had leftovers. I was just too much in "rest" mode.

The other pact that Tom and I made was that if Monday morning at work fell apart, we would not waste time castigating ourselves for taking a day off and beginning the week "behind." We would keep firmly in mind that rest is a good and necessary thing and not regret it. And so we did.

Now, I realize that I am going to be going into crazy-time at work in a few weeks because of an annual, time-intensive project. We will possibly have to reduce keeping the Sabbath to a couple of hours. But we will still not give up that rest, that opportunity for God to touch us further using methods we don't expect. This is probably the method we would have used if we had been devoted to this process when the kids were little. Family games or outings would have been the order of the day ... or some such thing. I haven't thought this aspect through much and I am sure others have very good ideas about it.

At any rate, I highly recommend that we give ourselves the break that God commands. He only has our good in mind, after all.

Notes
I can post those inserts on the ten commandments, if anyone is interested. Keeping in mind, that I'm only up to number four, so it would be occasional. What say you? Yea or nay?

I will be reviewing The Power of Pause, don't worry.