Father Tim Lemlin
The American commented: "By Golly, our flag means the same darned thing! Only we Americans see stars too!!"
I have to wonder how many priests are squirming today as they listen to these readings from the prophet Malachi and the gospel of Matthew. I know that I always do. As a newly ordained, I was guilty of doing all these things that Jesus tells the disciples not to do. I reveled in being called "father," and took offense when someone didn't use the title. I loved to dress up in all of the clothes associated with being a "father": the black suit and the liturgical garb. I also enjoyed all of the trappings: the privileges of office, the places of honor, being greeted and recognized by others, and being in charge.
I thought that it was easy to hide my shortcomings behind such a façade. There were those, though, who could see through all of this self-aggrandizement. Some understood and were patient with me. Others raked me over the coals. Both were necessary.
Power given to a person because an institution says that this person is to receive it is dangerous. Power, when it is distributed in this way, most often leads to abuse of power. Whenever we surrender our personal power to another we are creating an atmosphere in which abuse can develop.
The abuse of which I speak isn't just the crimes that have been in the media. It is also the abuse that occurs when all authority is surrendered by parishioners (or coerced from them) to their parish priest. It occurs when parishioners begin to accept that a priest is a necessary ingredient for their salvation (or they are told that this is true). It occurs when a priest is treated as someone extraordinary - in a different class than everyone else (or thinks that he is). Abuse occurs when either a priest demands these things or people surrender them.
The truth is that we are each a child of God. No one, not a priest, a bishop, or even a pope, can give this to you or take it away. You belong to God. Awareness of this is your ultimate authority and power.
I am not slamming priests. I love being a priest. I have come to see, however, that being a priest is what I do, not who I am. It is life-giving, but it is not my life. My life is found in the awareness that I am participating in something finitely larger than me - something in which we all participate, and yet can be summed up in the phrase "child of God." My life isn't a reputation, being in charge, or even being successful. All of these things could vanish tomorrow by someone simply making an accusation against me.
The scribes and the Pharisees were the "clergy" (a word that means "set apart") of their day. Jesus tells all who will listen, "...do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you, but do not follow their example." Why? Because their authority is based upon external structures and not upon an inner awareness that who they are. So, they have to create their own importance. They have to make themselves feel important. This always leads to abuse.
The role of the priest is the same role of every person - of each of you here: to be imitable. The only way we can become imitable is by becoming aware that it is God who makes me a child of God and heir to the kingdom. It is already decided, and there is nothing that anyone us can do to change this reality. Our authority comes from God alone. All other authorities and structures are passing away.
