Assisi
Lately I’ve been annoyed at the idea of obedience. I don’t want to be obedient to anyone but myself and God, which is terribly hard and something that I don’t always/usually do. But why the annoyance? I think it has to do with my awareness that obedience is foundational to the patriarchy of the Roman Catholic church, which means being obedient to another human being, specifically to a man. Obedience is foundational in The Rule of St. Benedict, in the structure of the Society of Jesuits and other religious orders, and of course in the Pope's ‘job description’.
Having just returned from Italy, this idea is imprinted on my mind. But it doesn’t have to be my limited view, my definition. I don’t have to settle on the idea that obedience is to another human who thinks he knows what I need or should do. That may be the easy way out but I want to be obedient to God’s call, which is the hard way. The gate is narrow. What a challenge.
"Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it. Matthew 7.13
Having just returned from Italy, this idea is imprinted on my mind. But it doesn’t have to be my limited view, my definition. I don’t have to settle on the idea that obedience is to another human who thinks he knows what I need or should do. That may be the easy way out but I want to be obedient to God’s call, which is the hard way. The gate is narrow. What a challenge.
"Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it. Matthew 7.13
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