Monday of the Third Week in Ordinary Time
Reading and Reflection
Mt 23: 8-12
"The greatest among you will be the one who serves the rest."
The foot note in my bible comments that Jesus' speech does not reject
authority but does reject authoritarianism. Our Lord was pointing out
how we need to recognize that authority exists to serve God, His
Anointed One and one's neighbor.
Another way to look at that so it has meaning for our daily lives is to
ask; 'do I use my authority at home or at work to serve God or my own
ego?' I have known supervisors and managers say they are working to do
their best for the team, but their behavior belies this - they are
really working to impress their superiors at the cost of the worker's
morale. The outcome then would become an unhappy team that eventually
falls apart.
Authoritarianism is subtle so it easily overtakes us as we make
decisions for family or work. Once in a while we all need to take time
out and assess how we function in this role - is it God we serve, or
ourselves?
PH
