CATECHISM – 31st Sunday of Year A

The role of presider at the Liturgy of the Christian Community gives a great deal of prominence to the one who presides. Facing the people in liturgical attire, on the other side of the altar, even mounting a throne-like seat at the head the assembly, places the presider in a position of eminence and of great prestige. Visibility in the center of the community gathered around the table and altar of Eucharist is very important. Most of those who preside among the faithful are truly humbled by this kind of public exposure.

They need to keep reminding themselves that they are acting in persona Christi, in the person of Christ. The presider is there to make Christ visible to the Church. The presider personifies Christ who is the head of the body. We work through symbols: words and gestures that represent the divine in the midst of the human. Just as Jesus was the visible incarnation of God in the world of men and women, so the Church participates in a sacramental way in making Christ present and visible in the assembly of faith. By way of analogy, the presider is another Christ, in an assembly that is the very body of Christ.

Unfortunately, some of the clergy have taken their roles too literally. They have assumed a rank and a status in the society of the Church which seems to have granted them privileges and exemptions that do not apply to the other members of the Church, the lay members. Some priests claim tax exemptions even when making purchases for personal purposes. Always first in line at a parish potluck supper may be a minor matter, but it speaks of privilege that may be offensive to hardworking mothers and fathers who deserve far greater honors than we usually give them.

A young priest said to me several years ago, “At that restaurant, they know how to serve priests. Let’s go there!” I knew him well enough to “go up one side and down the other” on him because of that remark. “How do priests get served that is unlike the way all of God’s people get served? The only thing we are more deserving of is the cross of Jesus Christ – his suffering and death! The cross and crucifixion are all that we deserve as priests!”

Clergy privilege has cost us more than it has been worth. It has earned us the contempt of those who have been hurt by the Church and by its ministers. We do not need to claim any privilege on earth, nor to accept any that is offered. To go to heaven is enough.

Because Jesus criticized leadership style, not structure, his words can be applied to the political arena. Under the fourth commandment (“Honor your father and mother”), God calls all people to obey and honor legitimate authority.

However, legitimate authority is obliged to respect the dignity of the human person. Authority is bound to insure “…the exercise of freedom and responsibility by all.” In no way should it’s laws or rulings be a “…source of temptation by setting personal interest against that of the community.” (CCC 2236) They should rule with an eye toward direct involvement by the populace, help fulfill the needs of everyone (especially the families, the disadvantaged, and the alien), and contribute to the common good. Ultimately, civil authority should act as God’s representatives, not their own.

When it rules in this manner, citizens are bound to cooperate with and through authority for everyone’s benefit. Under these circumstances, the populace are obliged “…to pay taxes, to exercise the right to vote, and to defend one’s country.” (CCC 2240) Individuals who exercise their rights responsibility and serve the community at large perform acts of charity.

However, when authority acts “…contrary to the demands of the moral order, the fundamental rights of persons, or the teaching of the Gospel…” citizens have a right to defend their rights and the rights of others. But armed resistence is not morally justified, except under the most demanding of conditions (see CCC 2243 for details).

As Jesus stated in the gospel, neither leaders or the faithful should seek self-promotion. The same can be said of civil authorities and the populace. When both cooperate for the common good, the nation they serve will live in peace and harmony.