Related to the issue of authority is that of obedience. In many ways they are two sides of the same coin. To admit of an authority is to admit that obedience is due to that authority. We can see this clearly in everyday life. We recognize that law enforcement officers are invested with authority by the state in order to uphold the rule of law. If we do not appropriately respond to their authority, we face penalty. We even defer to authority outside areas where coercion is present. If I am sick, I seek out a physician and I follow the treatment prescribed because I recognize the authority of the doctor, inherit in the training received, and so I respond in obedience to the prescription.1
In my military service, operations ran much smoother and missions were more likely to succeed when orders were followed. The same follows for the Church. It is a simple fact that all scandal in the Church could be avoided if bishops and priests were obedient to their ordination vows. We would read of no sexual or financial crises within the Church. Of course, the same applies to our own lives: if we were obedient to the teaching of Scripture and the Church, we would be free from sin.
Obedience is fundamental to the Christian life. To be a Christian is to be a disciple of Christ. A disciple is someone who places themselves under the authority of a master to learn from them. We cannot learn from a teacher we refuse to obey. If I take a composition class and never write an assignment in the way it is given, I will fail the class and not have learned what the teacher was trying to impart to me. To be a Christian is to forsake our will and allow Christ's will to become ours.
The Desert Fathers spoke often about the virtue of obedience, as does Saint Benedict in his Rule. Both make the claim—startling to our post-modern Western psyche—that we benefit even when we obey a poor order. This seems absurd to us, even dangerous. However, what we shape in ourselves in such times is the virtue of obedience, not just to our superior, but ultimately to Christ.
As Americans, we idolize rebels, from our founding fathers to James Dean. Those who go their own way, the self-made man. Our cultural stories are largely about rebels. A prime example is Disney's Little Mermaid. Ariel defies tradition and disregards authority throughout the story with disastrous consequences. But we think it is okay, even praiseworthy, because she gets what she wants in the end. But this truly is a fairy tail. As human beings tainted with original sin, we are selfish and what we want will often bring about the worst possible outcome for ourselves. Every drug addict has received what they wanted, but we don't look up to them as models of self-actualization.2
Having been one for many years, I would go so far as to claim that no Protestant is truly obedient. All Protestants, whether they are so bold as to proclaim it or not, set themselves as their own authority, and so they are ultimately obedient only to themselves. They may claim to be following Christ, but they only do so as they interpret Scripture for themselves. Even if they seek some form of authority, they only use that authority to the extent that they agree with that authority, meaning they still retain ultimate authority unto themselves.
The challenge can be made that I did the same thing in coming to the Catholic Church. How is this any different than when I chose to become Brethren or to become Anglican? In the case of the former, there was no authority to follow, and this is the case for most of the Evangelical world. I had no bishop. The District Moderator or the National Moderator had no power over me as a local pastor. I had no moral obligation to submit because I swore no oath of obedience. In the Anglican Church, there is some authority and I did swear an oath of obedience to my bishop, which I upheld until I was released form my orders.
In choosing to become Catholic, I had to surrender my will to the will of the Church. While not all who choose Catholicism realize and practice this, it is the teaching of the Church. The successors of Peter hold the authority. The Catholic Church is clear in her dogma, that which must be believed. To be Catholic is to submit to that authority. In other words, the way we become Catholic is not the way to be Catholic. As adult converts, we examine evidence, consider alternatives, and decide what seems most plausible. When those conclusions lead us to the Catholic Church, we then have to be willing to set aside our own supremacy in matters of faith and morals. We say, in essence, “I have decided that the Catholic Church is right and is the Church Jesus Christ established. From now on, the Church is my guide to what is right.”
This is no small shift. It is not a switch we just flip and it is done. To be followers of Christ and his Church, though, it is an essential shift. After all, Jesus did not tell Peter, “Consider my position. Evaluate the evidence. Make up your mind.” No, he called for faith and obedience to his authority.
“Follow me.”
Grace & peace,
Chris
In the last 5 years, both of these example have become more controversial, but I think the point stands.
Granted, they didn’t want where they ended up, but by pursuing what they thought they wanted, they arrived where they are.