-
March 19, 2020
“He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them.” Luke 2:51
Obedience
As a female convert, arriving at the doorstep of the Fountain of all Truth, the Eucharist, I thought to myself, “Peace at long last.” Not so fast... Seemingly, a great heresy of our time is rebel-rousing, opinionated disobedience. Unity and peace flee. It is very difficult to find “petra” underfoot among the divisions: veil or no veil, hand or tongue, standing or altar rails, multiple modesty opinions, English or Latin, holding hands or praying hands, to name a few. Nostalgically speaking, yes, I miss the kneeling at the altar rail for communion within the Methodist, Episcopal, and Anglican churches of my journey home; yet, regardless of standing or kneeling, Holy fear and love of God continue to increase, love of neighbor deepens, and desired growth in holiness abounds.
Interior peace was restored recently when I simply asked my Pastor his preferences on these outward matters. This is different from “What does the Church permit?” Submitting myself to my Pastor’s preferences, trusting God would reward it, the anxiety of perceived judgments, making every Mass a distracting Hell, dissipated. My soul was submerged into blissful tranquility; the external bleating of the other sheep around me was at long last drowned out. Our Lord taught in the temple without telling Mary and Joseph his whereabouts, skipped hand washing, visited a woman at the well and healed on the Sabbath. These actions point to being obedient to the will of the Father as very important, even when it strikes contradiction in the heart.
On this Feast of St. Joseph, Most Obedient, may I too offer my Pastor my obedience to “do whatever he tells (me),” humbling myself to be obedient to death - even death upon a cross – even standing versus kneeling and potential future changes. I trust, above all else, that God is keeping me malleable and “limber-necked” for His own Divine purposes and for my salvation by and through my own willingness to obey.