Thoughts on Authority

These two thoughts on authority from Henri Nouwen struck me deeply today. I'm praying through them, praying for myself, and for people I love.

Authority and Obedience

Authority and obedience can never be divided, with some people having all the authority while others only have to obey. This separation causes authoritarian behaviour on the one side and doormat behaviour on the other. It perverts authority as well as obedience. A person with great authority who has nobody to be obedient to is in great spiritual danger. A very obedient person who has no authority over anyone is equally in danger.

Jesus spoke with great authority, but his whole life was complete obedience to his Father, and Jesus, who said to his Father, "Let it be as you, not I, would have it" (Matthew 26:39), has been given all authority in heaven and on earth (see Matthew 28:18). Let us ask ourselves: Do we live our authority in obedience and do we live our obedience with authority?

The Authority of Compassion

Mostly we think of people with great authority as higher up, far away, hard to reach. But spiritual authority comes from compassion and emerges from deep inner solidarity with those who are "subject" to authority. The one who is fully like us, who deeply understands our joys and pains or hopes and desires, and who is willing and able to walk with us, that is the one to whom we gladly give authority and whose "subjects" we are willing to be.

It is the compassionate authority that empowers, encourages, calls forth hidden gifts, and enables great things to happen. True spiritual authorities are located in the point of an upside-down triangle, supporting and holding into the light everyone they offer their leadership to.

Snippets

Little things from the last few days:

• I was so busy at work this morning, bouncing between projects, that I actually forgot to eat. I often fail to eat because my stomach doesn't always tolerate food well, but I can't remember the last time I was so busy, and enjoying myself fairly thoroughly in the midst of that busyness that I forgot to eat. I remembered, and grabbed a snack about half an hour before I was due to start my lunch hour.
• Chocolate is a real treat when you've fasted from eating it as often I have this year. I celebrated the arrival of Easter on Sunday morning (and the end of a Lenten chocolate fast) by eating an Almond Joy bar for breakfast! For those of you who live in the US, that's not going to seem like that big a deal. But I really, really like Almond Joy, and you can't get them in my part of Canada. So, when, in the midst of Lent, I was in Montana a month or so back with my roommate, I picked up a couple of Almond Joys and stashed them, just waiting for Easter. It was the best breakfast I've had in a while.
• I moved into an actual office today! No more sitting at the reception desk - at least not in the mornings - I'll still be there for varying amounts of each afternoon. It was kind of nice to be sitting somewhere where there aren't constantly people moving around behind you. It's not like I do anything at my desk that I worry about others seeing - it is work after all! But it's nice to not have people constantly coming up from behind, hanging out in the doorway while they wait for a fax or a photocopy, or needing my help with every little thing related to the photocopier - I guess they still need my help, but now they can't sneak up behind me and surprise me by demanding it!
• There will be a definite learning curve, and more than enough to keep me busy for a while in this new job, but for the moment, I'm excited about that.
• I'm going to see one of my dearest friends this weekend. I'm hopping on a plane and flying across the country to get (and give) a hug (or many!) and I can't wait!
• My roommate and I baked an acorn squash for dinner tonight, with a bit of butter and orange marmalade. It was surprisingly good, served with a hoisin baked pork chop, and a nice spinach salad.
• I'm praying for my baby brother, T. this week. He's in the midst of wrapping up another semester of school, has finals next week, but is having another wrist surgery on Thursday that will require a bit of recovery time.
• And with that, I'm off to do a bit of reading, and a bit of vegetating, before hopefully hitting bed nice and early, since last night, even with the help of the supplement I take for sleeping, I woke nearly every hour, and I'm fairly exhausted.
  

Still feel hope.

I had probably a dozen different thoughts and ideas over the course of the day for things to blog about, but none really come to mind right now. I'm sort of sprawled out on my bed, propped against pillows, already in pjs. I'm tired. The year, thus far, has been challenging in so many ways. So many things that were surprising or unexpected.

Even the answers to prayer were the truly unexpected sort.

I'm learning what it is to taste the bitter with the sweet. To appreciate the beauty more for pain that has been experienced to reach it. To feel life more deeply because of the struggle to survive and keep living.

And somehow, I still feel hope. Just the tiniest, faintest glimmers most days, but it is still there, and giving me a reason to cling deeply to living fully, even when that means pain.

Fire in the news again

Fire in Polish Hostel Kills 21

He's Alive