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12 January 2018

Obedience and rebellion

A couple of days ago in the Gospel reading there was this exclamation made by some who witnessed Jesus calming the sea and the wind, "... who is this?  Even the wind and the seas obey him!"

When I came across this particular statement I was wondering what could the person mean by 'even' the wind and seas?  For all practical purposes there was hardly anyone who 'obeyed' Jesus.  Perhaps the twelve whom he called to be his apostles.  But not sure if there were others whom he called and turned down his invitation.  Just because it is not recorded does not mean that there weren't any.  But for the rest there was hardly anyone who really followed his orders.  The religious and political authorities of his times were in no mood of taking instructions from a carpenter.  All the crowds that came to listen to Jesus heard him speak but follow his directives?  Doubtful.  The one cured of his leprosy, in the reading of yesterday was ordered strictly not to tell anyone of his cure and what did he do? He went about shouting!

In the recently released booklet on the life of Sean Devereux, the opening chapter is the testimony of his mother Maureen Devereux.  In the first para itself she writes
...ever since he was put into my arms, his mind was made up.  If I wanted him to go right, he went left.
There is something in human nature that makes following commands and orders distasteful.  The rebellious streak in the human DNA is something that makes obedience a real challenge.  No wonder it is one of the three vows of religious life - on par with poverty and chastity.  But it is also true that all inventions and discoveries were actually the result of breaking set norms and regulations.  No new knowledge or discovery is possible if everyone faithfully follows trodden path.  Among the religious it is those who refuse to be bound by rules and regulations and authorities that go on to make history.  However there is a fine line between being rebellious and being disobedient. Only those who have trod that fine line go on to positively impact the world; the rest, leave no good behind. 

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