Several years ago, I was
working on a project in a medium security prison. In those days, I had a very idealistic and
unrealistic picture of what was happening in the prison. I thought “we” (the
prison authorities and project leaders) were in charge. The prisoners knew the rules and complied with
them enough to avoid punishment. What I came
to see was there were two systems of authority in prison. The prisoners had a kind of government of
their own inside those walls. A system
of values, of what was right and wrong, their own authority structure and chain
of command, and their own means of enforcement. “Obedience” to prison authorities within those
prison walls was, at best, compliance. Whole-hearted cooperation was
exceedingly rare.
I discovered over time that
the military, business and even the church was not much different than the
prison where there were functionally two authority structures. The official chain of command and policies, but
also the unofficial chain of command and a different set of rules. Often the unofficial system proved to be more
effective and efficient. People always
complied with the official rules and policies, but the way to get things done
was through the unofficial system. There
was compliance, but little cooperation.
This dual-citizenship of sorts
has a temptation to be compliant yet the ability to use either system to gain
what a person most needed or selfishly wanted.
As Paul’s letter to Titus
nears its end, he returns to the obligations of good citizenship urging their
followers to proper obedience to civil authorities and the idea that Christians
should “slander no one, to be peaceable, considerate, and exercising all graciousness
toward everyone.” (Ti 3:1-2) These behaviors could well be stressed and
repeated today in our country and culture.
The final section of the
reading contains language used that is generally considered to be a preexisting
baptismal hymn. The role of the Trinity
is clear. Everything begins with the
kindness and love of God, our Savior (the Father), and through Jesus, our
Savior (the Son), the Holy Spirit is poured out on us in Baptism, the bath of rebirth
to our true citizenship.
The Psalmist tell us God
has “spread the table before [us] in the sight of [our] foes. (Ps 23:5) It is
at this table that we learn to balance and reconcile the two authorities of our
life, the civil and the sacred.
As Jesus’ journey to
Jerusalem nears its end, once again it’s a Samaritan who shows the proper
response for his healing, gratitude, as he returns to give thanks and praise to
God. This healing story illustrates how
Jesus reaches across society’s boundaries and walls to bring his message of
healing and wholeness to those whose true citizenship is with Him and the
communion of saints.
