Obey your leaders and defer to them, for they keep watch over you and will have to give an account, that they may fulfill their task with joy and not with sorrow, for that would be of no advantage to you. (Hebrews 13:17 NABRE)
The Letter to the Hebrews is believed to have been a synagogue sermon, written for the Jewish-Christian community at the end of the first century.* In today's verse, hearers are told to obey the leaders of this young faith community.
My entire life, I've been someone who questions authority. As a child, I rebelled against arbitrary rules I did not understand. As an adult, I look for leaders who respect their followers. I see in today's passage, both an encouragement and a word of caution.
I am encouraged because there is an explanation of what may sometimes seem arbitrary--the leaders keep watch over us and will have to give an account of their efforts. This is a sobering reality. Leaders accept responsibility for our lives, our safety, and our well-being. And so, well-intentioned leaders sometimes make decisions that, while appearing arbitrary, are actually beneficial to the people for whom and to whom they are reponsible. So, I am told to obey Church leaders even at times when I do not fully understand what is behind the rules they establish.
I find a word of caution in today's verse as well. Despite the call to defer to the Church leaders in faith and trust, human nature leads us all toward sinfulness. As a result, blindly following individual leaders without prayerful consideration is foolishness.
Today, I will seek to follow the teachings of the Church and to respect our leaders.
Saint Colette, Church reformer known for your poverty and perpetual fast, pray for us.
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