The Lost Art of Obedience
By Johanna Duncan
It was a cold Sunday morning and I rose early to volunteer at my local soup kitchen. As I arrived ready to chop the strawberries for the homeless one of the religious sisters approached me and said, "You, do the pantry." I was just tying my apron and I responded, "Oh no, I'm already helping up here." Again she said, "You, do the pantry." It took two times for me to realize that her words were a command and after all, she was in charge. I untied my apron, bit my lip, and marched to the basement while thinking "This is why I can't be a sister!" I spent the next couple of hours alone sorting canned food in complete silence and it eventually hit me—I simply do not know how to obey, and that is a problem.
They say that your twenties are your selfish years. After all, most of my daily decisions revolve around myself and I have the freedom I dreamed of as a teenager. What they don’t say is that obedience is the core of discipleship and without it there’s a hole in our spiritual lives. One of Christ’s greatest disciples once defined freedom as “... not in doing what we like, but in having the right to do what we ought.” (St. JPII). I would love to chop the strawberries, but I ought to organize the pantry. Why? I don’t know, other than the fact that in this particular situation there is someone else in charge and I must obey her discernment.
Obeying is more than following instructions, it is to put ourselves in the hands of God. Yet, what does that look like? Often it occurs through a third party which is present in the natural hierarchy of the world: parents, bosses, the elder, civil law, and in my case that tiny religious sister. Obedience is so closely tied to sainthood and our humanity that even He had to do it. Jesus’ first miracle at the Wedding of Cana came as an act of obedience to His Mother and before him, her FIAT (given as a teenager) is one of the greatest acts of humility and meekness.
This may sound quite basic, but in all reality, it is countercultural. The modern world pushes new-age philosophies and the idea that we create our lives and we can be whoever we want to be (create ourselves to be), and while personal responsibility is important after all, there's no denying of the amount of people, situations, and responsibilities in our lives that we did not choose. Those things God has entrusted in us and ask us to take care of. More so, to grow through the sacraments requires obedience. Religious and matrimonial vows are vows of obedience, for God knows we cannot commit to give ourselves without embracing humility and meekness.
I felt childish for being upset over not being allowed to do what I wanted to do in the kitchen; and I would love to tell you that I’d drop anything and act out of pure obedience, but I am not there quite yet. To discern God’s will and grow in His knowledge we must start by abandoning our adultish “I got it” and embrace a more childlike attitude towards the world.
It is not about becoming immature or being pushed around but rather recognize God’s way and the wonders of His love by acknowledging our smallness. Once you get there sisters, you will gain a wider view of your life and the world. The sister who asked/forced me to organize the pantry knew the overall production better than I did, and she discerned that I belonged in the basement. So does God. He knows the larger purpose of your life, time, talents, where you belong, and where you can better serve Him. So now go and do it! Even if you have to bite your lip and march your way through.
