Jesus and his disciples have arrived in Capernaum; they are already in the house, and there, in the quiet of the domestic conversation, Jesus asks them what they had been discussing on the road.
It is not that Jesus did not know, for he had listened to them; but what he had heard was not a conversation coherent with the proposals of community life that he had proposed to them.
For this reason, the disciples respond to the question with silence.
It is the silence of shame, the silence of a guilty conscience.
On the road, while Jesus was explaining to them his future passion and death, his humiliation and suffering, the disciples were arguing about which of them was the most important.
This thinking reflects the mentality of those who seek honors and social positions, or wish to rise in the hierarchy of power.
However, in the Christian regime, as Jesus teaches, it is not power that dignifies a person, but his or her ability to serve.
Jesus sat down, called the Twelve and said to them, “If anyone wishes to be first, let him be last of all and servant of all.”
Whoever has authority in the community of Jesus’ disciples must not exercise it as power, but as service.
This is easier said than done, but this sin must also be overcome.
Even in the Church today, more often than would be desirable, authority is exercised as power.
This shows that the teaching of Jesus is not easy to fulfill and stumbles again and again with pride and human sin, or with the psychological dysfunctions of those who exercise authority, who resort to power to compensate for their personal deficiencies.
One of the serious problems affecting the Church, which from time to time come to light, is the abuse of power by those in authority.
One of the serious problems affecting the Church, which from time to time comes to light, is the abuse of power by those in authority.
This abuse can come from the bishop or the pastor, but it is not limited to clerics.
Lay people who hold some office in the Church, such as catechists, communion ministers or leaders of various groups, can also engage in abuse of power.
As it is commonly said, they are people who “get into office”.
Abuse of power can manifest itself in humiliations, put-downs, demands of conscience, and can even turn into sexual aggression or abuse.
The Church has been becoming aware, albeit slowly, that this is a serious problem that we must all confront.
The way to confront the abuse of power in the Church is twofold: on the one hand, prevention, such as these words of mine which are a warning that the problem exists and must be confronted; on the other hand, the denunciation of real cases of abuse of power, especially when this abuse turns into sexual aggression or abuse, whether against vulnerable adults or minors.
Of course, these are crimes, not only moral, but also civil.
We must remember that the abuse of power does not occur only in the Church.
The home, the family, can also be a place where power is abused: husband over wife; parents over children; older siblings over younger siblings.
More often than we would like, this abuse of power turns into domestic violence or incestuous sexual abuse, or both.
These crimes are often hidden out of fear, fear or not knowing where to turn.
The suffering and wounds that abuse of power and sexual abuse leave on people’s conscience and psyche are often deep and difficult to heal.
Leadership and authority are exercised to seek the good of the group, the community, the organization, society, and the Church.
Authority must exist.
No organization or human group can function without leadership and authority.
However, authority, as Jesus conceives it, is service.
Leadership and authority are exercised to seek the good of the group, the community, the organization, society, and the Church.
Authority can even take measures that are not to the liking of all and that affect some, but such decisions must be made in the transparency of the search for the common good, without a trace of revenge, retaliation or desire to humiliate.
The scene that follows in the Gospel account is admirable: Jesus takes a child, puts him in their midst, embraces him and says to them: “Whoever receives one of these children in my name receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but the One who sent me”.
This scene is particularly significant, for it is precisely children who are, more often than we would like, victims of the abuse of power, whether by violence or sexual abuse.
Jesus identifies with them in such a way that to welcome a child is to welcome him; to outrage a child, although Jesus does not say so explicitly, is to outrage him.
Abuse of power must be denounced to the appropriate authorities.
The warning of the Apostle James in today’s second reading complements and clarifies that of Jesus: “Where there is envy and rivalry, that is, where there is a struggle for power, there is disorder and all kinds of evil deeds. But those who have the wisdom that comes from God, that is, those who exercise authority as service, are pure, first of all. Moreover, they are peace-loving, understanding, docile, full of mercy and good fruits; impartial and sincere. The peacemakers sow peace and reap the fruits of justice”.
May the Lord grant us all the grace to avoid every abuse, to know and have the courage to denounce it where it corresponds, and may those who are guilty know how to make amends in order to always exercise authority as a service.