Do you belong to any spiritual group or community? Do you have any accountability partners who help you become more responsible? - Daily Reflections October 22,2014

MUCH MORE FROM THOSE WHO HAVE MORE

 

Responsibility could be a terrifying thing. No doubt, it gives honor to anyone who is entrusted with it. But as age-old wisdom puts it, with honor comes onus — burden! And with more responsibility comes even more load. The higher up one goes, the more burden he carries.

       This, of course, is true for so long as one is cognizant of the authentic nature of responsibility and authority — that is, entrusted to us by somebody else. One does not simply usurp authority and heap a burden upon one’s self. Who would do that in his right frame of mind? Why would anyone load himself with so much to carry and to be accountable for?

       This is precisely the burden associated with responsibility of the authentic kind, understood according to how the Gospel would have us understand. It becomes a burden on account of the ensuing accountability. Something usurped is that which one bestows to one’s self, and anything that is self-bestowed entails no accountability whatsoever.

       The kind of responsibility that is given, however, entails the burden of accountability. This may well be the reason why people are afraid of belonging to any group. Just look at the trend nowadays. Young people go to Church on Sundays, but whether they really “go to Mass” is highly debatable. They stand outside or sit by the sidelines, cooped up in their inner world marked by their inseparable connection with their smartphones. Referred to as “simbang tabi,” young people want to be physically there, without really being engaged. While they want to be always informed, they are never fully attuned.

       All this translates to a denial of responsibility and accountability that are connected with the great divorce between faith and life, or between believing and belonging. Today’s Gospel is a call to bridge this divide and put together responsibility and accountability. The truth of the matter is that the mere fact that you are reading this means we all have been given much, and much more is expected from us. Fr. Chito Dimaranan, SDB

 

REFLECTION QUESTIONS: Do you belong to any spiritual group or community? Do you have any accountability partners who help you become more responsible?

 

Dear Lord, teach me to be more responsible with what You have given me, and to use the same for Your glory.