The Third Inevitability

Welcoming the peaceful transition of power

06/30/2019

1 Kings 19:16B, 19-21 The LORD said to Elijah: "You shall anoint Elisha, son of Shaphat of Abelmeholah, as prophet to succeed you." Elijah set out and came upon Elisha, son of Shaphat, as he was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen; he was following the twelfth. Elijah went over to him and threw his cloak over him. Elisha left the oxen, ran after Elijah, and said, “Please, let me kiss my father and mother goodbye, and I will follow you." Elijah answered, "Go back! Have I done anything to you?" Elisha left him, and taking the yoke of oxen, slaughtered them; he used the plowing equipment for fuel to boil their flesh, and gave it to his people to eat. Then Elisha left and followed Elijah as his attendant.

People say that only two things in life are certain: death and taxes. But I would add a third inevitability, namely, the transition of power. What do I mean? Sooner or later, everyone in a position of power will lose that power and hand it over to another. Now, this transition of power can happen in one of two ways: either peacefully or painfully. For example, when I arrived as pastor of Immaculate Conception in December, 2013, the former pastor, Fr. Greg Luyet, peacefully handed me the keys to the parish. I didn’t have to fight him for it, and that’s a good thing for him. That was a smooth transition of power. On the other hand, when our country holds elections for president in less than two years, the process will probably be very painful. Why? Whoever our forty-sixth president will be, half of the country will celebrate and the other half will move to Canada. When there is no transition of political power, when a politician clings to power, you have a dictatorship not a democracy.

Did you know that our former bishop, now Archbishop J. Peter Sartain of Seattle, asked Pope Francis to help him make a transition of power and retire early for health reasons? Archbishop Sartain asked the pope to appoint a co-adjutor bishop in addition to the auxiliary bishops who are already assisting him. A co-adjutor bishop enjoys the right of succession, and therefore, will one day be the archbishop. Every morning the auxiliary bishop wakes up and goes to the archbishop and asks: “Good morning, your Excellency, is there anything I can do for you today?” The co-adjutor bishop wakes up each morning and asks, “Good morning, your Excellency, how are you feeling today?” Let us pray for Archbishop Sartain that he enjoy a peaceful transition of apostolic power and a restful retirement. Maybe he’ll come and help us here at I.C.?

Our scriptures today also speak about transitions of power, sometimes peaceful and sometimes painful. In 1 Kings 19, we read: “The Lord said to Elijah, ‘You shall anoint Elisha, son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah, as prophet to succeed to you’.” Elijah obediently places his cloak on Elisha’s young shoulders as a symbol of passing on prophetic power, like when a supreme court justice passes his or her gavel to their successor. That was a case of the peaceful transition of prophetic power.

But in the gospel, the apostles James and John display a desire for a painful transition of power. Walking through hostile Samaritan territory, they ask Jesus: “Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?” In other words, let’s destroy them and take over Samaria. There may be some Democrats and Republicans who would like to call down fire from heaven to consume the opposing party. Jesus makes it clear to his apostles, however, that power is not for asserting absolute authority or for dominating others like a dictator. Rather, it is for humble service. And when one can no longer effectively exercise that power for service, it is time to relinquish it willingly, like a good archbishop who asks the pope for a co-adjutor bishop to succeed him.

My friends, do you realize that we all possess power and one day we will have to pass it to another? You may not be a president or a pope, but we all hold the gavel of authority in one way or another. We can pass along that power either peacefully or painfully. Let me give you three examples of personal transitions of power.

First, our physical health is a power we possess and one day we will lose that power, and others will have power over us. I am so proud of my parents who are aging gracefully, and they are relinquishing their personal powers of driving a car, of remembering accurately, of sleeping all night, of energy to get out of bed, etc., slowly but surely, even if a little stubbornly. It is never easy to feel that powerless and let others have power over you. But we all will one day lose power over ourselves, but will that transition be peaceful or painful?

Another example of abdicating personal power occurs in parish ministry and roles and responsibilities. Sometimes we can be involved in a particular ministry for so long we are loathe to let go of control and power. We feel there is only one person who knows how to do this job the right way, and that is me. I worry more about protecting the little kingdom of Fr. John instead of promoting the greater Kingdom of our Father God. The ministries we exercise existed long before we came and will continue long after we are gone. Folks who fear that transition of power look a little foolish.

And thirdly, be proactive in the transition of power by personally searching for your successor. Vernell Bowen, our former superintendent of Catholic schools, said the first day on any job you should start looking for your replacement. What a humble and even holy perspective. This job or ministry I’ve been given – as pastor or principal, as lector or leader of music – is much greater than me. My real job is to leave this ministry better than I found it for the person who follows me. When we participate proactively in the transition of power, that change happens as peacefully as possible.

Isaac Newton once famously said: “We see so far because we stand on the shoulders of giants.” The only reason we stand on the shoulders of giants is because those giants have shared with us the power they once possessed. One day, we must do the same for others. Why? Because the transfer of power is as inevitable as death and taxes.

Praised be Jesus Christ!