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In the English language, obedience generally refers to compliance with a rule or law or submission to someone's authority. Obedience is touted as a Christian virtue: we are to obey God and those God has set in leadership over us. In my evangelical tradition, this was presented as a rather self-evident doctrine. God is sovereign and righteous, Ruler over heaven and earth, therefore we must obey God. Similarly, God has set leaders in authority in our churches (who happen to be men), so we must obey them as we would obey God. This kind of authoritative structure (often phrased as a protective necessity so that all would be under a spiritual "covering") was no doubt influenced by millennia of patriarchy, centuries of hierarchical church government, and the more recent heavy-handed shepherding/discipleship movement which sought to control the life decisions of people.
I admit, there is a certain orderliness in authority structures such as these which makes them attractive, especially for those who wield the power. So much can be accomplished with little opposition or hassle when one has willing, compliant subjects. But (and it is a big "but"), the problem with church leaders demanding obedience from their "underlings" is that they are requiring more than God ever does.
Joan Chittister writes: "...of the 613 laws in the Torah, Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks points out, not one uses the word obey. God, the rabbi says, does not impose the intractable on Israel. God uses the word shema. Attend to. Take seriously. Pay attention. Listen to me, O Israel." [1] The well-known phrase, "to obey is better than sacrifice," (1 Samuel 15:22) is better translated as "For heeding is better than sacrifice, hearkening, than the fat of rams" [2]. In the Greek New Testament, the word often translated as obedience is some version of hupakouo and it means giving ear to, attentive listening. Philippians 2:8 reads a bit differently if we incorporate this meaning into the text. "[Christ] humbled himself and became [so attentive to the Father and to the plight of humanity that he went] to the point of death, even death on a cross." Loving attentiveness is a very different posture than unquestioning subservience.
The difference between obeying and listening is significant. One forces compliance and the other invites dialogue and attentiveness. The relationship represented by the first is transactional and impersonal. If Subject B complies with the demands of Ruler A, bad consequences will be averted. Or something like that. And we do see instances where the people of Israel interact with YHWH as if the Eternal One is just like the short-tempered tyrant kings of the land. However, the point of so many of the Hebrew narratives, prophecies, and poetry is that YHWH is not like other gods, not like the despots and dictators who abuse their people. YHWH is merciful and compassionate (Exodus 34:6, Psalm 145), the God who sets people free (Exodus 20:2), the One who never runs out of lovingkindness (Psalm 100, 136), who is faithful even when others are faithless (see the story of Abraham in Genesis 12-25, 2 Timothy 2:13). The relationship between YHWH and Israel is not meant to be transactional but covenantal, a relationship in which the freedom of both parties is taken into account.
So how did we end up with this idea that God demands docility and unconditional compliance? How did we then extrapolate that demand for obedience onto our own systems of church and family government? I don't think we got this from Jesus. The relationship he modelled with the Father/Creator was one of mutuality, freedom, and love. I turn to Joan Chittister again. "The contemporary answer is that the word obedience itself emerged in the thirteenth century from a Latin word meaning 'to listen.' Repeat: to listen. Not to kowtow. Not to capitulate. Only later, in a climate of courts and courtiers, did it begin to mean 'bow down,' curtsy or genuflect. Nowhere in any etymology text is obedience translated as 'to jump on command.' To grovel. To defer. To relinquish all judgment in the process. On the contrary. Those words came out of submission to ruling powers, to ecclesiastical figures, to symbols of power in the secular world. They were not the language of God." [3]
The fact that God does not demand unquestioning obedience is jarring to some of us who have been raised in the church. And yet, if we look closely at the biblical narratives, we notice how the multitude of laws given to the nation of Israel never translate into the development of a compliant, submissive people. The chronicles of the nation of Israel are messy. People stray from law-keeping immediately (Exodus 32), leaders seemingly get away with bad behaviour, self-important rulers abuse their subjects, even in the name of YHWH, and many times, no clear line can be drawn between actions and consequences. The stories do not bear the marks of orderliness which should accompany a divine sovereign's insistence on obedience and compliance. Instead, time and again, we see freedom playing out in both good and harmful ways. We see laws ignored, overturned, and even changed. Some of these infractions were divinely sanctioned (the actions of the prophet Hosea and Jesus are two examples). In the past few centuries, obedience has been championed as the way to live a godly life, but this is not what the biblical witness teaches us. In fact, in the letter to the Roman church, Paul clearly states that law-keeping does not make for a relationship with God. Only participation in the life of Christ through the Spirit of Jesus can do that. It is a gift from the good Creator, not a transaction where we give obedience in exchange for a reward.
Listen. Pay attention. These things are harder to do than obeying or even sacrificing because we have to be present, not just tick a task off a to-do list. Listening means that we bring our whole selves into an encounter, that we make ourselves available, vulnerable, and open to change (even YHWH does this, see Genesis 18). By truly listening, we invite learning and transformation. When we listen, we are willing to have our viewpoint challenged and to be confronted with the reality and experience of another. Listening and paying attention means that we will inevitably witness injustice and suffering. And we will not be able to turn away with the excuse that we have kept our share of laws.
Obedience is a power word that leaders wield over followers. Listening is a humility word which invites all parties to be fully present to each other in order to truly see and hear and know the other. Listening is the long, difficult work required to bring peace, to enact justice, and to build any form of community. This is the work which YHWH, Jesus, and the Spirit of life invite us to participate in.
Listen.
Listen.
And then listen some more.
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1. Joan Chittister, Radical Spirit (New York: Convergent Books, 2017), 61.
2. Robert Alter, The Hebrew Bible, Vol. 2, Prophets (New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2019).
3. Chittister, 60.
Image: Could Have by Wisława Szymborska. From yadvashem.org
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