Submission to authority
1 Let everyone be subject to the authorities. For there is no authority that does not come from God, and the offices have been established by God.
2 Whoever, there fore, resists authority goes against a decree of God, and those who resist deserve to be condemned.
3 In fact, who fears authority? Not those who do good, but those who do evil. Do you want to be without fear of a person in authority? Do good and you will receive praise.
4 They are the stewards of God for your good. But if you do not behave, fear them for they do not carry arms in vain; they are at the service of God when they judge and punish wrongdoers.
5 It is necessary to obey, not through fear but as a matter of conscience.
6 In the same way you must pay taxes, and the collectors are God’s officials.
7 Pay to all what is due them; to whomever you owe con tributions, make a contribution; to whom taxes are due, pay taxes; to whom respect is due, give respect; to whom honor is due, give honor.
8 Do not be in debt to anyone. Let this be the only debt of one to another: Love. The one who loves his or her neigh bor fulfilled the Law.
9 For the commandments: Do not commit adultery, do not kill, do not covet and whatever else are summarized in this one: You will love your neighbor as yourself.
10 Love cannot do the neighbor any harm; so love fulfills the whole Law.
Children of the light
11 You know what hour it is. This is the time to awake, for our salvation is now nearer than when we first believed;
12 the night is almost over and day is at hand. Let us discard, therefore, everything that belongs to darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.
13 As we live in the full light of day, let us behave with de cency; no banquets with drunkenness, no promiscuity or licentiousness, no fighting or jealousy.
14 Put on, rather, the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not be led by the will of the flesh nor follow its desires.
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Comments Letter to the Romans, Chapter 13
• 13.1 In the world where Paul lived, many people sought in religion an evasion from their family tasks and social duties (see 2 Thes 3:6-12). Paul stresses the “mystical” aspect of Christian life, but does not want such an evasion, so opposed to all his biblical formation. He will therefore insist on civil obedience in the context of a society far removed from our democracies of today.
This text of Paul has been distorted in the past by authoritarian governments, who after imposing their law by violence, expected to be obeyed as if they were the legitimate servants of God and the public good. It is still distorted today in many places – supposed colonies of imperialist countries; central power sees to the sending of preachers who will invite Christians to be silent in the face of injustice and economic plunder, using this paragraph to support their message. It is quite true that in a sense public servants are “God’s agents.” But do we not also find in the Bible that the devil gives power to those that serve him (Lk 4:5-7; Rev 13:1-9; Jn 12:31 and 14:30)?
Paul and his readers lived in a world where hardly anyone doubted the legitimacy of Roman authority. And as neither the common good nor peace can exist without authority and obedience, Paul declares that obedience to established authority comes from God. When he speaks of those who resist authority he has in mind those who try to impose their own interests or the interest of the group. What he does not accept is an anti-social attitude, a point that will arise in 1 P 2:12 and Tit 3:1 when authority begins to mistrust Christians.
No one may use these words to condemn those who resist for reason of conscience. In any case, it is only to God that a Christian submits his conscience. When the authorities demand something that is against truth and justice, he resists with the means his conscience reveals to him, ready to suffer punishment provided by human laws, and even to give his life. The great majority of the martyrs the Church honors today were condemned in their time as subversive persons and enemies of social order.
They are the stewards of God for your good (v. 4). We have to ask, then, if authority promotes goodness. When the laws favor only a minority, or allow corruption, or are oppressive to the poor, they are not at the service of God: let us remember Isaiah 5:8; 10:1-3; Amos 5:7-12.
The believer recognizes but one Lord: he will not accept that certain magnates become real “lords” capable of eliminating those who oppose their absolute power.
Jesus, for his part, refused to take part in politics (Mk 12:13-17), but he did not speak against those who wished to participate. He was free enough to denounce authority and to break the most sacred laws when they became oppressive.
During the past century the Church has reminded us very often that no authority can deprive a human being of his rights, and that everyone should be careful to elect authorities who serve the common good. In these matters, let us hear the doctrine of the Church: Gaudium et Spes 73-76.
• 11. You know what hour it is. This is the time to awake. Paul was just recalling the duties of a Christian in this world and he already turns to the opposite direction: beware of settling down in this world. The Christian is always awaiting the coming of Christ.
During the first thirty years of the Church, all waited for the imminent return of Jesus. When it became clear to them that history was being extended, they began thinking more of each one’s last end: it was then that they would meet Christ. In the present century we have come to realize that history is going towards an end and that we not only have to be ready for the last hour, but that we must also work for the evange lization of the world. The Gospel is the power that, directly or indirectly, brings all human history to maturity; by living holy and responsible lives we hasten the coming of the kingdom of God (2 P 3:11-12).