Cowley Magazine - Summer 2021
This issue of Cowley is devoted to the connected dynamics of power, authority, and obedience. As the pandemic has unmasked many inequalities in society, we have seen and experienced what happens when the balance between power and empowerment, authority and authoritarianism results in division and dominance rather than reconciliation and cooperation. It is our hope that these reflections, rooted in our monastic tradition of obedience, will help in some small way as we practice the art of listening to one another deeply, and with open hearts and minds.
Explore the online magazine, view selected articles below, or download a PDF.
“My experience of church people is that we are sometimes more afraid of our own power than we are at risk of becoming Machiavellian.”
“In virtually every page of the Bible, there is a supernatural manifestation of power, the intervention or infusion of God’s power in everyday life. And yet, power, without an acknowledgment of its source and its end, is simply privilege unrecognized by the beholder but patently obvious to the dispossessed. Howard Thurman writes, “too often the weight of the Christian movement has been on the side of the strong and the powerful, and against the weak and oppressed – this, despite the gospel.” Consider Jesus’ promise of power.”
“Instead of falling prey to the lure of the Tyrant, we can embrace our wise and benevolent internal Ruler. Jesus said “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to complete his work” (John 4:34). Following the Way of Jesus, we learn that our own nourishment, too, comes from submitting to God’s will. It’s only in this way that we will find our inner Ruler. The more completely we surrender to God’s will, the more our inner authority will reflect the truth of who we are in Christ.”