Lord Acton was one of the most influential Catholic lay people in England in the 19th century. He wrote in a letter his famous dictum: Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
Jesus is concerned with the misuse of power in the Gospel but, to appreciate this, it helps to see what comes just before today’s passage. After healing the boy with the unclean spirit, Jesus reminds His disciples that He will be delivered into the power of men and be put to death in Jerusalem. They don’t want to hear this and they start arguing among themselves about who is the greatest. Who has the power? Jesus responds by placing a child in their midst. When they govern they are able to imitate the humbleness of a child in the way they serve each other. But today’s Gospel shows that the disciples have not learnt this lesson. The apostles notion of authority is control over others. But Jesus rejects this understanding of how power is exercised. It is not a question of whether the word of God is under their control but whether it liberates human beings. Jesus reverses their roles. He says that whoever gives a drink of water to the apostles because they bear Christ’s name will be rewarded. Jesus uses severe language to warn the apostles that they must never betray their authority by causing scandal with the little ones. In the vivid language of cutting off hands and feet Jesus uses hyperbole to warn these future leaders of the Church that they must act decisively when they see the corruption that comes from the abuse of power.
It is always difficult to challenge what seems to be the abuse of power. But the scandal of publicity that comes from rooting out corruption is nothing compared with the scandal of allowing the destruction of one of “these little ones who have faith.” The good news is that Jesus is aware of the problem and today gives a very clear warning. He wants His Church to be a community where there is a sharing of responsibility. No one group has a monopoly of the Spirit or power. The gift of authority is given from God for the building up of the Church. What matters is the way it is exercised. The Gospel not only gives us Jesus’ words but in Jerusalem He puts His words into action. Washing feet of His disciples and offering His life on the cross, He gives an example to us, His Church, of how power can be exercised so that it does not lead to corruption.