The Peter Principle
Some
years ago Mr. Peter gave us THE PETER PRINCIPLE which said that most
things went wrong in society because people tended to be promoted
to the level of their incompetence. For example, a teacher is very
gifted with children, she can set simple boundaries of discipline
that give them security and then enter playfully into the life world
of the child. She is a gifted teacher and because of this is soon
promoted to head teacher. If she tries to use the same gifts in her
new role, if her gifts with children are the only ones she has, she
will quickly find her co-teachers resisting her puerile restrictions
and her make-believe games. She has been elevated to the level of
her incompetence! Or, a priest is a studious seminary professor, or
a dedicated pastor, and then he is made a bishop. There is no assurance
that he will have the gifts necessary for his new and entirely different
role. From being competent he too may have now been elevated to the
level of his incompetence - with an added difficulty that it is not
easily reversible!
If
there were ever classic examples of the Peter Principle it must have
been the twelve apostles. Most of them were trained as fishermen and
even though they had been with Jesus for a few years they did not
seem to have learned much. Judas had betrayed him, Peter had denied
him, Thomas would not believe he had risen and most of them had run
away when the chips were down. And Jesus just took off for heaven
without leaving a constitution or even a stack of memos to guide them.
"All authority," he said, "in heaven and on earth has
been given to me. Go, therefore, make disciples of all nations; baptize
them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
and teach them to observe all the commandments I gave you, And know
I am with you always to the end of time." That was all and off
he went, leaving the new church in the care of these incompetent nincompoops.
Yes,
except for the fact that he said that he would send his Spirit who
would be with them till the end of time. And where was that Spirit?
There is a legend that God had a problem about where to conceal this
his most precious possession. He called three counsellors to listen
to their suggestions. The first advised God to put his Spirit on the
top of the highest mountain, there it would be safe for ever; God,
however, declined the suggestion. The second wise man proposed that
God should put his Spirit in the depths of the deepest sea; but God
saw submarines in his mind's eye and again said no. The third suggested
that he hide it on the far side of the moon, but God smiled to himself
and said even there people would find it. Then God had this original
idea; "I know where I will hide my Spirit," he said. "I
will put it in a place where people will never think of looking; I
will put it in their hearts. There, it will never be discovered."
And the three wise men nodded in agreement; they knew that God was
indeed right.
The
Church of apostolic times had, however, a great appreciation of the
presence of the Spirit of Christ. They broke the bread of the Word
and the bread of the Eucharist together. They shared ministry and
care for one another very unpretentiously. They were a body with many
parts working together. It was a Church full of spirit and dedication.
Human conflict and venality are also reflected in the accounts of
their life. As the early Christians spread they were persecuted. Often
persecution lead to their spreading further.
Then
the Emperor Constantine in the Fourth Century made Christianity the
religion of the empire. Was this a blessing or a curse? When it became
easy to be a Christian it became hard to be one! This led Anthony
the Abbot into the desert to live the Gospel values more radically
and begin what came to be known as religious life. As the official
religion of the court, Christianity began to become institutionalized.
The Ministers of religion became court officials that needed to have
clear duties to perform. They tended to appropriate all ministry to
themselves, function became more important than Spirit.
As
the Church became more institutionalized and clericalized, as God
became more "up there" in heaven, the healthy faith instinct
of the people told them that God was close. As theology had put God
far away, the simple people kept him close through popular devotions,
images, saints and particularly through closeness to Mary the merciful
and caring mother of God.
The
Spirit has ever been with the Church. As the Church grows in its self
understanding some aspects of it tend to grow out of proportion. The
problem is seldom a problem of truth but rather that part of the truth
has been taken and made into the whole truth. Then God seems to enjoy
the Peter Principle. He enjoys using the weak of this world to confound
the strong.
John
XXIII when elected pope was considered by many to have gone away beyond
the level of his competence, yet through him and the Second Vatican
Council the windows of the Church were reopened. The signs of the
times were to be listened to. The church was to be renewed and an
essential part of that renewal would be contemplative renewal. John
Main emerged as a leader in that work by rediscovering the ancient
Christian tradition of Meditation and teaching it in a clear and relevant
way for our times. Today there is a rediscovery of the "Creator
of the universe who lives in the cave of the heart," a rediscovery
of the Spirit.
When
I first conducted pre-marriage courses in the parish I used to consider
the teaching of Saint Paul in Ephesians 5:25 rather esoteric and high
flown. "Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the Church
and gave himself up for her." However, over the years as I have
gotten to know both the Church and married couples more, I have come
to see it as a very enlightened explanation. In both the Church and
in marriage people are often elevated to the level of their incompetence;
amateurs are trying to do a professional job. It must often be very
hard for Christ to love his church and those who run it for him, just
as it is often hard for spouses to keep on loving each other. But
even if people in the Church, and those who get married, are often
raised to the level of their incompetence, they still do a fairly
good job because of the Spirit who is hidden within them. The more
they meditate and are in touch with that spirit the more chance they
have of being guided by the Spirit in all that they do - and confounding
the Peter Principle.
Taken
from Sundays
into Silence - A Pathway to Life. Copyright © 1998 by Claretian
Publications
