What Authority?

Scripture/Bible:  And they came again to Jerusalem. And as he was walking in the temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to him, 28 and they said to him, "By what authority are you doing these things, or who gave you this authority to do them?" 29 Jesus said to them, "I will ask you a question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. 30 Was the baptism of John from heaven or from men? Answer me." 31 And they argued with one another, "If we say, 'From heaven,' he will say, 'Why then did you not believe him?' 32 But shall we say, 'From men'?" - they were afraid of the people, for all held that John was a real prophet. 33 So they answered Jesus, "We do not know." And Jesus said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things." Mark 11:27-33

Reflection:  We sometimes see lay or itinerant preachers proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God and many of them doing an excelled job. Seeing them we often wonder; by what authority do they go about the work they do.

In the questioning by the Chief priests, scribes and the elders, the highest of authorities in the Jewish power structure that we can think of, we realize that there is more than one type of authority.

In the reply that Jesus gives these men in authority he is revealing to us the two kinds of authority which seem to have some degree of validity.

• The Divine authority      

• The Human authority 

The Divine is God appointed and is ordered towards his glory. It is for humans, especially men in authority to recognize it, encourage and order it towards a particular goal.  It is a responsibility enjoined on them, as men in authority, lest they have God’s wrath coming on them on account of their rejection of God’s mercy and love imbued through such an anointed presence.  

The human authority functions on the basis of democratic deliberations, debates and reflections and God to some extent respects the fruit of such deliberations, if it is ordered on right moral and sound doctrinal principles.

The unfortunate part of the whole situation, as we see in today’s gospel, is this; people recognize God’s action through discernment and the authorities fail to see and recognize God’s action in their midst. 

Nevertheless, when the Son of man comes, will he find faith on earth?" Luke 18:8 Leave aside authorities, will we recognize the prophets and anointed ones of God in our midst as the ordinary people did in Jesus' time?

Prayer: "Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!" Matt 21:9

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