Divine Authority

Today’s Gospel Text: And he went down to Caper'na-um, a city of Galilee. And he was teaching them on the sabbath; 32 and they were astonished at his teaching, for his word was with authority. 33 And in the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon; and he cried out with a loud voice, 34 "Ah! What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God." 35 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be silent, and come out of him!" And when the demon had thrown him down in the midst, he came out of him, having done him no harm. 36 And they were all amazed and said to one another, "What is this word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out." 37 And reports of him went out into every place in the surrounding region. Luke 4:31-37

Reflection:  If you are in the habit of listening to sermons and analyze them, then you will realize that there are varieties of sermons dished out from the pulpit.

Broadly speaking they can be categorized as; impressive sermons and non-impressive sermons.

Leaving the non-impressive aside, we analyze the impressive ones which may be even super-impressive and yet never effective or qualitative.They may leave good and pleasant memories and yet a vacuum in one's heart. 

These super-impressive sermons could in its content be interspersed with worldly wisdom and jokes, good enough to impress the senses. It may contain cogent logical arguments and yet may never be based on solid truth as its premise. It depends much on the personal charisma of the preacher.

In other words, the sermon may be all impressive but never effective and may never achieve the goal and vision Christ Jesus has set forth.

On the other hand a quality effective sermon may not have all the fanfare of a brimstone and fire sermon but it touches somewhere and strikes a deep cord. It has a divine presence in it. 

Jesus’ teaching seemed to have the same divine presence as well as that authority; it carries the authoritative word that created the heavens and the earth and all that it contains.

It’s the authoritative word that created man and placed him as the caretaker of his creation as a responsible steward.

It is that authoritative voice that  now comes to restore what was lost by the irresponsible action of man.

Jesus is that one authoritative voice that has to be believed on in the world, so that mankind doesn’t meet its condemnation.

He has delegated this authority to his Holy Apostles and saints and it belongs to them who know how to act responsibly and guard it from the contamination of the world.

Prayer: Lord, prepare my heart and mind to be your voice of authority to others, so that they may believe that you are our God that reigns.

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