Meditation for February 14

From The Rev. Peter Munson

Mark 11:15-19, 27-33

What Is Your Authority?

"Then they came to Jerusalem.  And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who were selling and those who were buying in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves; and he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple.  He was teaching and saying, "Is it not written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations'?  But you have made it a den of robbers."  And when the chief priests and the scribes heard it, they kept looking for a way to kill him... And when evening came, Jesus and his disciples went out of the city...

Again they came to Jerusalem.  As he was walking in the temple, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders came to him and said, 'By what authority are you doing these things?  Who gave you this authority to do them?'  Jesus said to them, 'I will ask you one question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things.  Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin?  Answer me.'  They argued with one another, "If we say, 'From heaven,' he will say, 'Why then did you not believe him?' But shall we say, 'Of human origin'?" - they were afraid of the crowd, for all regarded John as truly a prophet.  So they answered Jesus, 'We do not know.'  And Jesus said to them, 'Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.'"

Jesus was so wise - maybe we should say sly - around those who had ulterior motives.  Part of his wisdom was that he saw what their real motives were!  It usually involved finding a way to "get" him.  And this came most often from the respected religious leaders of his day!  The chief priests and scribes and elders saw him as a threat because he didn't do things in the normal ways, didn't teach in the way that they did (even contradicting some of their teachings!), and hung out with many of the people that they had taught folks not to hang out with.  Most of all, though, they felt threatened by his authority. In a number of places, the Gospel writers tell us that when Jesus taught, the people were amazed by the authority of his teaching.  See, for example, Matthew 7:27, Mark 1:27, Luke 4:32.  And then there were his actions - his healings and other miracles.  They said quite a lot about his authority, too.  Just about everyone recognized his authority.  The religious leaders also happened to be threatened by it.  But Jesus did not always feel the need to explain where his authority came from, especially when the questions were fired at him in a hostile tone.  He did not need to justify his authority.  He just had it, and used it, and if some took offense - too bad for them!

Authority is a big subject, a much bigger one than can be covered in one meditation.  But it is worth our while to think about authority.  There are many aspects to it - God's authority over us, the claim that others have on our lives (think parents, spouse, children, bosses, friends, fellow church members), and our own authority - to name a few.  It is possible to use our authority in appropriate ways, and it is also possible to cross the line and to abuse our authority.  How  to use our authority, when to use it, our awareness of the impact of our authority on others - all these are legitimate questions for us to think about and pray about.

But I'd like to back up and ask much more basic questions.  Are you aware that you have authority?  Authority - Here are some of the definitions from the dictionary:  "The power or right to give commands, enforce obedience, take action, or make final decisions; the position of one having such power; a person with much knowledge or experience in some field, whose information or opinion is hence reliable; self-assurance and expertness that come with experience." 

Even when we are under the authority of others, or we are feeling somewhat inadequate with respect to carrying out a specific task, that does not mean that we don't have authority.  All of us have authority.  Some people have more trouble claiming it or living into it.  Other people have more issues with using their authority appropriately.  For some of us, depending on the circumstances, we may have times when we don't claim our authority, times when we use it well, and other times when we abuse it.

As Christians, we have the same Source for our authority that Jesus had - God.  We are not the Son of God.  We may never have occasion to start throwing around furniture in the narthex and then begin quoting scripture, holding people spellbound while we teach with authority!  But we still have authority.  As beloved children of God, as followers of Jesus Christ, as people who have experienced God in Christ through encounters with Holy Scripture, in prayer, in nature, in worship, with other people - all through the working of the Holy Spirit - we have authority.  We have heard God call our names, we have heard Jesus say "follow me", and we have tried to follow our Lord, as faithfully as we can.  We have something to offer to the world in our teaching, in our service, in the way we love others, in our telling authentic, down-to-earth stories of how we experience God.  Jesus calls it being "the salt of the earth" and "the light of the world". (Matthew 5:13-14)  Toward the end of his life, he called his disciples friends (see John 15:12-17) and reminded them that they were "to go and bear fruit." (verse 16)  Jesus even said that those who believed in him would do greater works than he did, because he was going to the Father (and would send us the Holy Spirit).  (See John 14:12-17)

Salt of the earth, light of the world, friends, those who bear fruit, the promise of doing greater works - all these things that Jesus said can be translated into three words.  WE HAVE AUTHORITY.  Authority is God's gift to His children, no matter their race, stature, profession, educational or economic status - no matter what "hard knocks" have happened to you along the way.

What will we do with this authority?  How will I claim it?  With whom will I share it?  How am I using it?  What will be my response to God, for entrusting me with it?  These are a few questions we can ask ourselves this week, and in the months and years to come.