Readings: 1 Jude 17.20-25, Ps.63; Mark 11:27-33
Rev.
Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.
IDENTIFYING
THE DIVINE AUTHORITY OF JESUS
In our
dealings with people, we are often requested to make reference to authorities
in order to back up our claim to know or possess anything. And when such
authority is not available our proposal may not be taken seriously. Little
wonder our gospel passage today, presents to us the fundamental question
concerning the source of Jesus’ authority, namely whether it is divine or
human. Here, after Jesus drove away the traders from the courts of the Temple,
the chief priests and elders questioned the source of his authority, for they
were more concerned to learn whether Jesus had received the proper human
authorization by questioning the source of his authority.
In
response, Jesus draws their attention to John the Baptist and his authority and
by so doing he implies that the source of John's authority is the source of his
as well. Thus, anyone who correctly identifies the source of John's authority
will identify the source of Jesus’ own as well. Therefore the questions we need
to ask ourselves are: What is our notion about the authority of Jesus? Do we
have any doubt about the authority of Jesus? How much of this authority dwells
in you? The crowds identified the source of John and Jesus’ authority as
divine. Have we personally identified the divine authority of Jesus in our
lives? Why not ask him to manifest his power and authority once more in your
life?
Dear
friends, we need to open up our hearts to truly embrace the authority of the
Lord Jesus. We need to build up our interior lives around his authority, so as
to be closer to God and continue to prepare ourselves physically and
spiritually for the coming of our Lord Jesus in our hearts and our souls. For
there he awaits our response to his invitation to holiness and love. Little
wonder St. Jude in our first reading today said when some have doubts reassure
them; when there are some to be saved from the fire, pull them out; but there
are others to whom you must be kind with great caution.
So,
like St. Justin whose memorial we celebrate today, we are called to learn to
identify our authority with that of Jesus. He was known for his desire to
establish a peaceful relationship between the Church and the state. For through
his writings, he tried to convince Emperor Marcus Aurelius to end the
persecution of Christians by the Roman state which led to his martyrdom with
some of his followers in the year 165.
Today
however, St. Justin no doubt, has shown us through his works and interactions,
with pagan philosophers and even with the Emperor, that it is indeed possible
to be fully faithful and committed to God while exercising our authority and
position by living in harmony as a law-abiding citizens of the community and
the state even in the midst of persecutions and operations as we experience in
our societies today.
LET US
PRAY: Heavenly Father, in your divine authority we build our confidence and
hope. May you continue to direct and guide our ways and bring our plans and
purposes to a successful end. This we ask through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Wishing you a happy and fruitful weekend.
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