Word to the Wise
Saturday, May 30, 2015 - Saturday in the 8th Week in Ordinary Time
[Sir 51:12cd-20 and Mark 11:27-33]Jesus said to them, "I shall ask you one question. Answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. Was John's baptism of heavenly or of human origin? Answer me." [Mark]
The scene today from the Gospel of Mark continues the reaction to Jesus' "cleansing" of the temple. Now a deputation from the highest Jewish authorities in Jerusalem comes to ask him by what authority he caused such a mess and commotion. Jesus' reply is to ask them a question that relates to his authority but uses John the Baptist as the example. Very simply put, either you believe or you don't. If the authorities did not believe John's actions were of heavenly origin, neither would they believe that Jesus' actions came from the same authority. The response of the authorities is based on fear. As galling as it was to say, "We do not know!" this was better than causing a riot from the crowd.
This exchange reminds me of any number of encounters I have had, especially in campus ministry, which challenged the authenticity of Jesus - his "authority." What I have tried to do in those circumstances is to determine if the person asking the question is sincere or simply trying to "prove something." The degree of belief ranges from sincere seeking ("I want to know more.") to agnosticism/ignorance ("Don't know!") to atheism ("It's all a fairy tale.") In the case of the authorities who challenged Jesus, there was a mix of anger and fear and denial. Jesus could realize that there was no way they would accept his authority as coming from heaven. He offers them a chance to believe, but they pass on it. We will have the same opportunity to offer Jesus to someone. Will we be ready for whatever response we get? AMEN
config
view
logs
4096.0 KB
100 ms
4
