9-25-23 - Authority

You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here. 

Last week we explored a subversive story Jesus told about laborers, in which those hired late got paid the same as those who worked all day. After telling this tale, Jesus healed two blind men. This was all a bit much for the religious leaders whom he was always skewering; they had to confront him. “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” they ask him.

Authority. We order our lives by it. Sometimes we expend considerable energy flouting it. Often, the less of it we have, the more we want to wield it over others – witness some theatre ushers or train conductors.

The religious leaders of Jesus’ day held authority by virtue of their positions in the temple, or were given it for their reputation as teachers. But their authority was limited. The occupying Romans allowed a nominal Jewish king and religious structure to exercise power, but only under their close and watchful eye. Any affront to the temple council’s oversight of Jewish life threatened to undermine the whole system. That is one reason they were so antagonistic toward Jesus and his followers. Their question really was: “Who said you could come in here to our temple, teach and preach and flout our Sabbath laws and heal people right and left? Who do you think you are?”

Jesus doesn’t answer them directly in this instance, but his answer usually came down to one thing: "My authority was given me by God." Which is fine, if you believe Jesus is intimately connected to God. It is not so fine if you believe he’s a deluded fool, at best, and a master manipulator at worst. What Jesus cited as evidence for his claim was his works, his miracles. (John 10:36-38) But they had trouble seeing his authority because of the packaging – Jesus was an itinerant preacher and healer, not an official clergyperson.

And this was God’s big idea – to send his Son, in whom God was fully realized, into this world as a mere human person, so we could come to know God. The passage from Philippians this Sunday expresses this in the words of an ancient hymn. “And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death – even death on a cross.” Jesus’s authority was not visible until he’d completely given himself away.

Does God have authority in your life? Though I do believe Jesus is in some way my friend, I do not imagine myself on equal footing with God. The whole revelation Jesus unfolded, and which we’ve been unpacking ever since, assumes that we honor God’s authority over us, over life itself. How does that sit with you? Is it a relief or a burden not to be God's equal?

In our current age, nothing is considered true just because the church says so, even for church-goers. But Christ-followers are not called to promote a set of ideas – we are invited to make known a risen Jesus who said he was Truth, Truth made personal, Truth made knowable. As we keep getting to know him and making him known, we will find just how free we can be under his authority.

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9-21-20 - Who's In Your Wallet?

You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.

Last week we explored a subversive story Jesus told about laborers in a vineyard, in which those hired last got paid the same as those who worked all day. After telling this tale, he healed two blind men. This was all a bit much for the religious leaders investigating him; they had to confront him. “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” they ask him. “Who’s backing you? Who is ultimately responsible for what you’re saying and doing?”

We all carry bits of paper and plastic around with us, which we use to buy things. These derive their value from what backs them up. The dollar bill is only “worth the paper it’s printed on” because the U.S. Treasury has issued it. A letter of introduction to someone who might give you a job has value because of the person who signed it.

Jesus’ teaching and miracles had value because they were evidence of the power of the God who backed him. Those who believed that he represented the Living God were fine with that. Those who thought they knew God better had their doubts. Hence their question, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?”

It’s a good question for us, as we seek to offer love, peace, healing and justice in God’s name. We know our world is full of people doing all kinds of things in the name of God as they understand God – how do we justify our ministries in the name of a force no one can see or prove?

The first answer is – we can’t. Not fully. Not to someone who is sure there is no God, or no creator who interacts with his/her creation. And we don’t have to try to “prove God.” We are only to bear witness to what we see and know, and to help generate evidence for others to respond to – and then be around when their questions burble up.

We should speak and act in the name of God often – that’s what it means to bear witness to what we see and know. So when we serve a meal at a shelter or spend time with a sad friend because we feel called by God to do so – let’s say so. When we hear of a situation over which we are powerless (even wildfires, hurricanes and elections) let’s offer to pray, and say it’s because we believe God’s power is at work in the world.

How do we evaluate whether an action is by God’s authority? Just becomes an action comes from a church does not mean it represents the authority of God – some religious organizations issue hate-filled fundraising letters. We learn to ask: what spiritual fruit does it bear? Christians have been given criteria. One is, do we see evidence of the Holy Spirit? Do we see good fruit? Is there more peace? Does it lead to freedom?

Another criterion: Is that action consistent with the revelation we received from Jesus, or in Scripture? This last is a pretty wide field – our scriptures contain accounts of many things that are not the fruit of the Spirit. I’d lean toward Jesus – is it consistent with what he did and taught? If you’re unsure, ask a brother or sister in community to help you discern.

By whose authority do we do the things we do? If it’s by the authority of God in Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit, let people know it. We have been given access to an incredible inheritance already, here and now – immense spiritual power. God didn’t mean for that to stay in a bank vault. We carry the cards, the cash, the checks to spread that spiritual wealth around. Let’s use it. Who’s in your wallet?

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10-2-13 - Authority

Jesus’ instructions in this week’s Gospel passage didn’t end with mustard seeds and mulberry trees. He illustrated the point with an example from domestic servanthood:

“Who among you would say to your servant who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep, ‘Come here at once and take your place at the table’? Would you not rather say to him, ‘Make supper for me, put on your apron and serve me while I eat and drink; you can eat and drink later’? Do you thank the servant for doing what was commanded?"

Now in August, we read another of Jesus’ teachings, which said the opposite.* Clearly He is making a different point this time. And that point deals with authority. He has given his followers authority over nature, sin, disease, demons – even death. (Over pretty much everything except other people with free will – which is why we could tell a mulberry tree to plant itself in the sea, but all the faith in the world can’t get Congress to jump in a lake..)

I think Jesus is a little ticked off at their timidity, given the authority they have as agents of God. I believe he is saying, “You are giving your challenges and obstacles way too much power. You are in charge – act like it when you pray!”

Jesus is always inviting his followers to be bold, not timid. Sometimes we let something like a common cold disable us, when we could take our God-given authority and invite the power and love of God to flow through us to bring wholeness. That’s what God does – make things whole. Sometimes we feel powerless over social systems that reinforce injustice, instead of asking how God would have us exercise our faith with the Holy Spirit in that realm.

What are you being invited to take authority over in your life? This might be a personal trait, it might be something in the natural order, or an illness or injury. You might say, "Lord, help me with this one - you have the power."

We don’t have to take authority in a “large and in charge” kind of way. We don’t have to be negative about the obstacle – we can simply stand firm in the power and love of God, unequivocal in our faith that God is in charge and God is at work through our prayers, whatever their “strength.”

The only thing we can do wrong is not pray, to shrug our shoulders and walk away, going, “Oh well, that’s bigger than me.” It may be bigger than you and me, but it ain’t bigger than the God who made us.
 

*The earlier passage read: “Blessed are those servants whom the master finds alert when he comes; truly I tell you, he will fasten his belt and have them sit down to eat, and he will come and serve them.” (Luke 12:37)