Fourth
Sunday in Ordinary Time: Teaching with Authority
- January 29, 2012
It
A
statement carries authority according to two aspects: who is speaking
and what is being said. The captain had authority due to his
rank. The seaman had authority due to what was said. Jesus
had both. Jesus spoke with authority. What He said was
true. He also had authority because of Who He was. He was
the Son of God, the Messiah of God, and the Eternal One who became man
on Christmas. He said, “Love your enemies. Be kind to one
another.” On the cross he called to his Father for forgiveness
for those who tortured and killed him. He himself was a kind, loving
person. He spoke about God's kingdom and lived as the ideal
member of that kingdom. He had authority, and He has authority.
We need to listen and follow.
He
calls us to speak for Him. He gives us authority. For us to
exercise this authority both our words to be true and we must live as
committed Christians.
Many
times our papers report religious scandals. Charismatic TV
preachers, Roman Catholic bishops and priests, caught acting in the
immoral ways. The message that they had been delivering from their
pulpits for years was true. Many people were moved to come closer
to God. Many people confronted their own demons and took steps to
draw closer to Christ. But then the scandal hit the papers. The
message of the preacher that had moved them was still true, but now it
has lost much of its impact. The one who delivered it was not true to
his own words. As a result his credibility, his authority
was terribly damaged if not totally destroyed.
You
can certainly see how this can happen in your home. Parents have
authority due to their position in the family. God tells children
to honor their mothers and fathers. That’s the Fourth
Commandment. But the authority of parents is diminished or even
destroyed when the parents act in ways that are not Christian.
For example, all parents want their children to be kind to each other.
But if their children observe Mom and Dad being nasty to each other,
the children are going to learn nastiness, not kindness, as standard
way of acting. When these same parents say to their children that they
should be kind to each other, the children respond with their actions
as though their parents no longer have authority to tell them how to
behave.
That’s negative. Let’s look at the positive. Many of our
seniors have spent years taking care of their sick spouses.
Retirement was not what they expected. Instead of going and
doing, their days were spent caring and cleaning, and organizing doctor
appointments. But when someone makes a comment that he or she is
such a good spouse, the caring spouse merely says, “I took vows.”
And in those few words supported with a lifetime of action, that
husband or wife speaks more eloquently about marriage than any priest
or preacher could possibly speak. For his or her words have
authority, the authority of the One who called him to the sacrament of
marriage and the authority of the spouse who lives the sacrament of
marriage.
Jesus spoke with authority. He was not like the scribes and
pharisees. He was not two faced. He was not
hypocritical. He didn't have a dark side of his life that he kept
hidden. He didn't just speak the truth, He was the Truth
Incarnate. Jesus gave orders to unclean spirits, and they obeyed
him. It wasn't the words that kicked the devil out, it was the
person who spoke those words.
He
didn't call us just to do some of the things He did, He called us to be
His presence for others. We are called to destroy evil in our
world. We cannot do this unless we are determined to be
Christlike.
Today we pray that we might be invested in the authority of Christ, an
authority that flows not just from what we say, but from who we are as
Christlike people.
Taken from:
http://www.homilies.net/
