Matthew
21:23-27
When
Jesus had come into the temple area, the chief priests and the elders of the
people approached him as he was teaching and said, “By what authority are you
doing these things? And who gave you this authority?” Jesus said to them in
reply, “I shall ask you one question, and if you answer it for me, then I shall
tell you by what authority I do these things. Where was John’s baptism from? Was
it of heavenly or of human origin?” They discussed this among themselves and
said, “If we say ‘Of heavenly origin,’ he will say to us, ‘Then why did you not
believe him?’ But if we say, ‘Of human
origin,’ we fear the crowd, for they all regard John as a prophet.” So they
said to Jesus in reply, “We do not know.” He himself said to them, “Neither
shall I tell you by what authority I do these things.”
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Reflection:
Are you
in a position of authority?
Authority
is synonymous with power and there are many who do not know how to properly use
their authority. They use their authority to oppress, bully, corrupt and to
look down to those who are powerless and poor.
The chief
priests were like that they were always at the back of Jesus watching his every
move so that they could humiliate Him. Aside from the fact that they are threatened
by Jesus popularity amongst the ordinary people. They also perceived Jesus as
powerless and lowly that’s why they make it a habit to oppress Him.
Jesus has
the greatest authority that anyone of us could have but how did He used it? He
used it with humility, He used it to cure, He used it to comfort people, He
used it to give hope and to serve. Never did He boast about it, never did He
told anyone to worship Him because of His authority.
If you
are a parent, how do you exercise your authority in your home? If you are a
manager/leader, how do you exercise your authority in your sphere of
environment? If you are a politician, how do you exercise your authority on
your constituency? If you are a priest, how do you exercise your authority in
your parish? If you are a teacher, how do you exercise your authority to your
students?
The best model
on how to exercise authority is the model of Jesus: Authority used with
humility and authority used for the greater glory of God.
How do
you exercise your authority? – Marino J. Dasmarinas
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