Jesus and his disciples returned once more to
Jerusalem. As he was walking in the temple area, the chief priests, the
scribes, and the elders approached him and said to him, “By what authority are
you doing these things? Or who gave you this authority to do them?” 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.” They discussed this among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘Of
heavenly origin,’ he will say, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’ But shall we
say, ‘Of human origin’?”– they feared the crowd, for they all thought John
really was a prophet. So they said to Jesus in reply, “We do not know.” Then
Jesus said to them, “Neither shall I tell you by what authority I do these
things.”
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Reflection:
Mario is a Lay Minister who was elected
chairman of his church ministry. Upon being elected his true color became more
apparent. For he was a man obsessed with his new found authority. He told his
church ministry this very prideful statement: I am now the head of this
ministry thus it is incumbent upon you all to follow what I want.
Jesus was asked in the gospel by His persecutors:
"By what authority are you doing these things? Or who gave you this
authority to do them?" (Mark 11:28) Were they really concerned about
Jesus’ authority? Or they were just very alarmed because their authority was
slowly being eroded by Jesus popularity with the common people.
Authority is good if exercised with humility and
prudence and this is how Jesus exercised His authority. So unlike the Pharisees
and the chief priest of his time, who was so proud of their authority that they
used it to perpetuate their self-serving agendas. Let us be like Jesus at all
times: He exercised His authority with humility, compassion and love.
How do you exercise your authority? – Marino J.
Dasmarinas
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