Reflection for December 14 Monday, Saint John of the Cross, priest and doctor of the Church (M): Matthew 21:23-27

Gospel: 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? Yes you are in your own little way you occupy 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 among 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 ever 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, authority used with compassion and authority used for the greater glory of God. And this is the exercise of authority that we have to follow. 

How do you exercise your authority? – Marino J. Dasmarinas