By What Authority?

Monday of the Third Week of Advent A

Entrance Antiphon Cf. Jer 31:10; Is 35:4 Hear the word of the Lord, O nations; declare it to the distant lands: Behold, our Saviour will come; you need no longer fear.

Collect Incline a merciful ear to our cry, we pray, O Lord, and, casting light on the darkness of our hearts, visit us with the grace of your Son. Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Scripture: Numbers 24:2-7, 15-17a; Psalm 25:4-9; Matthew 21:23-27

Jesus entered the temple courts, and, while he was teaching, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him. By what authority are you doing these things? they asked. And who gave you this authority? Jesus replied, I will also ask you one question. If you answer me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. John's baptism— where did it come from? Was it from heaven, or from men? They discussed it among themselves and said, If we say, 'From heaven', he will ask, 'Then why didn't you believe him?' But if we say, 'From men'— we are afraid of the people, for they all hold that John was a prophet. So they answered Jesus, We don't know. Then he said, Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things. (Matthew 21:23-27)

By What Authority? One of the intriguing things in a religion is the authority which, in the eyes of adherents, is possessed by the founder of the religion or its prophets. Mahomet is The Prophet in Islam. He is the Messenger of God. His is the ultimate word for the Muslim, and all other prophets are subservient to him. For vast numbers of Muslims this is an unshakeable conviction, not born of careful comparison with the doctrines and lives of other prophets, but more of a firm faith in the tradition of which they are part. Their tradition and the book which their tradition bears along in its stream — the Koran — is, for them, entirely trustworthy. How is this faith to be accounted for? The Muslim will answer that it is due to the fact that Islam and the Koran is a divine revelation. The Christian who does not allow that Mahomet is a prophet in the tradition of Abraham, Moses, the prophets of the Old Testament, and above all Jesus Christ, may answer that it is due to the profoundly valid truths which are present amid the errors — the greatest error of which is the denial by Islam of the divinity and redemptive mission of Jesus Christ. Islam’s principal truth is that there is one Supreme God, and that we must surrender to him in obedience. As far as it goes, this is very true and Islam has insisted on this with great power. The Christian may also allow, with certain of the Alexandrian Fathers such as Clement and Origen, that God has always worked among those outside the chosen people. Just as the visible creation contains a revelation of God and is an echo of his voice, so pagan literature, philosophy and mythology — if properly understood — has been in God’s plan a preparation for the Gospel. Monotheism, in and of itself, is a very great truth. The monotheist is in theory more ready for the reception of the Gospel than is the polytheist. Of course, error and prejudice can profoundly cloud this readiness for the Gospel. John Henry Newman, for instance, allowed that, despite their multiple errors, pagan poets and sages were in some sense prophets. They were led by God to certain aspects of the truth, and their perception of it contributed to the religious truths possessed by their civilizations.

Thus it is that the founders and prophets of the various religions of man gained religious authority. Zoroaster is the prophet of his religion and Buddha the prophet of his. Joseph Smith, assassinated in 1844 at the age of 38 in Illinois USA, is taken by the Mormons as the last prophet. His adherents have canonized some of his revelations as inspired texts on par with the Bible. His legacy includes several religious denominations, the largest of which, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter‑day Saints, has millions of adherents. He has full authority in the religion he inaugurated. Now there is no problem allowing that some truths were attained by such figures as the case may be. The entire question is problematic, of course, because many in this array, while claiming to occupy the supreme chair of truth, directly contradict one another. Now, in our Gospel today the authority of Jesus Christ is raised by our Lord’s enemies. “Jesus entered the temple courts, and, while he was teaching, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him. By what authority are you doing these things? they asked. And who gave you this authority?” (Matthew 21:23‑27). The fact is that our Lord was, by word and deed, claiming full authority to utter the word of God. He was doing things which no other would dare to do. He forgave sins. He placed his word far ahead of the word of the ancients: “You have heard that it was said of old... But I say to you.” This is not the moment to demonstrate the supreme authority of Jesus Christ, but it is the moment to be reminded of it. Being reminded of it, it is also the moment to reject all relativism in religion. The Christian knows that all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Christ. He, Christ, claimed this and demonstrated it, above all by his rising — as he predicted — from the dead. Mahomet remains dead and buried, as do Zoroaster and Buddha. Christ is the yardstick with which to measure the truth possessed by any other teacher of religion, and he is the yardstick that brings to light their errors also. But he is not just the supreme prophet of mankind. He is the Lord of all lords, the King of all kings. He is the very term and Object of religion, for he is God himself.

In the scene of our Gospel today our Lord refused to answer the question of the chief priests and the elders because they were manifestly adamant in their refusal to accept his authority. Christ pointed to the witness about him of John. But they refused to respond. It reminds us that the acceptance of Christ’s authority as divine Teacher and Redeemer of the world depends on our moral willingness to accept him. Let us resolve to bear witness to the truth of Jesus to our world.

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