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“By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” (Mt 21:23).
The chief priests and elders of the Jerusalem Temple are charged with keeping order in the holiest of holy places in Judaism. And they want to know who gives Jesus authority to upend the tables of the merchants (which he has done recently) and question the economy of the Temple. Is he just another fanatic who wants to disrupt the status quo without offering any real, constructive alternative? Or does he actually have authority to call for a new order?
What is authority? Who has it? How do we get it? And how is authority different from power?
Let’s talk for a moment about power. Power, and I mean personal power, is the ability to influence or persuade other people. Clearly Jesus is someone who has power. Crowds are drawn to him when he speaks. A whole group of men and women, his disciples, have left their lives and livelihoods to follow him.
Power relationships are, by definition, unequal - meaning that one person has more influence than the other. Recognizing inherent inequalities in power relationships, we can choose to use our influence constructively to address injustice and oppression. Or we can choose to use our power to manipulate, or even harm, others.
The temple authorities can see that Jesus has power. But does he have authority? Authority often comes from holding a recognized position, and authority can be delegated. Jesus gets his authority from the Father in heaven, the Source and Creator of all things. Bishops have the authority of the apostles, passed to them in direct succession. Priests have the authority of the church, granted by our ordination to a specific office in the life of the church. Every Christian has the authority of our faith, made known through the life and good news of Jesus Christ.
When we exercise our authority, we do so on behalf of the person or institution that is the source of our authority. Jesus exercised his authority by using his life and teaching as ways to point back to the glory of the Father. As Christians, we receive authority from Jesus in our baptism. We exercise the authority of our faith by thinking, praying, and acting in ways that Jesus would if he were here today.
As disciples of Jesus who continue his ministry, we have authority to proclaim the kingdom of God, to co-create the world God has in mind, to name evil and misuse of power, to eliminate systemic oppression, to pray for one another and for our enemies, to ask for forgiveness for ourselves whenever we have turned away from God, to seek and serve Christ in all people, to strive for justice and peace, to respect the dignity of every human being. In a nutshell, we have authority to proclaim that God’s love demands fullness of life for every one, every where, and all of creation.
That’s a lot of authority! It’s a bit overwhelming to consider how one might go about doing all those things. Not to fear - that’s where power and authority meet.
We each have personal power. We each have the ability to influence other people, whether by our charismatic personality, the integrity and authenticity of our lives, how and what we talk or write or sing or dance, even by our attitudes of grace, compassion, and forgiveness. We can cultivate our personal power, to strive for coherence between our faith and our thoughts, words, and actions. We can choose to use our personal power to exercise our authority as disciples of Jesus.
By our faith in a God who creates all things, and who invites us to co-create a beloved community of love and justice here on earth, we have authority to change the world we live in. We do that through our own actions, and through using our personal power to invite others to join us in changing the world.
There are so many ways we can build God’s beloved community.
We can change the environment by using less fossil fuels in our homes and vehicles, by eating locally grown food, and eating less meat.
We can change our government’s priorities and policies by voting for candidates who respect and promote the dignity of every human being and God’s creation. If you are not registered to vote, please do that today. If you need information on how to register, please ask me. I would be glad to walk you through the process.
We can change our local communities by educating ourselves about social issues that are important to us like unhoused populations, food insecurity, child welfare. We can write letters and make phone calls to our legislators, we can advocate with local officials, and we can invite other people to join us in learning and speaking up for change.
We can stay involved here at Trinity. We can invite people to join us for worship, we can care for one another by reaching out to those we miss, we can continue to support our outreach ministries, and (even now) we can continue to welcome all people without regard to age, socio-economics, gender, or race.
Perhaps the hardest work of building Beloved Community, and the foundation of it, is the work in our own hearts. We claim our power when we do the hard work of examining our hearts, to know our prejudice, our truths, and our blindness to the oppression of our siblings in Christ.
We have the authority to call for the world around us to reflect God’s love for every human and all of creation. And we have the power to co-create that reign of love and justice. It won’t happen overnight, or even be finished in our lifetimes. It won’t happen at all if we don’t use the power we have today.
The worst thing we can do with our power and authority is nothing. God is with us, and we are here with one another on this journey toward God’s vision. Choose something that engages you, perhaps even challenges you, in our ministry of changing the world to reflect God’s love. And invite a friend to join you. Together, we will be a force for holy change, and we are, as Ezekiel says, turning toward life.
Let us end with prayer.
God of strange authority, whose questions challenge the powers of this world: teach us to look beyond appearance, to see your kingly rule emptying itself in cross-stretched arms, through Jesus Christ, the only Lord, the humble Servant. Amen.[1]
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[1] Steven Shakespeare, Prayers for an Inclusive Church (2009, Church Publishing), Collect for Proper 21A, p. 36.
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