“What is this?
A new teaching with authority.
He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him.”
We've all studied at several institutions of learning; and hopefully we learned not only to study but the extraordinary value of learning. The discipline improves our minds, teaches good habits, and creates valuable citizens.
But, very often, we assumed what our teachers assumed, that the facts and figures we memorized had a remote kind of existence apart from ourselves. They would exist whether we learned them or not. The distance of the moon from the Earth is predictable and stable, and hasn't changed in millennia. Most of us cannot tell that distance and don't need to; it has no authority and little meaning unless we happen to be NASA engineers.
When Jesus taught with authority he wasn't teaching facts and figures. His disciples were not memorizing anything, not even a catechism. But they were learning a new way of thinking, feeling, acting, and being. Although they had always recognized the authority of one human being over another, they were learning that this particular human being had divine authority over them; and would be rewarded with infinitely more authority as he underwent his passion, death, and resurrection.
They began to appreciate that authority as they heard Jesus of Nazareth announce Eight Beatitudes and the Sermon on the Mount; and they saw his authority when he healed a leper. They may have felt something similar to Abraham's experience as he watched fire and brimstone consume Sodom and Gomorrah. They must have wondered, "Who is this man? What kind of man is he that he can draw us to him? Where did he get such authority, and where will it take us?"
They wondered and they asked but they could not know the answers until they appeared radiantly before them. Only in retrospect would they realize what the Lord had done for them. And then, with the authority of that knowledge, they would tell the world.
Every Christian must experience the personal authority of Christ before speaking of him. They must know his right to judge and condemn, and his right to demand that they repent, turn away from sin, and be reborn in the Gospel. They must know his authority to heal the traumas of their past, even as they learn about the love they should have found in parents, siblings, and friends. They must be prepared to go where he sends them, say what he commands them to say, and stand down when he would have them withdraw or retire.
They must learn not only his authority to forgive sins but also the authority he has given them to forgive those who sinned against them. There is no reason to hold resentments, nor can they afford to hold them. Resentments are like useless property; they only encumber us with their dead weight. The Lord's disciples want and ask for the authority to forgive immediately whenever they experience a hurt or disappointment. They want nothing to taint the purity, joy, and freedom of being alive in Christ.
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.