Daily Seasonal Reflections
Monday of the Third Week of Advent
Fr. Trey Nelson
 
 
“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?’”  (From Matthew 21:23-27) 
 
They simply were not open to accepting the authority of Jesus.  Instead, they chose to question it.  As in all situations, Jesus’s response was simple and measured.  He replied to the question with a question. (Take time to read the whole passage from today’s Mass.)  In the end, rather than making a commitment either way, they chose to answer with the basic, “We do not know.”
 
When we were children growing up, our parents made fairly clear distinctions between what to do and not to do, between right and wrong.  They did this knowing all along that the day would come when we would be faced with the choice of embracing this distinction on our own. Their hope, I am sure, was that we would accept, the authority of Jesus and the authority of the right, the good, and the true.  Jesus never attempted to guilt anyone into following Him or His Word.  He taught, reached out, and loved, hoping that one day we would make the choice to embrace His way, because it is the best way.
 
Several years ago, I had a conversation with a young man in collage at the time.  Now, he lives in another State and is in his early thirties.  His last 2 years of college were pretty tough.  He did, however, come through it all and emerge stronger and in a better place. In that conversation, I asked him, “Now that you’re in your last year of college, looking back, name for me one thing you have learned.”   My hope was for him to share something related to God, his faith, and so on, rather than something about the various types of people he had met. I was pleasantly surprised to hear him say, “I’ve learned to avoid doing the wrong thing, not because you might get caught, but because—it’s the wrong thing.”  (I recalled the response given by Jesus elsewhere in the Gospel, “You are not far from the reign of God.”)  What I said was, “Well, then, you’ve learned a very important lesson, and you have learned it sooner than later.”
 
Whenever we make and renew our commitment to Christ and His Gospel, hopefully we do it, not out of fear of retribution from Godly authority, but out of love and gratitude. The same goes for our Catholic faith, specifically, attendance at Mass and the Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession.)  No one has the right to guilt us into practicing any aspect of our faith.  Now, to be sure, sometimes certain things happen that give us a wake-up call. We all experience what I like to call spiritually sobering moments that offer us the opportunity for new growth.  
 
Our authority is to Jesus Christ the person and to the truth for which he lived—and died.  It is simply not enough for our response to be, “We do not know.”