3 June, 2023 | Memorial of Saint Charles Lwanga and Companions, Martyrs
Gospel Mk 11:27-33
Jesus and his disciples returned once more to Jerusalem.
As he was walking in the temple area,
the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders
approached him and said to him,
“By what authority are you doing these things?
Or who gave you this authority to do them?”
Jesus said to them, “I shall ask you one question.
Answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things.
Was John’s baptism of heavenly or of human origin? Answer me.”
They discussed this among themselves and said,
“If we say, ‘Of heavenly origin,’ he will say,
‘Then why did you not believe him?’
But shall we say, ‘Of human origin’?”–
they feared the crowd,
for they all thought John really was a prophet.
So they said to Jesus in reply, “We do not know.”
Then Jesus said to them,
“Neither shall I tell you by what authority I do these things.”
Reflections:
There have been two groups of people: Those who recognize Jesus as one with authority and who submit to Him and those who reject His authority and seek to silence Him. The response of Jesus isn’t an attempt to evade or avoid the question of authority – in fact Jesus is saying: If you answer this question then you have the answer you’re seeking. John the Baptist was widely accepted as a prophet of God who spoke for God. Since John announced Jesus as the Son of God, anyone who believed in John should also believe in Jesus.
Like the Jewish leaders we can easily find ourselves caught in a dilemma. While we may confess Jesus as Lord, we still try and hold on to areas of our lives where we don’t want to submit to His Lordship.
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