December 15, 2014
Monday 3rd Week of Advent
1st Reading:
Num 24:2-7, 15-17a
Gospel: Mt 21:23-27
Jesus had entered the Temple and was teaching when the chief priests, the teachers of the Law and the Jewish authorities came to him and asked, “What authority have you to act like this? Who gave you authority to do all this?”
Jesus answered them, “I will also ask you a question, only one. And if you give me an answer, then I will tell you by what authority I do these things. When John began to baptize, was it a work of God, or was it merely something human?”
They reasoned out among themselves, “If we reply that it was a work of God, he will say: Why, then, did you not believe him? And if we say: The baptism of John was merely something human, beware of the people; since all hold John as a prophet.” So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what right I do these things.”
D@iGITAL-EXPERIENCE
(Daily Gospel in the Assimilated Life Experience)
In legal parlance a question on the authority with which a person performs something is raised in a prerogative writ called “quo warranto.” It requires a person to whom it is directed “to show what authority he has for exercising some right or power he claims to hold.” Quo warranto had its origins in an attempt by King Edward III of England to investigate and recover royal lands, rights, and franchises lost during the reign of his father King Henry III. King Edward III dispatched justices to inquire by what warrant (quo warranto) the English lords held their lands and exercised their jurisdictions.
Today’s Gospel is akin to a quo warranto case. Jewish authorities asked Jesus: “What authority do you have to act like this?” Was Jesus obliged to show his credentials to them? No. As Son of God he was only accountable to the Heavenly Father. Thus, instead of submitting his credentials he engaged them in an intellectual calisthenics that revealed their ineptness.
Jesus answered them, “I will also ask you a question, and if you give me an answer, then I will tell you by what authority I do these things. When John began to baptize, was it a work of God, or was it merely something human?” Sensing that they were in for a big trap there answer was “We do not know”. This answer put them in the hot seat. If they could not give an objective evaluation of a public issue such as the baptism of John, what were they really capable of as agents of Jewish authority?
While no one today questions that authority of Jesus, only very few people allow him to rule their lives. Let us submit ourselves to his authority and make him the center of our lives. -Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., DM. Email:[email protected]. Website: www.frdan.org.
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