Monday of the Third Week of Advent
Today’s gospel is centered around a single question - the question of authority. Jesus is asked by whose authority is he able to teach such lessons? Who, in their worldly hierarchy, gave him the authority to teach others about God? And frustrating as it may be, Jesus does not answer this question - rather he answers with another question.
For us, this can be unsettling to see that he does not give a clear answer here. Yet, if we read all of today’s readings together in their entirety, we see that in fact the first reading answers the questions posed in the gospel. This messiah who was to come, Christ, hears what God says, knows what the Most High knows and sees what the Almighty sees. It is God who has given Christ the authority to teach about God, because well….he is God.
I think that when we look at this Gospel, we must look at this question of authority in our own lives. Who do we look to for the authority to act? Who has given us the authority to teach and to spread God’s message? The answer, hopefully, is God. We look to God as the ultimate authority on how to love, how to serve, how to be a disciple. BUT, we must take this further - we can only act under God’s authority when we are spending time in prayer trying to know what God knows, see what God sees and hear what God says.
This Advent, as we grow closer to Christ’s birth, may we spend time in intentional prayer, asking God to help us to think, act and be like his Son, Jesus. May we open our Bibles and strive to hear the word of God in our hearts. May we seek out the sacraments to more closely unite our hearts to the heart of the Father. May we give God full authority over our lives. Amen.
AJ Grimm