In many cases when a couple is married, the celebrant announces that he or she is performing the service "by the power vested in me" by the state and/or church in which the ceremony takes place.
If it is a religious service, then "God" is added to the list of authorities. The couple is not married by the celebrant. The celebrant only officiates with authority from God, the state or the church. When criminals are prosecuted, they are not prosecuted by an individual but by a government entity, with police, attorneys and judges operating with authority given them by the local, state or federal officials.
In today's Gospel reading, people are astonished that Jesus "taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes." Apparently, Jesus didn't claim authorization from the church or state when he spoke. He simply spoke. When he spoke, things happened.
Later in the passage, when he encounters a man with an unclean spirit, we see an example of what people find so astonishing. Jesus simply commands the spirit to depart. "Quiet! Come out of him!" Jesus says. The unclean spirit immediately departs.
"What is this?" people ask. "A new teaching with authority. He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him."
While nothing is said explicitly, the implicit message of this reading is that in Christ we are able to directly experience the love, power and authority of God. In other words, Jesus does not need to invoke the name of God because he is God.
The good news for you and me is that in Christ, God gives us a face, a voice, a personality that we can relate to. Rather than try to imagine how God would live, act and minister in this world, we are able to see, hear and experience God in human form.
This is the genius and grace of the Incarnation. It gives us a path to follow or, as St. Athanasius said in the fourth century, "The Son of God became man so that man might become God."
Jesus is our path to God. He teaches us in word and by example how to access God's love, compassion and redemption. He asks for no validation from other authorities. He speaks, acts and saves on his own authority. And when he speaks, things happen.
This truth takes on new meaning for me in our current environment of difficult economic times. I mean, where do we turn when our jobs, homes, finances and relationships are threatened? Who has the ability and authority to help us? Jesus is not a bank, employment agency, mortgage company or therapist. But he is the Son of God.
While most of us would welcome help from any institution or agency, there is only one who has the power to calm our minds, protect our lives, and save our souls. What more, in the end, do I really want? In times of real need, it helps to remember who really has the power and authority to help. Bill Peatman writes from Napa. |