20 Pentecost A, Proper 21 RCL, September 28,2008
St. James, Zanesville
Kathryn P. Clausen

Exodus 17:1-7
Psalm 78:1-4, 12-16
Philippians 2:1-13
Matthew 21:23-32

“Authority”

Last week’s Gospel spoke to us about justice and grace. Today’s gospel is about authority. What is the authority of John the Baptist? What is the authority of Jesus? What is the authority of the apostles? Is it derived from God? Or is it of human origin? Is it awarded by tradition or election or is it self-designated?

An orderly society has structure and clear-cut lines of authority. Without that, there is chaos. Just look at some of the African countries right now that have only tribal authority to run a country. It is a mess. Soldiers roam about unsupervised and terrorize the citizens. Food doesn’t reach the hungry. Disease is untreated and is decimating the society. It is almost a post-apocalyptic scene. In the Old Testament, the tribes of Israel yearned for a king to draw them together with a common purpose and sense of self. They thought it might be Saul, but it ended up being King David. David had authority because the people gave it to him. They entrusted to him and to his descendents the authority they longed for. David and his son Solomon earned and deserved it and they lived up to expectations. Their descendents did not. Ultimately, the people longed for a messiah who would be sent by God and come and restore the old Davidic kingdom, bringing peace and prosperity. That is not exactly what they got.

In a society ruled by laws and with a tradition of Kings enjoying divine right, why would they pay attention to a rough desert prophet like John? What made him different from others who claimed to make prophecy from God? True, he was saying something odd and troubling. He was predicting the coming of the Messiah, the one who was expected and yearned for. But he wasn’t the herald of a king, not the kind they were hoping for. Jesus didn’t come with a retinue and an army to restore the throne of David to the people. He was just a carpenter, an itinerant rabbi who traveled around saying some outrageous and revolutionary things to the people. By what authority did John predict these things? And by what authority did Jesus say and do what he did? Was it something they said? Was it the way they said it?

Lots of people claim authority from God. It is predictable, presumptuous, and it is blasphemous. Kings and dictators, popes and televangelists, presidents and politicians at one time or another claim that they have divine authority to do what they do, to make war, collect tithes and taxes, to grab land, go on crusades, and invade other countries. All in the name of God.

So it is not surprising that the Pharisees were confused and skeptical of Jesus’ authority. So they challenged him. But Jesus responded as he often did, by answering a question with another question He asked them about John’s authority. If John’s predictions of a messiah came from God, then it would follow that Jesus was divine. They were afraid to acknowledge John because they had not believed him at the time. They were afraid to deny John because the crowds believed him. John had challenged their established position. He was a threat. Jesus challenged their authority and the law, and he had to be eliminated.

Authority is an elusive thing. It can be imposed from above and enforced by intimidation or coercion. Authority can be achieved by fear. In the Middle ages, fear of eternal damnation was a very effective way for the church to assert its authority. Only clergy could grant absolution. They held the keys to the Kingdom, or so the people thought. That was why it worked. The Reformation ended all of that. The doctrine of Grace pretty much blew away the church’s coercive authority. Fear still prevailed in some quarters, but most believed that God was the only judge, and that God was loving and merciful.

The Church no longer seems to hold literal power over life and death, or the keys to the Kingdom, at least not in the crude and coercive sense. And yet most of you still look to the Church’s authority to declare absolution, tell you which portions of Holy Scripture hold authority and how that affects your life, and to care for you when you are in distress. Why? We claim apostolic authority for our bishops, moral authority from the Scriptures, financial authority from the donations of the people. But in truth, this authority is not so much divinely granted as it is achieved from you. The Church is only as good and as strong as its people. I can stand in the pulpit every Sunday, and run on and on about what God intends through interpretation of the Gospels. But, God forbid, you might not be listening or you might not accept as valid what I am saying. You might take exception to it, which is your right to do. The authority to preach is granted by ordination through our bishops. The responsibility to listen is up to you.

I think my message on all of this is to be very careful and discerning about whom to trust to have authority over you. You have choices and it is sometimes hard to decide among competing claims. This is a presidential year, and you are asked to choose someone who could seriously impact your lives, your income, your health, and your safety. Is it the power of personality? Is it shared values? Is it intelligence? Strength? Courage? Will you vote for a person or a program? ( In my heart, I believe most of us vote for the person, then trust his judgment to make the right decisions. But who can say?)

When you hear the word of God in church, what makes it valid? Because I say so? Because it is in an old book? Because it has the weight of two thousand years of tradition to back it up? Because people died defending it? (that, of course, also applies to Islamic terrorists, who also claim to be the agents of God.) Peter Akinola, archbishop of Nigeria, calls himself “the hammer of God”. Do you buy that? I don’t. Ultimately, I think the real authority of what we tell you is God’s word actually lies within you. You grant authority. You either accept or don’t. God gave you a brain and a heart and I assume you are intended to use them. Our church is founded on a three-legged stool of Scripture, Tradition, and Reason. Our prayer for you is that you will be inspired by God through his son, Jesus Christ, to use them wisely and to discern rightly those things which are justified by the Gospels, supported by Tradition, and pass the test of your own God-given reason. This is the test of real and authentic authority. It is hard to define, but you almost always know it when you see it. Amen.