First Reading Lamentations 1:17-22
Second Reading 2 Corinthians 1:8-22
27Again they came to Jerusalem. As he was walking in the temple, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders came to him 28and said, “By what authority are you doing these things? Who gave you this authority to do them?” 29Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. 30Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin? Answer me.” 31They argued with one another, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ 32But shall we say, ‘Of human origin’?” – they were afraid of the crowd, for all regarded John as truly a prophet. 33So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”
When we imagine ourselves in the story we don’t always want stand in the Pharisees’ shoes. The Pharisees are the ones who always challenge Jesus, hoping that he’ll slip up so they can reassert their authority as the upright religious leaders of Israel. This is why the challenge Jesus: “By what authority are you doing these things?” The Pharisees are concerned about power; and we think that we wouldn’t be worried about that in the presence of Jesus. But maybe they ask the same question we would—because what they really want is an answer. Jesus, tell us plainly, who are you?
We want answers, too. We want to know when this “new normal” will be over. We want to know what God is doing in the suffering of so many. We want to know that the world that will follow will be, if not better, at least reassuringly familiar, despite all that has happened. But we don’t always get the answers we want, which are really grasping for reasons that we can control so that we won’t be too discomforted by the reality of what God wants. That’s what we should be asking instead. Not, “By what authority do you do these things” but rather, “how can we join in what you are doing to redeem creation?”
Gracious God, give us the vision to see the world that is coming in the love of your Son, Jesus. Encourage us by your Spirit to join him at his work, losing self for the sake of the Gospel, and finding life in return. We pray in Christ. Amen.
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