Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
Among the key questions that we are exploring in the Synod is the question of authority in the Church, including its origin, proper use, and relationship to participation. While we are called by Jesus at the last supper to express authority in humble and loving service, we know that this is not always the way authority in the Church is experienced. In fact, in the synod listening phase at the diocesan level, many voices from around the world expressed how painful and wounding it can be when authority is used in a unilateral, top down way without consideration or consultation. Or, even more seriously, we know how damaging it is when those who have sacred and formal authority by virtue of ordination abuse it in their treatment of the vulnerable.
In the passage from Sunday’s Gospel, Matt 22:15-21, the issue of authority is at the heart of the dilemma posed by the Pharisees in their attempt to entrap Jesus. We all know how Jesus not only reads their intentions and sees through their trap, but that he also outmaneuvers them by situating their dilemma in a wider frame of reference. Their limited, either/or, legalistic reasoning is no match for his creative, inspired, both/and thinking. As Jesus outwits them, he also instructs them to return their focus to God’s will and intention, rather than that of merely human conventions or rules. He reminds them that ultimately, all authority is sourced from God, and should be carefully administered in a way consistent with God’s preference for mercy over sacrifice, for love over the law, for the reality of people’s circumstances more than the abstract ideal.
Jesus confronts the Pharisees. Bartolomeo Manfredi – Il tributo a Cesare, c. 1610-1620
In this way, Jesus reminds all of us who are given roles of authority and responsibility that we must first of all attend to what it is God desires from our service. For example, we see how Jesus exercises his authority in diverse and discerning ways according to the persons, circumstances, and needs he encounters. He uses his authority over the demonic forces, but never against people. Even with the Pharisees, he enters into relationship, and confronts them with questions or their own hypocrisy, but never with coercion. And with others- his disciples, the various diverse peoples of Galilee, Judea, the Samaritan territory, and the Hellenistic towns of the Decapolis, he meets people in a way that is mutual, respectful, balancing his teaching authority with the willingness to listen and learn from the people he encounters.
His authority makes space for others to exercise their faith, take up their missions, and express their gifts. Jesus increased his authority even as he shares it with others, and paradoxically, receives the fullness of his authority by allowing himself to be taken and crucified. Even if his Kingdom is not of this world, we are nonetheless called to imitate his exercise of authority in this world.
How do we understand and relate to the authority we have been given? Whatever our job description, do we listen first to what God inspires us to contribute through our gifts and skills, in our ways of relating to others, and especially in the ways that we take and make decisions?
Do we pray and discern how we might be obedient and good servants, using this resource from God to contribute something to the world, and to the Kingdom?
With sibling affection,
