Mark 11: 27-33
Jesus and his disciples came to Jerusalem. As he was walking in the temple, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders came to him and said, “By what authority are you doing these things? Who gave you this authority to do them?” Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin? Answer me.” They argued with one another, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ But shall we say, ‘Of human origin’?”—they were afraid of the crowd, for all regarded John as truly a prophet. So 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.”
New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.
Challenging Societal Norms
In today’s Gospel, the political and religious leaders of Jerusalem confront Jesus with a question: “By what authority are you doing these things?” The things Jesus was doing – teaching a new ethic of love and peace while healing the sick, feeding the hungry, befriending the outcasts, and driving the monied interests from God’s house – were the will of the Father who sent him. Ultimately, Jesus’ obedience to his Father’s will led the leaders of Jerusalem to orchestrate his arrest and crucifixion.
We are now more than 2000 years from the time that Jesus’ very life challenged the leaders of his day. Today, we as the Body of Christ in the world, are called to follow Jesus in living lives that challenge societal norms. Can you pray today for the courage to be in solidarity with the outcasts even if it means feeling the pain of being excluded? Can you pray for the courage to accompany the poor even if it means being judged a fool by the wealthy of our world? Can you pray for the courage to call for peace in this time of war even if it means being seen as weak and naïve? Can you pray for the courage to live into the Kingdom of God by loving each and all as Christ loves?
—Bill Lipscomb is a spiritual director with the Ignatian Spirituality Center and the Church of the Gesu in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Bill is a graduate of the Seminars in Ignatian Formation program of the Midwest Jesuits. Bill serves as a board member for the Ignatian Spirituality Project and as a spiritual reflector for the Ignatian Volunteer Corps.
Prayer
O Lord, open my eyes that I may see the needs of others.
Open my ears that I may hear their cries;
Open my heart so that they need not be without succor:
Let me not be afraid to defend the weak because of the anger of the strong,
Nor afraid to defend the poor because of the anger of the rich.
Show me where love and hope and faith are needed,
And use me to bring them to those places.
And so open my eyes and my ears
That I may this coming day be able to do some work of peace for thee.
Amen
—Alan Paton, South African anti-apartheid activist