How Dare You? 10-1-23
How Dare You?
Phil 2:1-13; Mt 21:23-32
Phil 2:1-13
If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death— even death on a cross. Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed me, not only in my presence, but much more now in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
Mt 21:23-32
When he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching, and said, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” Jesus said to them, “I will also ask you one question; if you tell me the answer, then I will also tell you by what authority I do these things. Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin?” And they argued with one another, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ we are afraid of the crowd; for all regard John as a prophet.” So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things. “What do you think? A man had two sons; he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ He answered, ‘I will not’; but later he changed his mind and went. The father went to the second and said the same; and he answered, ‘I go, sir’; but he did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him; and even after you saw it, you did not change your minds and believe him.
Prayer – Still speaking God, give us the grace to see you when you show up among us; give us the courage to stop what we are doing and join in your activity in our world; give us the wisdom to step up and do what we can do to set right what is wrong and at the same time to let you work as you will to rectify what we can’t do. Remind us again, that your Son, Jesus the Christ, came in to the world to show us who and what kind of God you are. His showing was intimidating to many, especially those who thought they were in charge, and that as much as anything led to conflict. Help us recognize that conflict occurs, even in the church, and that the way of Jesus reveals all authority needed – amen.
Jesus had just entered Jerusalem, that final week. He had been teaching and preaching and talking with his friends. The previous day he had gone into the temple and cleaned house if you will, throwing out the merchants that demeaned the sacred space, all in the name of buying one’s salvation. The religious rulers were outraged that this itinerant street preacher was asserting some authority in their place of business, worship, and life.
HOW DARE YOU? They all but exclaimed. By what authority? Well, that’s a good question. Authority is the question of the day; or, is it a question of the past? We live in a time when authority is rightly questioned. Not new, according to our gospel passage this morning from Matthew. And to what extent those in power had every right to question Jesus’ authority. I mean, who was this person Jesus, born in a backwoods town, no theological training, no medical training, no reason to think he was anything special to warrant authority in the middle of Roman occupied Palestine. But before we throw the chief priests and elders under the bus, we should be honest – their question is often our question. Many folks claim authority – and rather indiscriminately.
Traditionally, one gets authority based on a position to which they are elected. And yet, you don’t typically have to prove or justify that your authority authorizes. Just because one holds an office that has had a history of authority should not necessarily mean that authority is granted. Authority is proved. Tested. Lived. Otherwise, we have every right to say “no” to it, to question it, to resist, to take a knee. Just because one has been elected does not mean he, or she, gets to have authority over my life. You do not get to author how I make sense of my life. You do not get to assume my automatic acquiescence to your authority. And if you do, how dare you!
I can imagine if any of you are like me there were times when you questioned the authority of someone else. I must confess that as a teenager my tendency was to push back against the authority of my parents, teachers, coaches and probably even God. Trying to exert my own personhood, to define myself as an individual meant that those who I had previously given much authority became much less authoritative in my life. That didn’t always sit very well with my parents to say the least, nor my flippant nature with some of my teachers and coaches. Interestingly I never heard much from God about my pushback. It seems that at least for me, questioning authority was almost as natural as breathing. I wonder if questioning authority was just as easy for you too?
In our gospel passage this morning, Matthew is not content with the simple claim that Jesus possesses divine power, nor even that his power surpasses that of worldly leaders. Matthew focuses on the nature, source and consequences of Jesus’ power. He aims to demonstrate not only that Jesus is more powerful than the world’s powers, but that his power is of a different kind, a power that produces healing and reconciliation rather than alienation and violence. From the moment of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem that final week, Matthew focuses even more insistently on the assertion, demonstration, defense and finally the affirmation of Jesus’ authority.
Our passage this morning is the first of several challenges to Jesus’ authority by the chief priests and elders of the people that week of Passover. The political authority and legitimacy of the priestly leaders in Jerusalem, who ruled at Rome’s pleasure, was itself highly questioned by the people. The elders, who were the wealthy elites, and the chief priests controlled large parcels of land in Judea and beyond, making them virtually identical with the rich and powerful of today, and consequently are the frequent targets of Jesus’ parables. Then, just as now, the chief priests and elders, the 1%, do not represent the people; instead, they both fear and seek to manipulate the crowds to carry out their will. Sounds familiar doesn’t it?
If people aren’t questioning authority, they should, according to Jesus. True authority demands a perceived and palpable connection between who you are and what you do. Between what you say and what you do. Authority never goes over well when it is supposed or presumed. There is a correlation between word and deed, between ideas and implementations, between vision and action. Authority should only be granted when there is integrity. If a person enters into a position of authority with nary a nod to how their words are lived out, their authority should, at the very least, be questioned and ultimately, be stripped of its power.
The meaning or definition of authority is complicated, primarily because there is no one meaning. While we may long for an easy litmus test of sorts to assess authority properly, unfortunately, an understanding of authority in one instance does not mean it will be in another. Authority seems to be contextually defined, although we may have a hard time admitting that. And that might make us nervous – how do we assess authority if its definition can change on a whim? If isn’t a whim, how do we define and allocate authority when it is deeply intertwined with its function in a particular time and place. And questions of authority are even more present and potent in times and circumstances when it seems like it’s anyone’s for the taking. Case in point, first century Judaism – and most certainly 21st century maneuverings for power and control.
It would be one thing if our reflection ended right now but I would be remiss if I didn’t also assess that as a minister of word and sacrament I am granted a heck of a lot authority as well. What do I do with that kind of authority? How do I tend an authority given to me simply for the reason of the office I hold? What do I do as an authority figure for folks here at Trinity Grace and Baylor All Saints? Have I misused that authority in my ministry? Those are questions I ask myself perhaps more often that I should, but I feel that it is pretty darn important to practice self-reflection.
We are in a time when authority is not a given, on every level. Within the context of the institutional church, people like me have insisted that theological and doctrinal claims about God take precedence over one’s experience of God, that those in the know can really know God. And as a result, professional Christians like me have protected our authority as theologians, perpetuating the façade that we have all the answers. You and I both know that some of the best theologians are those who have experienced God in the pews, in the gutters and everywhere in between.
For far too long, we have preached that a sufficient faith is a creedal faith. Believe it, and you are saved. Come to church, listen to a fantastic sermon, and you are good to go. The truth of the matter is that our sermons have absolutely no authority at all if they do not compel folks to live their faith. They have no authority at all if they don’t help people interpret the world theologically. They have no authority at all if they do not articulate what it looks like to embody faith in the real world.
Perhaps we need to dare, we need to question, we need to make sure that whoever has authority, lives it out with integrity and faithfulness to something bigger themselves. So whether applied to me, to world leaders, to folks who share in worship leadership, to folks who struggle to live life faith-fully, authority has something to do with being of the same mind, the same love, doing nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourself; not looking to our own interests, but to the interests of others; being of the same mind as the perfect model of faithful living, the Christ. Love, selflessness, humility, regard for the other, caring for the other, emptying, vulnerability – not the usual characteristics associated with authority. You see, we all, those in church and those in politics, need to incarnate an authority that reveals the integration of self and call. Of identity and vocation. Of authenticity and embodiment. And when it comes particularly to those of us in the church – ideas, creeds, doctrines, even Scripture are not the only source of authority. The truest test of our authority is whether or not we believe in, make possible, embody and live out Immanuel – God with us – in the world. May it be so – thanks be to God – amen.