Monday of the Third Week of Advent
The Memorial of St Lucy
Year C
Reading: Numbers 24: 2-7; 15-17
Responsorial Psalm: PS 25: 4-9
“Teach me your ways, O Lord.”
Gospel: Matthew 21: 23-27
Matthew 21:23 – “By what authority are you doing these things?”
In today’s Gospel the chief priests and elders question Jesus: “By what authority are you doing these things? And who gave you this authority?”
The Greek word used for “authority” is most enlightening: exousia. It means, literally, “from the being of.” Jesus speaks with the very exousia of God, and therefore, his words effect what they say. He says, “Lazarus, come out!” and the dead man comes out of the tomb. He rebukes the wind and says to the sea, “Be still!” and there is calm. And the night before he dies, he takes bread and says, “This is my body.” And what he says is.
Friends, this is the authority of the Church. If we are simply the guardians of one interesting philosophical perspective among many, then we are powerless. If we rely on our own cleverness in argumentation, then we will fail. Our power comes—and this remains a great mystery—only when we speak with the authority of Jesus Christ.
Pray for the opportunity for greater acts of love today.
With thanks to Holy Name of Mary Parish, Hunters Hill, who have supplied these daily Advent and Christmas 2021 reflections from their publication Daily Inspirations of Faith: A Season of Prayer – Advent to Epiphany 2021-22.
