The Third Monday of Advent -- December 12, 2011

Matthew 21:23 - 27

Jesus entered the temple courts, and, while he was teaching, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him. “By what authority are you doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave you this authority?”

Jesus replied, “I will also ask you one question. If you answer me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. John’s baptism—where did it come from? Was it from heaven, or of human origin?”

They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ But if we say, ‘Of human origin’—we are afraid of the people, for they all hold that John was a prophet.”

So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”

Then he said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things."


I sometimes say to people that the longest journey they will ever take is the 16 inches from their head to their heart.

Of course, that's a metaphorical journey, but the point is that for those of us who spend a lot of time in our head thinking about, understanding, and figuring out, a life that involves the heart and soul can seem very foreign. In fact, many of us resist that life.

We are a society and generation that lives with the belief that having the right knowledge is the key to life. If you just know enough, or know the right things, you can succeed and get ahead. We measure people by how much they know. We formally give them titles, even add to their names: "Dr.", "Rev.", "Ph.D.", "Prof.", "J.D.", and so on.

We value formal education and use it to rank people, to place them in an appropriate slot in a tiered-system of worth.

I'm not against education or knowing.

I am against giving it ultimate authority in our world.

So in the text for today, at least these two things happened:

First, the chief priests and elders were completely given to games of the mind, figuring out and discussing who Jesus was and how he had the credentials to do what he was doing. These accusers -- really trying to entrap Jesus -- lived in a world where figuring things out, then debating or discussing them, was the norm for life. In that sense, they were very much like we are in the 21st century.

But Jesus resisted their head-games by proposing for them a question they could not answer, a riddle they could not solve.

Second, Jesus appeared on the scene without formal credentials. He had no authority in the traditional sense, no external validation -- degrees, positions, formal titles -- for who he was and what he was doing. His validation was internal, experiential, and these leaders who lived in a world of rank, status, and external validation had no frame of reference for this One who lived only with the internal validation of the Father.

The text challenges what I value.

The text challenges how I see people and relate to others by virtue of title and position.

The text affirms the inner authority that comes from experience and personal engagement with God.

I'm trying to make a 16-inch journey.