Authority is a very important concept in faith teaching. When we are taught about our faith we need to believe in the authority of our teacher or at least in the material he is teaching otherwise we will doubt everything they claim. The scribes and Pharisees drew their teaching authority from their scriptures and the traditional interpretations of them. When they spoke it was with the authority of the Old Testament. However, Jesus speaks with his own authority and this astonishes his crowds because he does not depend upon the Old Testament. This is because Jesus Christ is the embodiment of the New Testament. He fulfills the old and grants new insights into it through his teachings. His authority challenges the long held beliefs of those who hear him just as it challenges us today.
Who is the authority we turn to in the midst of the world? Is it Jesus Christ and His message of the Gospel or is it ourselves and our sometimes misguided interpretations of the Good News? What can we do to internalize and externalize the authority of God in our lives?
O Lord, you teach the Gospel with authority. Help us to receive your teaching with an open heart and willing spirit.
Amen.
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