True Authority

4^th Sunday of Ordinary Time

February 1, 2015

Mark 1:21-28

“The people were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority…(Mark 1:22)”

How do we get our authority? How can we speak with credibility? What makes other people trust us? Some persons think that these good characters naturally flow from our position. We get authority because we stand at a higher ground in the family, in the company, or in the Church. Because we are the head of the family, we start dictating other family members what to do. Since we are the manager, we feel powerful and has upper hand over other employees. Or just because we are ordained as a priest, we stop listening to the faithful and doing only what we desire. Yet, this is not the real thing.

Many leadership gurus like John Maxwell and Peter Drucker argue that being in a position is the lowest kind of leadership. In today’s Gospel, we see the same problem with the teachers of the law in Capernaum. They thought that they got the authority to interpret the Law of Moses simply because of their particular place in the synagogue, and worse, the townsfolk had to obey them. Fr. Adrian Adiredjo, OP, my friend and one of my mentors, once said to me, “When you are on the top, people will only see your ass.” Surely, the people deserve much better than our ‘ass’.

Another item in our list is the authority by brute force. Some persons have a conception that their big muscle will give them an edge over those weaker people, forcing them to do what they want. This attitude is well reflected by our antagonist of today’s Gospel, the evil spirit. As a fallen angel, his strength surpasses any human being, and unluckily, the poor guy in synagogue could not resist him. Then by coercion, his body was possessed and controlled by the malignant spirit. This is practically an act of bullying, and unfortunately, bullying takes place in almost all levels of society, from high school students to the government officials. This again is not lasting. When the people find their true courage, they can fight for their freedom and the oppressors are rendered powerless.

Jesus enters into a picture to give us a true meaning of authority. Definitely, he did not have any position like the Jewish teachers neither he possessed superior physical strength and weapons, but people listened to and followed Him. His authority is born from His genuine love and care for others. He did not only talk, but walked the talk. He felt what the people suffered and got involved in solving their problems. He gave true courage and power to those who were weak, afraid and oppressed. He simply loved and took care of His friends. In return, people respected Jesus because they knew the substantial changes took place in their lives.

To gain authority through position or force is passé. Like Jesus, our sincere effort to love others and to make people grow should become the barometer of our authority.

Br. Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP