Matthew 21: 23-27
When Jesus 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.
New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.
Jesus is His Parents’ Son
What are “these things” that Jesus was doing that so upset the religious and lay leaders in today’s Gospel passage? We see in v. 12-17 that just the day before Jesus had shockingly disrupted the marketplace in the temple. When he explained his behavior, he taught the people: re-turning them to God and God’s purposes, re-turning them to prayer, and re-turning them to themselves by healing them. It was these actions that caused the religious and lay leaders to ask the provocative question, “By what authority are you doing these things?”
Jesus re-turned their question with one of his own, asking them if John’s baptism was, “of heavenly or human origin?”
Jesus is his parents’ son. I hear in Jesus’ response the internalization of what must have been the many tellings of his miraculous birth. Undoubtedly, Mary and Joseph would have shared with Jesus their skill in listening for and following the voice of God in their lives… even when it was disruptive to their expectations of life and community, even when it made no sense, and even when it seemingly went against the very good and core values that ordered their lives. And so, Jesus, with his upbringing as a Jewish boy raised by parents with a profound faith and trust in God’s direct promises to them, would have learned to hear, prioritize, and consent to the authority, purpose, calling, and presence of God in his life.
As we see in the Gospel, not everyone has the courage to consent to this truth.
But thank heavens, Mary, Joseph, and Jesus did.
Can we do the same?
—Laura Gilmartin H. facilitates Urban Plunge immersion retreats through Casa Romero: A Jesuit Renewal Center, serves on the leadership team of the Ignatian Volunteer Corps of Milwaukee, and maintains a private spiritual care practice for monthly spiritual direction as well as the accompaniment of people through The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola. She completed her formation to serve in this capacity through the Seminars in Ignatian Formation with the Midwest Province.
Prayer
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed:
the Almighty has done great things for me,
And holy is his Name.
—Magnificat, Luke 1:46-49
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