MONDAY OF THE THIRD WEEK OF ADVENT DECEMBER 13, 2021

MASS READINGS

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mt 21:23-27

When Jesus had come into the temple area, the chief priests and the elders of the people approached 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 in reply, “I shall ask you one question, and if you answer it for me, then I shall tell you by what authority I do these things. Where was John’s baptism from? Was it of heavenly or of human origin?” They discussed this among themselves and said, “If we say ‘Of heavenly origin,’ he will say to us, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’ But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ we fear the crowd, for they all regard John as a prophet.” So they said to Jesus in reply, “We do not know.” He himself said to them, “Neither shall I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

REFLECTION

“I shall ask you one question, and if you answer it for me, then I shall tell you by what authority I do these things.

Our titles identify the authority we have. King, Queen, Doctor, Judge, Father, Pope, Bishop, Conductor Coach, mom, dad, etc.

And with the title is understood what they can do. One would not expect a King to do an appendectomy, nor a Judge to say Mass. And with their authority one would then conclude that they have the training, the expertise and the ability to perform.

The authority of Jesus comes from His Father. He does not force anyone to follow Him. Instead He invites, gives and leads those who want to follow Him. Jesus is the Messiah, the Savior: He forgives and heals. He loves us!

In asking the question about John the Baptist and his authority--if the Pharisees said it was from God, then they would need to believe that Jesus was the Messiah. And if they said that it did not come from God, then the crowd would have been very upset.

Thought of the Day: One needs to be alert and aware of what is going on. Attentive to what we hear and assertive in our beliefs and work on our ability to defend our faith. Many want us to fail and want to push the world and their agenda. Follow the leader, follow Jesus.

God Bless You