15th December. Monday of Advent, Week 3

First Reading: Numbers 24:2-7, 15-17

(Balaam predicts the Age of the Messiah)

Balaam looked up and saw Israel camping tribe by tribe. Then the spirit of God came upon him, and he uttered his oracle, saying: “The oracle of Balaam son of Beor, the oracle of the man whose eye is clear, the oracle of one who hears the words of God, who sees the vision of the Almighty, who falls down, but with eyes uncovered: how fair are your tents, O Jacob, your encampments, O Israel! Like palm-groves that stretch far away, like gardens beside a river, like aloes that the Lord has planted, like cedar trees beside the waters. Water shall flow from his buckets, and his seed shall have abundant water, his king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted.

So he uttered his oracle, saying: “The oracle of Balaam son of Beor, the oracle of the man whose eye is clear, the oracle of one who hears the words of God, and knows the knowledge of the Most High, who sees the vision of the Almighty, who falls down, but with his eyes uncovered: I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near — a star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel; it shall crush the borderlands of Moab, and the territory of all the Shethites.

Gospel: Matthew 21:23-27

(The authority of Jesus is challenged)

When he 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.

Facing up to the truth

We must be honest with ourselves, with others and with God who is over all. We cannot forever dodge questions, camouflage the truth, and bluff our way along. In the case of Balaam, a foreign prophet was hired by Balak, king of Moab, to curse Israel. Yet the messengers of the king could not induce him to act against the Lord’s will. Balaam replied: “Even if Balak gave me his house full of silver and gold, I could not act contrary to the command of the Lord, my God. But wait till I learn what else the Lord may tell me (Num 22:18-19).

Balaam was anxious that God’s guidance should be agreeable to the king. “Stay overnight,” he says, maybe tomorrow I will learn something else from the Lord! The story has a touch of grim humor. Balaam deludes himself with the hope that the Lord might change the message to one congenial to the Moabite King, but the donkey on which he was riding talks back to its master. When beaten into submission, the donkey answers back: “Am I not your own beast? have you not always ridden me?” The implication is: animals are more obedient than human beings. We can resist the truth more than they do.

The Jewish leaders feared the people’s wrath if they said openly that John the Baptist was a fake. Yet neither would they admit that John spoke with divine authority. So their reply to Jesus was: “We do not know!” – a hypocritical agnostic line. It was cowardly to remain neutral when such a person as John speaks in the name of God. The Baptist preached the solid virtues of honesty, generosity, hope, humility, loyalty. “Let whoever has two coats give to those who have none. Tax collectors, demand no more than is right. Soldiers, do not bully the people. One mightier than I is coming after me. . .” Finally, he was imprisoned and executed for denouncing Herod the Tetrarch for incest with his brother’s wife (Matt 14:3).

Sophisticated people of academia or religion – all of us when we are comfortable and secure – will continually be challenged by common folk to recognise the honest-to-God truth. Unless we listen to them and reply humbly Jesus will say to us: “Neither will I tell you on what authority I do the things I do.”

***

By What Authority?

Tthe religious leaders put a question to Jesus, “What authority have you for acting like this?” The context was Jesus’ cleansing of the temple in Jerusalem. They wanted to know what authority Jesus had for doing what he did. He did not answer their question, because it was the question of people who were not open to what God was doing in the life of John the Baptist or in the life of Jesus. Those of us who read Matthew’s gospel in faith know the answer to the question of the religious leaders. Jesus’ authority to do what he did in the temple derives from the fact that he is Emmanuel, God-with-us. God was present and active in and through Jesus and that gave Jesus the authority to do what he did in the temple, the house of God. Jesus’ sometimes used his authority to heal the broken and to enlighten those in darkness. At other times he used his authority to renew what needed renewing. Archbishop Dermot Martin said last Friday that the coming pastoral letter from the Pope may well call for a very significant reorganization of the church in Ireland. The church is always in need of renewal and reform. The Lord continues to exercise his authority today by prompting and guiding such renewal as it is needed. This Advent we are asked to humbly open our hearts to this good work of the Lord in our own lives and in the life of our church. [MH]

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