3rd Week of the Advent - Monday
12th December 2022 (Monday) Readings and Reflection
Dear Brothers and Sisters, we are on the Monday of 3rd Week of the Advent. Today's gospel reflection is on the theme The greatest authority!
Reading of the Day
First Reading: Numbers 24. 2-7, 15-17a
Psalm 1:1-2, 3, 4 and 6 (R. Revelation 2:7b)
Response: To the one who conquers, I will grant to eat of the tree of life.
Gospel :Matthew 21. 23-27
23. And when he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him as he was teaching, and said, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” 24. Jesus answered them, “I also will ask you one question, and if you tell me the answer, then I also will tell you by what authority I do these things. 25. The baptism of John, from where did it come? From heaven or from man?” And they discussed it among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ 26. But if we say, ‘From man,’ we are afraid of the crowd, for they all hold that John was a prophet.” 27. So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.
Daily Gospel Reflection
The Reflection by Fr. Thumma Mariadas Reddy MSFS{alertWarning}
Main Theme: The greatest authority!
Indicative: Where truth is falsified and denied, authority is abused and deteriorated. For truth is the greatest authority and fidelity to truth is the right exercise of authority{alertSuccess}
1. Jesus teaches and preaches, heals and exorcises, confronts, and challenges. The Pharisees and scribes and the Jewish authorities resent him but cannot resist him. They see the truth but cannot accept it due to self-righteousness. They see his greatness but reject it due to jealousy. They see God’s power but deny it due to their obstinacy.
2. So the best way to put him down and put a stop to his ministry is to question his credentials. Who is he? What authority does he have? From whom does he derive his authority? In fact, Jesus already answered and clarified these. He revealed his identity, the source of his authority, and the kind of his authority. He is the Son of God, the Incarnate Messiah. He is authorised and empowered by his Father. And his authority is spiritual.
3. But his opponents are not bothered about these truths. They are not at all interested to know the truth. They are stuck only with his earthly identity as the son of Mary. They seriously object that he has no legal or juridical authority. Thus, he is breaching his limits and acting extra-juridically.
4. Jesus poses a counter-question. He pushes them into a dilemma situation whereby either way they get trapped. By whose and what authority did John the Baptist baptise? Where did his authority come from: from heaven or man?
5. We need not see here Jesus’ way of evasion or even his shrewdness. he refuses to answer them directly, just because they do not deserve an answer. They were not open to see the truth and accept it. There is no point of disclosing the truth to those who are closed.
6. How often we too are closed to the higher truth and higher authority? How rightly Balaam in his oracle indicates that openness to truth gives real spiritual authority!
Imperative: He is open to truth and exercises true authority “whose eye is opened, who hears the word of God, who sees the vision of the Almighty, falling down with his eyes uncovered.”{alertSuccess}
Video Reflection
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