The Voice of Authority

Good Morning All,

“You’re not the boss of me!” That’s how I began last week’s message and we all laughed a bit but more than this, we could all relate to the phrase, either having heard children or young people say it or having said it ourselves. And while it sounds more childish than childlike, and we might not say it aloud, my hunch is, we still think it when we come up against people in authority or who at least think they’re in authority!

Which then brings us to yet another other phrase, “Question Authority…” a great phrase to live by as we attempt to discern who we will or will not grant that power over us. And that’s what's at issue here, isn’t it? Who is it to whom we grant or do not grant authority? There are the usual answers like, “parents; grandparents or other older family members; bosses; teachers; law enforcement personnel; newscasters & journalists (the meteorologists obviously cannot be trusted due to their erroneous forecast last evening) :); scout leaders; coaches; the President, as one child said last Sunday…whose voices and what they have to say to us, bring with them, some sense of authority. And we often respond by taking it all in; learning from what is said; searching for the facts; and/or by doing as we are asked or commanded to do so.

Then there are all the other voices in our lives that bombard our space and demand to be heard…commercials and come-ons that try to take money from your pockets; folks who seem a bit shady or untrustworthy; people who speak in convincing ways that seem too good to be true and usually are…people who are simply trying to take advantage of us…and of course our own consciences.

All of this can leave us a bit confused about authority in general. We hear so much about the breakdown in authority at many a turn--within so many homes and family life; in the classroom; on the playing field; in politics and government at every level; and in the Church at large.
Which voices do we listen to? We must take time to listen to all those around in an effort to clearly discern which voice is the voice of authority –a voice that can make a real difference in one’s life.

In Mark 1: 21-28 we are presented with a story of Jesus teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum when he is interrupted by a severely deranged man who cries out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?" "Have you come to destroy us?" “I know who you are, the Holy One of God…” And Jesus responds by speaking to the unclean spirit who has taken up residence within the man. "Quiet! Get out of him!" And with that, the afflicting spirit threw the man into spasms, protesting loudly—and got out.

It’s easy to readily dismiss demons/unclean spirits in the literal sense, but very few of us can dismiss the presence of evil in this world. Call it what you will; describe it as you will; most of us can attest to the certain influences in our lives; the power of all kinds of voices that speak all too loudly; those that grab hold of us as if holding us hostage; those forces or mindsets that seek to wound or even destroy our spirits; as we allow them to take root and even residence in our minds and hearts.

These forces shout in the voice of arrogance, the voice of fear, the voice of shame, the voice of prejudice and hatred. They replay mental tapes of unworthiness or inability to do anything right; they so greatly influence how we view people who are different from us and allow us to discriminate against them… We can't conquer any of these demons alone…but conquer them, we must; or we will at some point, self-destruct, losing any and all perspective about what it means to be a child of God. We have to lean into our faith: the love, the forgiveness that is not only at the core of what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ, but is woven into the fabric of our faith. Jesus, the Word made flesh, spoke with real authority, a voice that belongs to God…are you listening? Blessings, Joanne