QUESTIONING  AUTHORITY 

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this 3^rd Monday in Advent  is, “Questioning Authority.”

TODAY’S GOSPEL

In today’s gospel from Matthew 21: 23-27,  the chief priests and the elders question Jesus about his authority to say and to do the things he was saying and doing.

They ask him, “By what authority…?”

The word in Greek in the Gospel text  for authority is, “EXOUSIA”.

It means the right to exercise authority, power, right – to make the rules.

It means trying to nail down by what right does someone possess authority, power, rule, right – to try to make others behave the way the one who gives the orders wants things to be done. It has to do with a right that is recognized by the community. It’s all about public credibility. It’s dealing with legitimation.

THREE QUOTES

Let me throw out three quotes.

First quote: I’ve often heard that St. Thomas Aquinas said, “Authority is the weakest form of argument.”

By what authority is he saying this?

I never asked that question before. However, since I’m thinking out loud about “authority” in this homily, I’d guess that he’s making that comment from experience.  Did he hear too many thinkers and theologians make comments on their own and he disagreed with the commentator – because they couldn’t prove their statement with good enough arguments to satisfy Thomas.

Second quote:  “Liberty is the possibility of doubting, the possibility of making a mistake, the possibility of searching and experimenting, the possibility of saying “No” to any authority – literary, artistic, philosophic, religious, social and even political.” Ignazio Silone in Essay in The God That Failed [1950]

We have the gift of being about to doubt and ask questions and to say, “No!”

We also have to face the consequences that come from our thinking and doing stuff outside the box.

The third quote is from Abigail Adams. In a May 7, 1776 Letter to John Adams she says,

“While you are proclaiming peace and good will to men, emancipating all nations, you insist upon retaining an absolute power over wives.  But you must remember that arbitrary power is like most other things which are very hard, very liable to be broken – and notwithstanding all your wise laws and maxims we have it in our power not only to free ourselves but to subdue our masters, and without violence throw both your natural and legal authority at our feet.”  Abigail Adams, May 7 1776, Letter to John Adams.

MAJOR ISSUE

So authority – using it – questioning it – exerting it – is a major issue in life.

Authority issues appear every day – in all kinds of ways.

By what authority can someone demonstrate – block traffic – or what have you.

I know that in the United States we have First Amendment rights to express and articulate one’s opinions – but I also know that one can’t scream “Fire!” in a crowded movie house.

By what authority can someone grab another – try to stop someone – Taser another – etc. etc.

That’s the stuff in the public arena.

Here is an example  that deals with the issue of authority from the private sector.

This past Thanksgiving at a big family gathering, we were playing cards – Shanghai Rummy. In the last hand the question came up: do you have to have a lay down card or does every card have to go into one’s hand to go down and end the game. One person said every card has to fit; another said – you have to have one last card to throw out to end the game. Who was right?  An argument began. We found out during the argument that followed that one person was playing Brooklyn rules; another person was playing with Scranton rules; another was playing Maryland rules.

Who had the authority?

Everyone – as long as all agree on the rules of the game – before the game begins – or when we commonly decide on how we’re going to play the game.

CONCLUSION

Common sense, common discussion, common agreements are what is key to the issue of authority – not yelling, not bullying – but the common good.