JANUARY 28, 2017
7:30 AM, 5:30 PM ORDINARY FORM (ENGLISH) MASSES
Born in 1864, Maximilian Karl Emil Weber – or just “Max” Weber – was a German sociologist and philosopher. He was a mover and shaker in the field of methodological antipositivism – which means (as best as I can break it down) that when studying social settings, you don’t know what you think you know because you think you know what you see but it may not be what you think you’re seeing because of what you’re thinking.
I know. Somewhere, there is a very . . . very . . . long . . . single German compound word for that.
I know. Somewhere, there is a very . . . very . . . long . . . single German compound word for that.
Another area he wrote on is authority.
Weber described three types of authority.
- Charismatic Authority – this would be what we might call the “popularity contest.”
- Traditional Authority – this would be something like an “hereditary monarchy.”
- Rational-Legal Authority – this would be a “rule of law” as set down in a constitution.
He indicates that what distinguishes authority from coercion, force and power on the one hand, and leadership, persuasion and influence on the other hand, is legitimacy – which is more of a “nesting” of these three types of authority.
So, for example, no matter how reasonable someone may be, people don’t vote for someone they do not like. And sometimes voters have been known to vote on name recognition alone.
I suppose we can agree with Weber that authority, while apparently a simple concept, is multi-layered, and not always easy to explain.
Today is the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time. In today’s Gospel, we hear that
The people were astonished at [Jesus’] teaching,
for he taught them as one having authority . . .
And after Jesus drives out the demon,
All were amazed and asked one another,
"What is this?
A new teaching with authority.
But in a way very different from the authority people were used to: that is, the coercive authority of the Romans; or the traditional authority of the Scribes and Pharisees.
And although the Gospel writer goes on to tell us that
His fame spread everywhere throughout the whole region,
Jesus’ authority is more than just based on popularity.
If you examine the word “authority” you see that the first six letters spell “author.”
And as the Son of God, Jesus’ authority comes not from learning or from hearsay – but when He speaks, it is because He is directly connected to the Author of all creation.
Jesus doesn’t just know the truth. Jesus is the Truth – as He says elsewhere in Scripture:
I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life.
And so while Jesus has gained renown among the people – that is, charisma; and while He holds the title “Son of David” – in a sense having claim to the traditional throne of Israel. His authority is deeper and more intense than any sort of human authority.
What we may miss in regards to the entire Gospel message is that God has come to rule his people – that is, set up the Kingdom of God – with an authority that transcends our own understanding of authority – in a way that we are just not able to explain, define, or realize fully.
St. Paul continues to explain the difficult task we hold as citizens of the Kingdom of God who still are living in the world. And I think he’s having trouble getting it into words.
Even Moses tries to tell the people that God will rule over the People of Israel – respecting their fear of direct contact with the Almighty – through a prophet. But, if we look through Scripture, it is clear that Israel struggled with how to apply God’s rule in their own midst and did not listen to the prophets.
For ourselves, God desires to reign in our hearts, in our lives, and in everything we do. The challenge for us – as it has been for all people of all times – is to not fear God’s authority, but to realize that the Gospel brings us true freedom: a freedom from sin; a freedom from fear; and a freedom from death. But only God holds the authority in this; and He has set things up for us to succeed, if only we would let Him in.
We hold the key in that we have to choose to be for or against God. We belong to heaven, but live in the world. We have a sort of dual citizenship – heaven and earth – and God is not only a respecter of persons . . . He respects our choices – even if that choice means eternal separation from Him.
As we approach this altar to receive the Sacred Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ – let us pray that we might be open to the authority of God . . . allowing ourselves to truly live as citizens of His Kingdom. Let us surrender ourselves – heart and mind, body and soul – to the author of all things … letting go, and letting God – so that He, and He alone might truly reign in us.
