With Authority

This sermon was heard at the First Presbyterian Church in Berryville, Arkansas on Sunday September 28, 2008, the 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Exodus 17:1-7
Psalm 78:1-4, 12-16
Philippians 2:1-13
Matthew 21:23-32

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen.

I’m a big sports fan, gee, you didn’t know, right? Growing up in the suburbs of Kansas City I cut my sports fan teeth rooting for the Royals and the Chiefs, loving their glory years and mourning their down years. I remember the Kansas City Spurs Soccer club from the late 1960’s; the Scouts hockey team, who are now the New Jersey Devils; the NBA’s Kings who are now in Sacramento; and even various and sundry incarnations of indoor soccer Comets.

I watch a lot of ESPN, “The Worldwide Leader in Sports.” I love watching SportsCenter, the highlights show. Just a glimpse of the home team helps me through the day. But there’s a guilty pleasure too, I love the banter. Some people say they tell too many jokes, make too many puns, but that’s just fine with me. Each announcer has at least one phrase that is theirs alone, a tag line. It is a way for the audience to identify the announcer. And they can hang on for years.

One of my favorites belonged to a man named Larry Beil who hasn’t been on the network in ten years. I still remember the way he would talk as a basketball player drove to the hoop, rising above the rim, slamming the ball down “with authority.” The way he said “with authority” became so popular that it was even mocked by the creators of the cartoon “South Park” in the voice of Eric Cartman. Cartman often tells other characters “Respect my authori-tie!”

The authority of a basketball player driving the lane or a cartoon third grader is one thing, but the authority challenged by the chief priests and the elders is another. Authority is one of the points of our gospel reading today. As Jesus is in the temple teaching the people, the chief priests and elders come in to challenge him. They asked “by what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority.” These are good questions and deserve good answers.

In the ancient sense, authority is the ability to do something “to the extent that there are no hindrances in the way.” [1] We mustn’t confuse this with the concept of power. Power is the intrinsic ability to do something where authority is having the right to use that power. So authority comes when there is nothing in the way of using power.

Before we answer the chief priests’ and elders’ questions, let’s answer the question about their authority to ask their questions. When the chief priest[2] enters the sanctuary, he bears the names of the twelve tribes of Israel on his breastplate. This shows that he represents the whole people of Israel.[3] Only the chief priest can enter the Holy of Holies, and only on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, to make recompense for the nation's sin. The Chief Priest is important to the people and the temple. Representing the people, the entire nation, he has the power and the authority to ask Jesus “what in the name of all that’s holy are you doing, and by what authority.”

As for the elders, while they had their own power and authority, in this situation, I see them as the faithful entourage behind the chief priest. They were a Greek chorus if you will echoing the words and sentiments of their leader.

Sure, the priests, the elders, the scribes, and the Pharisees get a bad rap, often deserved, but we must remember they have the authority to ask these questions. When we ask the chief priests who they are, they are the ones with the authority to ask Jesus who he is. If they don’t they neglect their responsibilities and their duties.

So now that we have established that the chief priests, with the elders in tow, have the authority to ask, let’s answer their question, “By what authority are you, Jesus, doing these things, and who gave you this authority?”

Authority comes from someone who is greater. The Lord of the Manor is granted authority from the King. The head of a corporation receives authority from the shareholders. The chief priest receives his authority from the Lord established in Exodus. What is the source of Jesus’ authority? The joy of this answer is that the authority of Jesus is the authority the Father freely gives his Son.

The Father gives the Son the authority over all things in heaven and on earth. The Son is no junior partner; he has the full power and authority of the Father and the Holy Spirit. He does what he sees the Father doing. He works where he sees the Father working.

Jesus receives no single commission, no focused ministry. Jesus doesn’t run the “earth-and-humanity-division” of God’s good creation. His authority is his own rule in free agreement with the father.[4] The Father endows the Son to do the work.

To quote the Presbyterian Church’s Book of Order, “All power in heaven and earth is given to Jesus Christ by Almighty God, who raised Christ from the dead and set him above all rule and authority, all power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.”[5]

There is a reason Jesus doesn’t say all of this though. This story, as it hinges on authority isn’t about authority. This is the first of a group of five stories in Matthew’s gospel where Jesus’ opponents try to trap him, but are bested by him in public debate. Yes, the chief priests and the elders have the authority to ask, to challenge Jesus, but they had bad intentions. They sought to trap and kill Jesus, but this was not the time for that. That time won’t come until Good Friday. By the reckoning of time in Matthew’s narrative, that time comes in less than one week.

Given in freedom, not surrendered under coercion or taken by force, the Father gives the Son all that is His and trusts the Son with the Word and the work. Continuing in freedom, Jesus imparts his authority to the body he leaves on earth, the Church. As the Head of the Church to whom all power is given, he gives it to the disciples in his age and in every age.

We are the stewards of God’s creation; we are the body of Christ on earth. We are called to continue his ministry empowered by the Holy Spirit. This is a solemn responsibility we are called to follow. As I say it like this, it sounds weighty, nothing we can do on our own, but this is the glory of God, we are not on our own. Continuing the previous quote from the Book of Order, “God has put all things under the Lordship of Jesus Christ and has made Christ Head of the Church, which is his body.”[6]

Christ calls the Church into being, giving it all that is necessary for its mission to the world, for its building up, and for service to God and all creation. Christ is present with the Church in both Spirit and Word.

But what does that mean? What are we called to do as the body of Christ? If you will, what is the scope of our authority?

One of the ways the church describes itself is by something called The Great Ends of the Church. The Great Ends have been a part of American Presbyterianism for over 100 years. The great ends of the church are the proclamation of the gospel for the salvation of humankind; the shelter, nurture, and spiritual fellowship of the children of God; the maintenance of divine worship; the preservation of the truth; the promotion of social righteousness; and the exhibition of the Kingdom of Heaven to the world.[7]

This congregation, this part of the body of Christ has its own description of how we show Christ to the world. Our Mission Statement says we gather and welcome the broken people of the world and through God’s love make us one. I love this and believe it is a mission we follow in our lives inside and outside these walls.

Still, the Great Ends and our mission statement may seem a little wordy. That’s the problem with mission statements is that they are heavy on intention, but light on execution. They are great for saying what we want to do, but not so much on how we are going to do it. So how is authority imparted to this part of the body of Christ? How do we exercise it?

The Session, which is the Minister and the Elders, the Session is responsible for the mission and government of each individual congregation.[8] For this congregation, within these seven people, with Christ as the head of the Church, is all power and authority vested to do the work of God on earth.

This includes opportunities for evangelism to be learned and practiced in and by the church so that members may be better equipped to articulate their faith, to witness in word and deed to the saving grace of Jesus Christ, and to invite persons into a new life in Christ.[9] This includes receiving members into the church.[10] This includes leading the congregation in participation in the mission of the whole Church in the world.[11] This includes ordering worship;[12] including preaching the word, celebrating the sacraments, and praying in song and silence.

Oh, the Session does much. There are a lot of duties in nineteen sections plus subsections found in the Book of Order. Some of these are specifically administered by the Minister of Word and Sacrament, others are not. Some are reserved and others are delegated.

But the rubber meets the road where each member of the church exercises their authority as the children of God. Again, this comes from the Book of Order:[13] We accept Christ’s call to be involved in the responsibly in the ministry of his Church by:

Proclaiming the good news,
Taking part in the common life and worship,
Praying and studying Scripture and the faith of the Christian Church,
Supporting the work of the church through the giving of money, time, and talents,
Participating in the governing responsibilities of the church,
Demonstrating a new quality of life within and through the church,
Responding to God’s activity in the world through service to others,
Living responsibly in the personal, family, vocational, political, cultural, and social relationships of life,
Working in the world for peace, justice, freedom, and human fulfillment.

This is what we have all been called to do. We have the power and we have the authority. By the power and authority of the Triune God these are our responsibilities with the authority to exercise them. The power has been demonstrated for us by God incarnate, our Lord Jesus Christ. The authority has been given through his Lordship to his body which is the church. After his death and resurrection, we became empowered to continue his work by the presence of God’s Holy Spirit.

Finally, this authority has been given to us with the assumption that we will be good stewards; exercising good use of the authority we have been given. It is essential that we pursue the ends and goals of the Church in the nature of Christ.[14] As the Apostle Paul told the Philippians, we are to be of the same mind, acting in the interests of others, not ourselves. We are to be in the same mind as was in Christ Jesus. A mind not shared by the chief priests and elders.

As the church, we are called to God’s continuing work on earth. We are called to worship and praise. We are called to service and mission. We are called to extol his name in evangelism. In the words of St. Francis we are all called to “preach the gospel, and if necessary use words.” And through the power of our Lord we can, with authority.

[1] Kittel, Gerhard, “Theological Dictionary of the New Testament.” Geoffrey Bromiley, translator and editor. Volume II, Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1964, pages 562.
[2] Priests and Levites, Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible
[3] Exodus 28:29
[4] Kittel, page 568
[5] PC(USA) Book of Order, G-1.0100a
[6] Ibid.
[7] Ibid, G-1.0200
[8] Ibid G-10.0102
[9] Ibid G-10.0102a
[10] Ibid G-10.0102b
[11] Ibid G-10.0102c
[12] Ibid. G-10.0102d
[13] Ibid. G5-0102a-i
[14] Kittel, page 568