F
Fergal
Guest
GOSPEL: *Mark 11:27-33
*Jesus and his disciples came to Jerusalem, and as Jesus was walking in the Temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to him, and they said to him, ‘What authority have you for acting like this? Or who gave you authority to do these things?’ Jesus said to them, ‘I will ask you a question, only one; answer me and I will tell you my authority for acting like this. John’s baptism: did it come from heaven, or from man? Answer me that.’ And they argued it out this way among themselves: ‘If we say from heaven, he will say, “Then why did you refuse to believe him?” But dare we say from man?’ - they had the people to fear, for everyone held that John was a real prophet. So their reply to Jesus was, ‘We do not know’. And Jesus said to them, ‘Nor will I tell you my authority for acting like this’.
The Gospel reading today gives a wonderful example of why people remain blind to the will and the wisdom of Christ.
The the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to put Him, once again to the test. In their blindness, only their self imposed wisdom gave them a false sense of security when approaching Him. They put this question to Him, "What authority have you for acting like this? Or who gave you authority to do these things?" They obviously spent much time teasing this one out. See how they would only approach when they had formulated an argument amongst themselves that would corner and trap Christ. Closed hearts and on the surface seemingly open minds. Sad state.
Christ knowing all things, looked into their hearts and knew exactly what they were trying to do. When He responded with a question their response was amazing. They obviously once again went into private session and argued amongst themselves. As they were arguing it bacame obvious that they were blinded to truth and afraid to act in truth because "They had the people to fear". They were afraid to say that John the Baptist was simply acting under the authority of man for fear of the people. Fear. Fear of discounting the holiness or divine authority of John. Afraid to say that John had no Divine authority. People believed in John and listened to him intently. They then came to be baptised by him. People were ready to defend John as a holy man. There was fear of reducing the Prophet to another mere man acting with the authority of man since he was held in the hearts of those that had come to be baptised by him.
Today we see that fear still prevents us from speaking openly. The continuous presence of fear in the human heart would suggest that things have not changed oer the past 2000+ years. We cannot say that things have not changed becuase they have. In fact they have changed 180 degrees. In these days we now fear telling the truth and fear witnessing to the truth because of those around us.
We are very reluctant to speak the truth openly because we have the people to fear.
We are very reluctant to defend the teaching of Christ and His Church because we have the people to fear.
We are very reluctant to call ourselves Catholic because we have the people to fear.
We are very reluctant to profess the divinity of Christ because we have the people to fear.
We are very reluctant to defend His most Holy Mother because we have the people to fear.
We are very reluctant to speak of the Divine Love waiting for each soul in the Sacred Host because we have the people to fear.
We are very reluctant to seek forgivness through the Sacrament of Confession because we have the people to fear.
We are very reluctant to dismiss that Christ was only another god amongst gods, because we have the people to fear.
We are very reluctant to be courageous because we have the people to fear.
We are very reluctant to bless ourselves passing a Church because we have the people to fear.
We are very reluctant to cast aside the world, the flesh and the devil because we have the people to fear.
We are very reluctant to speak openly for all the world to hear because we have the people to fear.
We are very reluctant to proclaim Christ as King of Kings because we have the people to fear.
We are very reluctant to fraternally correct serious error because we have the people to fear.
We are very reluctant to be zealous ambassadors for Christ because we have the people to fear.
We are very reluctant to be children of God because we have the people to fear.
We are very reluctant to be ourselves because we have the people to fear.
The most striking line in this passage is "They had the people to fear". And today we still have the people to fear. Society dictates. Fashions impose. Peers lead. We follow. We follow because we have installed a false shepherd to guide. A shepherd who will not care about the lost sheep but will encourage those who don’t follow to be lost through mockery and rejection. A shepherd that is the antithesis to all that Christ stands for.
****Cont…
*Jesus and his disciples came to Jerusalem, and as Jesus was walking in the Temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to him, and they said to him, ‘What authority have you for acting like this? Or who gave you authority to do these things?’ Jesus said to them, ‘I will ask you a question, only one; answer me and I will tell you my authority for acting like this. John’s baptism: did it come from heaven, or from man? Answer me that.’ And they argued it out this way among themselves: ‘If we say from heaven, he will say, “Then why did you refuse to believe him?” But dare we say from man?’ - they had the people to fear, for everyone held that John was a real prophet. So their reply to Jesus was, ‘We do not know’. And Jesus said to them, ‘Nor will I tell you my authority for acting like this’.
The Gospel reading today gives a wonderful example of why people remain blind to the will and the wisdom of Christ.
The the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to put Him, once again to the test. In their blindness, only their self imposed wisdom gave them a false sense of security when approaching Him. They put this question to Him, "What authority have you for acting like this? Or who gave you authority to do these things?" They obviously spent much time teasing this one out. See how they would only approach when they had formulated an argument amongst themselves that would corner and trap Christ. Closed hearts and on the surface seemingly open minds. Sad state.
Christ knowing all things, looked into their hearts and knew exactly what they were trying to do. When He responded with a question their response was amazing. They obviously once again went into private session and argued amongst themselves. As they were arguing it bacame obvious that they were blinded to truth and afraid to act in truth because "They had the people to fear". They were afraid to say that John the Baptist was simply acting under the authority of man for fear of the people. Fear. Fear of discounting the holiness or divine authority of John. Afraid to say that John had no Divine authority. People believed in John and listened to him intently. They then came to be baptised by him. People were ready to defend John as a holy man. There was fear of reducing the Prophet to another mere man acting with the authority of man since he was held in the hearts of those that had come to be baptised by him.
Today we see that fear still prevents us from speaking openly. The continuous presence of fear in the human heart would suggest that things have not changed oer the past 2000+ years. We cannot say that things have not changed becuase they have. In fact they have changed 180 degrees. In these days we now fear telling the truth and fear witnessing to the truth because of those around us.
We are very reluctant to speak the truth openly because we have the people to fear.
We are very reluctant to defend the teaching of Christ and His Church because we have the people to fear.
We are very reluctant to call ourselves Catholic because we have the people to fear.
We are very reluctant to profess the divinity of Christ because we have the people to fear.
We are very reluctant to defend His most Holy Mother because we have the people to fear.
We are very reluctant to speak of the Divine Love waiting for each soul in the Sacred Host because we have the people to fear.
We are very reluctant to seek forgivness through the Sacrament of Confession because we have the people to fear.
We are very reluctant to dismiss that Christ was only another god amongst gods, because we have the people to fear.
We are very reluctant to be courageous because we have the people to fear.
We are very reluctant to bless ourselves passing a Church because we have the people to fear.
We are very reluctant to cast aside the world, the flesh and the devil because we have the people to fear.
We are very reluctant to speak openly for all the world to hear because we have the people to fear.
We are very reluctant to proclaim Christ as King of Kings because we have the people to fear.
We are very reluctant to fraternally correct serious error because we have the people to fear.
We are very reluctant to be zealous ambassadors for Christ because we have the people to fear.
We are very reluctant to be children of God because we have the people to fear.
We are very reluctant to be ourselves because we have the people to fear.
The most striking line in this passage is "They had the people to fear". And today we still have the people to fear. Society dictates. Fashions impose. Peers lead. We follow. We follow because we have installed a false shepherd to guide. A shepherd who will not care about the lost sheep but will encourage those who don’t follow to be lost through mockery and rejection. A shepherd that is the antithesis to all that Christ stands for.
****Cont…