Where Do You Get Authority? (Reflections on Pentecost 18, Year A 2023)

 

“When (Jesus) entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching, and said, ‘By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?’” (Matthew 21:23)

So what’s all this about authority ?I have to confess I sometimes act like the chief priests and elders in the gospel reading assigned for Pentecost 18, Year A in the Revised Common Lectionary (Matthew 21:23-32) when the subject of ecclesiastical authority comes up. In a way, I sympathize with these guys. When some yokel shows up out of nowhere and claims to speak for God the same way I claim to do, I want to see some credentials. You know what really gets my Fruit of the Looms in a bunch? Universal Life Church so-called “ordinations.” Okay. I’m usually a pretty mellow old guy—usually—but a sly, sardonic, and somewhat un-Christian smirk may begin to creep across my face when someone tells me they are an ordained minister of that specious denomination. The ULC has no official doctrine, no structure, and no actual congregations. They have, however, popped out “ordinations” like a Pez dispenser. With a few mouse clicks on the ULC website any bozo can claim to be an ordained clergyperson. It’s estimated there are over 18 million ULC “clergy” worldwide since the organization started cranking out ordinations in 1962.[i]

I have to ask by what authority are these individuals ministers? I can tell you by what authority I can call myself a minister: I hold a Masters of Divinity degree from a state accredited seminary, I’ve been approved by a national church body affiliated with a 500-year-old internationally recognized denomination, and I’ve been called by the good folks of Faith Lutheran of Philadelphia to serve as their pastor. I guess I could say my authority comes from the Lutheran Church and from the people of God. But, really, the authority of any Christian only comes from Jesus Christ.[ii]

I’ve got to be honest here. I don’t actually have any more ecclesiastical authority than the next guy. All the baptized in Christ have his authority to forgive, to pray, to love and welcome, and to offer up their quotidian tasks in service to God. I just get the fun job of keeping church order and talking about Jesus on Sunday mornings.

Jesus is a pretty clever guy. He knows that when his authority is questioned by folks who think only they have authority, any answer he gives is going to get shot in the butt. I mean, you just can’t argue with people who’ve already decided you’re wrong. What’s he going to say? “My authority comes from being the only begotten Son of God?” That answer is going to go over like a bad smell. So will saying, “My authority comes from the fact that I’m right and you dudes aren’t.” That might be true, but it won’t sit any better with the high muckety-mucks. Jesus can only prove his authority by showing his deeds have an effect. He’s the one healing the sick. He’s the one inviting the lost and the outcast. He’s the one forgiving the sinners. He’s the one feeding the hungry. He’s the one bringing hope. Wisely, Jesus throws the question of authority back on his inquisitors and gives them yet another splendid opportunity to reveal their ignorance and arrogance.

But back to that issue of authority. If my authority as a pastor comes from the Church, where does the Church’s authority come from? I’ll bet a lot of young folks would ask that question today. It isn’t enough to have “sound doctrine.” That doctrine has to accomplish something. That’s why Jesus follows up his verbal fencing with the priests and elders by telling them the parable of the two sons and asking which does the will of the father—the one who says the right thing or the one who does the right thing? The epistle of James puts it very nicely:

What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill’, and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead. But someone will say, ‘You have faith and I have works.’ Show me your faith without works, and I by my works will show you my faith.[iii]

Authority is revealed by its actions. When Matthew wrote his gospel the Church was under some nasty, violent persecution. To survive, those who trusted in the authority of Jesus had to put that trust to work. I think we’re in pretty much the same boat today in America. No one is going to send Christians into the arena or burn us at the stake, but our churches are bleeding out like a ruptured artery. Once upon a time we sat at the center of American culture. Not anymore. People will not respect our authority unless they see it do some good.

Personally, I think being on the margins might be doing us some good. Our new position forces us all into a deeper commitment to Christ and an excited willingness to act on his authority. I grant not all of us are about to start new and ground-breaking social ministry organization, nor will we begin marching in the streets demanding justice for all God’s creatures. We might, if we’ve reached a “certain age,” consider a life well-lived in obedience to the gospel has granted us the ability to speak authoritatively to our grandchildren about matters of spirituality and faith. I would hope we are able to say in all blessed humility, “I am who I am because He is who He is.”

God’s peace be with you, my friend. Please stop by again.

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[i] I got his figure from Wikipedia (Where else?). They cite an article by Lauren Bishop in the Cincinnati Inquirer from April 14, 2007 entitled “Ordained for the Occasion”.

[ii] I guess I shouldn’t be so hard on the ULC, but I have to draw a line somewhere. I’ve done cooperative worship services and events with many Christian denominations as well as Jews, Muslims, and Buddhists. I’m an ecumenist, but not a Universalist. If you say you believe in everything, you probably don’t practice anything. We all should find our path and walk it with discipline and integrity.

[iii] James 2:14-18

Jesus Must Be Crazy (Reflections on Pentecost 17, Year A 2023)

 

(Photo: Jiahui Huang)

“And about five o’clock he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, ‘Why are you standing here idle all day?’ ⁷They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard.’” (Matthew 20:67)

 When I taught public school in Los Angles a common sight on my commute to work would be these groups of Mexican guys standing around on street corners in the early morning hours. Everybody knew what they were up to. They weren’t gang members or loafers. They were guys looking for work. Independent contractors knew that, should they cruise by certain corners at a certain time, there’d be plenty of young dudes willing to dig, haul, plant, paint, hammer, fetch, carry, or whatever for a daily wage considerably below the union asking price. Cash payments. No withholding tax. No green cards. No questions asked.

I think about those guys when I read Jesus’ parable appointed in the Revised Common Lectionary for Pentecost 17, Year A (Matthew 20:1-16). These were men like the guys in the story who were just looking to get a day’s work and make ends meet. The ones that got to the corner early got the gigs. The latecomers were out of luck.

I imagine there are some folks who’d find those day laborers I used to see in LA appalling.  After all, these workers were probably breaking the law. If they’d been legal citizens or on work visas they could’ve gone to an employment office and wouldn’t be standing around looking to get paid under the table. Some people might think these guys should’ve been arrested and deported. They had no right to be here, no right to work or get paid, and certainly no right to enjoy the benefits which we good American citizens enjoy like healthcare or public education or a driver’ license. When bleeding heart do-gooders have the audacity to suggest that these migrants be treated with dignity and respect as fellow human beings, they make these illegals the equal to us—we, whose ancestors came ashore legally, learned English, and contribute to society as God-fearing Americans.

Of course, should we take the attitude illustrated above, it might be wise for us to remember that these migrant workers are often doing jobs no one else is willing to do. We might also want to consider that they are willing to work and work hard. They aren’t looking for handouts. We’d do well to recognize we don’t have a clue as to the situations which put guys like this on the street corners in the first place. We don’t know where they’ve come from or what kind of hardships, cruelty, or danger forced them out of their homeland to seek safety and livelihood in the US. We might be too quick to judge and too slow to understand. What would Jesus say?

It’s pretty safe to take this tale from Matthew’s gospel allegorically. That is, we won’t get anybody’s shorts in a bunch if we say that God forgives and welcomes sinners, no matter when they came to repentance. Remember that old hymn, “To God be the Glory?”

O perfect redemption, the purchase of blood,
To every believer the promise of God;
The vilest offender who truly believes,
That moment from Jesus a pardon receives.[i]

We’re all pretty okay with the idea that God’s mercy and love extend to even the “vilest offenders.” But, if we take this parable literally, some people are either going to think Jesus was crazy or they’ll want to attack the pulpit with torches and pitchforks. Sure! Everybody can go to heaven, but not everybody should get Medicaid. Some folks would much rather see children go hungry than accept that someone who might be illegal or lazy or an addict or in some way gaming the system is getting something they don’t deserve.

This begs the question, of course, of who are any of us to decide who is deserving and who isn’t?

This parable has always hit home to me. When I was a kid my dad was out of work a lot. He was a good worker, but there was an industry-wide slowdown, and hundreds of hard-working guys just like him lost their jobs through no fault of their own. This was an emotionally crushing experience for a guy like my dad who was brought up to believe that honest, good people worked for a living while deadbeat loafers and cheats sponged off the government. Suddenly he found himself in the same category as those he had denigrated.

The late hires in Jesus’ story, those who were left standing in the marketplace at five o’clock, must’ve felt worried and despondent, just like any unemployed person does. Can you imagine some poor guy standing around and thinking to himself, “Shoot! I overslept this morning, and then I had to milk the goat for the babies, and by the time I got to the marketplace there was no one to hire me. How am I going to tell the Missus I didn’t earn any money today?” But just as he’s ready to go home and face the music, a rich fellow runs up and says, “Hey! Can you pick grapes? I’ve got to get my crop in before sundown today. Come to my vineyard and I’ll pay you whatever’s right.” So the worker thinks, “Thank God. At least a few bucks are better than nothing.” Imagine his surprise and enormous relief when the boss gives him the usual daily wage. Now the guy is thinking, “Praise God! I praise and thank you, Lord, for this man’s generosity and mercy!”

God does not wrong us, even if we sometimes wrong each other. The goodness of the Lord should fill our hearts with gratitude, love, and compassion—just as Christ was compassionate. Judgment belongs to the Lord. It is for us to reside in the radiance of God’s generosity and do what we can in our own corner of the vineyard so that all may be cared for and God may be glorified.

Thanks again for looking in on me. I always enjoy it when you come. Please leave me a message, won’t you?

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[i] “To God be the Glory” was written in 1875 by Fanny Crosby and William Howard Doan but it wasn’t a real boffo hit until it was used in a Billy Graham Crusade in 1954. It’s a real foot-stomper. It was included in Augsburg’s Renewing Worship Songbook of 2003, but didn’t make the cut to go into the 2006 Evangelical Lutheran Worship (ELW). There’s nothing wrong with it theologically that I can tell (unless you consider that it might cause  one to interpret “belief” as a good work). I guess it’s just too easy and fun to sing. We Lutherans can be musical snobs. We don’t like to include a hymn unless it’s either from the 16^th century or sounds like it was composed by Stephen Sondheim.

Dealing with Jerks (Reflections on Pentecost 15, Year A 2023)

 

“For salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers…” (Romans 13:11b)

If you live long enough, you’re going to run into people who just get on your last nerves. In my own time I’ve had to put up with some people whom I’d much rather have thrown down a flight of stairs. I’ll admit this isn’t exactly a shining example of the way God would have us deal with conflict or with individuals we find difficult (Hey! I’m only human!). Fortunately, the scripture lessons for Pentecost 15, Year A in the Revised Common Lectionary (Matthew 18:15-20 and Romans 13:8-14) offer us a glimpse of the way our Lord would want us to deal with the obnoxious, wrong-headed, stubborn, and infuriating in our midst.

In chapter 18 of Matthew’s gospel Jesus takes a break from his usual Jesus stuff of performing miracles, healing the sick, and casting out demons to give the disciples (who seem to be hung up on seeking status) a little lesson on how folks ought to be living their lives. This includes some words about dealing with people who make you want to throw things at them. This is just some frank, practical, common sense stuff.[i] Somebody’s causing trouble? Here’s what you do:

First: You go to this person and talk to them privately. Chances are you’re going to get whatever your issue is worked out. If you don’t…

Second: Ask one or two folks you trust to mediate this problem between you and the other person. You’re not blabbing about this to everyone and their cousin Javier. Just keep it between you, the person you’re concerned with, and a few discrete friends who are willing to listen to both sides. If that doesn’t settle the matter…

Third: You can go to the church or the higher-ups or whomever and ask for a policy decision, and if your opponent gets their shorts in a bunch over that…

Finally: There has to be some kind of penalty. Maybe it’s revoking voting rights or asking this person to step down from a position of authority. It may simply be your conscious decision to avoid this individual until such a time as the dust settles, your blood pressure goes back to normal, and you can be around them without wanting to choke the life out of them. Jesus says to let such a one be like a Gentile or tax collector—just remember Jesus loved Gentiles and tax collectors. It doesn’t have to mean complete excommunication. The goal isn’t to punish jerks (as much as we might like to!). It is always to restore broken relationships.

I’ve had to resort to this formula a few times in the quarter century of my ministry. Most of the time it works. The problems always seem to come when we’re not willing to talk to people face-to-face. We let our resentment marinate or we whine about our grievances behind the back of the person who has offended us, triangulating with people who have no friggin’ business being involved and probably would rather you didn’t walk through their brains in the muddy boots of your resentment.

Jesus told us “There is nothing hidden that won’t be revealed.[ii]” When there’s conflict within a congregation, a company, a club, or in your own home, people are going to feel it. It’ll get out somehow. If it’s not addressed, folks are going to form their own opinions about it, and, eventually, those opinions are going to become fact. My old bishop, Roy Almquist, used to warn that, “There are nineteen different explanations for everything. Eighteen of them are wrong.” When some bone-headed speculation gets repeated often enough it becomes the truth, and such a “truth” can become toxic to the community involved.

The older I get, the more I realize the quality of life has almost everything to do with the quality of relationships. In the Second Lesson for Pentecost 15 Saint Paul explains the fulfillment of God’s Law is love of neighbor. We are meant to be in harmonious relationship with one another.

When, in verse 11, Paul reminded the Romans, “salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers,” he probably was thinking the End Times were approaching and Jesus would be making a return engagement any minute. When I read this now, however, I start to think my End Times are approaching. Since I’ve embarked on the seventh decade of my life, I realize there’s a lot more of the road behind me than ahead of me. All the reveling, drunkenness, debauchery, licentiousness, quarreling and jealousy Paul talks about (of which I certainly have done my share in my youth) seem very trivial and unimportant now when stacked up against a simple desire to live at peace with God and my neighbor in the years I still have left.

Jesus came that we might be reconciled with God. Our Sabbath worship always begins with confession and absolution, a reminder of this reconciliaton. If we accept that God accepts us, our task must be in finding a reconciling relationship with the earth, with those who have been shut out or forgotten, and maybe even with those who are closest to us who make us crazy from time to time.

Look: Nobody’s yet invented a time machine which would allow us to go back and fix things which have already happened. We can only deal with the here and now and try to make the days ahead be as pleasing to God as we, in our not-so-perfect flesh, can. So let’s get over ourselves. After all, the night is far gone, the day is near.

Thanks again for spending some time with me this week. Leave me a comment and let me know if there’s something you’d like to discuss.

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[i] In fact, Jesus’ formula for handling conflict in the Church is enshrined in the ELCA’s Model Constitution for Congregations.

[ii] Luke 8:17.