It was Grade 13 - yes, I’m that old - and I had a spare period so I was getting some work done in the caf. Bob, president of the reefer club, comes over & sits on the table beside my books so that he’s facing me, and starts in with the insults: verbal attacks on my nature, my school activities [“you’re such a goodie goodie, doing homework on spare”], & so on. Finally, after getting zero reaction from me - I was always taught to ignore bullies & I still do - Bob got really annoyed and bellowed, “What is wrong with you? Are you dense? Don’t you understand what I’m saying? Doesn’t anything I say bother you?” To that I looked up & calmly said, “Well, I guess it might, if I respected you.” I went back to work; Bob quietly left.
“Consider the source”, my Dad always said, because therein lies the validity of the opinion. Do you ask your hairdresser for investment advice? Is the earnest young man delivering pizza likely the finest expert on healthy nutrition? A survey was released this past week: the number one most trusted voice on climate change in the U.S. is Leonardo Dicaprio. Really? He seems like a bright fellow but … THE national expert?
Now, more than ever, in our world of social media & questionable internet posts, of alternative facts & fake news, where we are at risk of abdicating our God-given call for stewardship to the easy, lazy decision-making option of artificial intelligence, please consider the source of the information you’re receiving, personal and worldly.
“ALL authority on heaven and on earth has been given to Me,” declares Jesus to His remaining 11 chosen Apostles atop an unspecified mountain in the region of the Galilee. We don’t know, beyond a shadow of doubt, exactly where Jesus was born, or the precise location of His crucifixion, or beyond ancient rumours, into which tomb He was laid, or where He met His friends this last time. Because we are not supposed to know - not now, not yet, maybe not ever. If God wants us to have the hard & fast confirmation on the ‘where’s’ about Jesus’ life & death, God will tell us. For now, we aren’t supposed to focus on physical sites & historical plaques & ‘I was there’ t-shirts for the tourists. We’re not supposed to focus on a static location but on the living Word - what Jesus said & did & taught & gave to us by His life & death & victory → THAT’S what we must protect & sustain & hold sacred for all generations.
The ‘Who’ is all that matters, & then the ‘what’ that He’s calling us to do. He is Lord of all – in a blink, Jesus could turn every heart to Him; He could sigh and create a planet of mindless minions; He could mesmerize & confuse our tiny mortal brains with acts that defy our physical laws, to terrify us with His power and force His will upon us. Although it’s all within God’s capability, none of that is true to God’s nature, or could come from the source of God’s authority.
Some folks have a real issue with the concept of Divine authority, because the world’s perspective tangles up power with control. Whether by election or birth or violence, authority & power among mortals is, fundamentally, the right to make decisions for other people that may affect their daily lives and livelihood, as well as the right to implement those decisions, & to expect obedience to law on threat of punishment.
Does Christ conclude His lessons or His commands with an angry, ‘or else’? Note that the 10 Commandments don’t actually list any consequences for failure to comply. Christ never says, ‘prove your loyalty by doing whatever I tell you to, or you’re fired’. That’s childish; who would do that, except maybe that orange-faced president? But, consider the source.
No, our dear Lord embodies the opposite of what is a common understanding of earthly authority & control. Following Christ is not to be submissive or oppressed, or to relinquish all personal power for free will and individuality. Oh no, then what would be the point of blessing us with specific individual gifts and our very own DNA.
Following Christ, as the Apostles are called to do, is about the freedom of living in His love, the confidence of being held in God’s gracious grip, buoyed by God’s affirmation of our worth no matter what anyone else tries to convince us. To follow is to partner in Jesus’ purposes in what may seem to be tiny ways that are in truth, monumental because we’re accessing the greatest force in this or any realm to impact someone’s life for the better. To follow Jesus is to embark on a quest for peace – not necessarily a life of quiet stillness & bliss, but a contented knowing in our deepest places that in the midst of the maelstrom & the misery of this life, we are not alone. THAT is recognizing the authority of Christ over all things in heaven & on earth. His authority is established by His pure, unrestrained love & goodness and His intent to bring glory to God, & not by any ambition for greatness.
And with all that power, what does He do? He gives US the power to choose. Regular people are given the power to accept or reject; ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to the story of His virgin birth, the miracles, the credibility of His teachings, the bodily truth or not of His resurrection. So verse 17 is gorgeously honest and human: “they worshiped him; but some doubted.” Way to go, Matthew, for this rather succinct summary of the contradictions of mortal faith: we believe/we doubt; we trust/we fear; we obey/we offend; we promise/we rationalize. Through it all, God is patient, not punitive. Any consequences of rejecting His invitation to follow will be of our own making → to refuse Christ, we invite despair & hopelessness; not to follow but to run off & claim, ‘I don’t need You, Lord’ is to settle for your own limited reserves of strength & vision & courage. To say, ‘Yes, Lord, I’m right behind You’, is to accept the nobler disciplines of moral accountability within God’s grace, and to find meaningful, deeply satisfying purpose, because as you know & I’ve seen it here, selflessness brings joy. If there’s no God, no relationship with the Divine Who redeems us, then we become our own ‘god’ to fill the void. Now we’ve opened the door to greed, selfishness, narcissism, entitlement, no regard for life beyond whatever serves our own interests, & we have war without end.
Or we can consider the source of these words: “Go and make disciples … baptize & teach”. Such authority is grounded in a love that’s strong enough to give us the choice, firm enough to withstand our rejection, to worry & to cry for us when we suffer the darkness of a life without any faith. “Go”, He says, ‘to everyone & tell them about Me, about a much happier, more hopeful way to live.’
Less than half of Canadians identify as Christian. This is the mission field & we are called to be the Gospel message of love & acceptance & grace, or we are not. Cause folks are considering the source → the only credibility & authority we have to speak of Jesus, to talk of faith, to invite folks to church, is the way we’re living in Christ’s Way, as best we can with the constant help & guidance of the Holy Spirit. And we rest in the power of a promise, that Jesus will be with us always → let’s never forget the Source of that truth. Praise be to God, Amen.