Jesus: Authority and Leadership Exist for the Sake of Others
Sunday, Nov. 5, is the 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time. Mass readings: Malachi 1:14b-2:2b, 8-10; Psalm 131:1, 2, 3; 1 Thessalonians 2:7b-9, 13; Matthew 23:1-12.
Today’s Gospel gives four teachings on authority. Let’s review them.
Jesus says, “The scribes and Pharisees have taken their seat on the chair of Moses. Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you but do not follow their example.”
In the future, Jesus will fully send forth his Church and establish the authority of the apostles themselves, but for now, they are to follow lawful authority, just as Jesus will expect the Church to follow the lawful authority of the apostles and their successors later on. Nowhere in Scripture are Christians encouraged to ridicule, resist or overthrow lawful authority.
Jesus does acknowledge the burdensome and insensitive qualities of the leadership of that time. He says, “Do not follow their example. For they preach but do not practice. They tie up heavy burdens, hard to carry and lay them on people’s shoulders. But they will not lift a finger to move them.”
True authority exists to serve, not to crush or merely to exhibit its power. It exists to serve and unite people around a common purpose. It exists to help others to accomplish their tasks in a unified and directed way.
As the Gospel explains, “All their works are performed to be seen. They widen their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels. They love places of honor at banquets, seats of honor in the synagogues, greetings in the marketplaces and the salutation, ‘Rabbi.’”
