2022-11-2 Evening Prayer Homily - "By What Authority"

 2022-11-2 Evening Prayer - Jeremiah 1:1-19; Matthew 21:23-46

By What Authority? 

In the name of the Father, + Son, and Holy Spirit. 

On the face of it, the question that the chief priests and elders of the people ask of Jesus is a reasonable one: By what authority are you doing these things and who gave you this authority?  Jesus comes out of Galilee which is a seed bed of revolution.  And, he is healing and teaching all over the country unbidden.  He does not appear to have any supervisors or a Rabbinic school that he is attached too. In chapter 21, Jesus is on the Temple grounds, no less, and he is drawing a crowd.  He has no invitation.  Wanting to learn his credentials is a reasonable request. At least, on the face of it, anyways.  

We are genuinely concerned about authority too. Are you really going to let just anyone come here to teach, preach and administer the sacraments? No, of course not.  We want someone who is authorized by our church leaders.  If someone in plain clothes says, “your under arrest, come with me,” are you really just going to get into the unmarked van without demanding to see badges and a warrant for your arrest?  No, of course not. We will comply when we are convinced that this individual has the authority of the government behind them. 

Behind the contention of any election results is a real concern that the person is truly elected by the people to speak for the people and to govern the people. In America, we the people authorize fellow citizens to lead, govern, and speak in our behalf through the election process. We expend considerable time, money, and energy to make sure that the authorization process is done correctly. 

Authority and issues surrounding authority are very much a concern in American of 2022. 

As we encounter the first chapter of Jeremiah, we hear the prophet presenting his credentials as a prophet. He may speak prophetically to the leadership and people of Judah in general and Jerusalem in particular because of the authority granted to him by the Lord Most High. 

The first thing Jeremiah makes clear is that he did not seek the office. God put him there.  Even before Jeremiah was born, he was destined to be a prophet. The Lord  told Jeremiah, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” And, the Lord pressed him into service while he was yet a young man. 

Because of his young age and anxiety about what he was going to say and to whom he was going to be saying it too, the LORD assured him again. Jeremiah reports, “then the LORD put out his hand and touched my mouth. And the Lord said to me, ‘behold, I have put my words in your mouth...’” Then visions were also given to Jeremiah to indicate that what he was hearing was correct.  He both heard God’s words and he saw God’s visions.  He believed God and went forward with God’s Word. 

No prophet has an easy time of it. Jeremiah definitely did not. There was no easy day for him. People questioned, resisted, threatened, and jailed him, or, they ignored him.  But, he spoke with the authority conferred upon him by the LORD God.  Sadly, his prophecies came to fruition because by and large the leadership and the people refused to repent of their sins.  They refused to put away their idols and selfish ways and return to the LORD. So, in 587 BC God’s punishment began with the destruction of Jerusalem and the Babylonian captivity. 

Jesus was questioned about the authority on which he stood. Good question, but it came from leaders who were not seekers.  They sought to defend the status quo, not to be cautious followers. When Jesus asked a question of his own about John the Baptist, they would not give a simple, straight forward, faith filled confession.  So, they were concerned about other things than simply Jesus’ authority.   

Our Lutheran theology, along with Lutheran teaching and preaching, rests on the authority of God’s Holy Word.  We all have access to this authority.  God speaks to us through the Word. Gods speaks his Law and Gospel to us through this Word.  While we may not like what we hear, our faith receives what is said and the Holy Spirit works in our minds and hearts to lead us into repentance so we may receive God’s gospel to free us from our sins.  

May we always be willing to be led further into faith by the Holy Spirit. To repent of that which captures us, and to be set free by Jesus’ cross. 

In the name of the Father, +Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.