The thread in today’s Scripture readings has to do with authority. From our experience we might tend to think of people with authority as being people who just want to boss other people around, but of course, that’s not really what authority means.
First, look at Balaam. He was a seer or diviner who was hired by the enemies of Israel to put a curse on the Israelites. Why? Because the Children of Israel were nearing their forty-year period of wandering and were getting ready to enter into the Promised Land. The people who were already there didn’t want them and so they wanted to do whatever was necessary to keep them out.
Balaam was a greedy man, and although he was being paid by the enemies of Israel, he tried to make a deal with God, too; and God agreed, but as a result Balaam couldn’t curse the Israelites. In fact, he prophesied about a king who would be coming, a king who would lead Israel. The enemies of Israel weren’t happy about that! Balaam had no other choice but to prophesy what God revealed to him, because the authority of God was stronger than any deal Balaam could have made with Israel’s enemies.
In the Gospel the chief priests and elders of the Jews go to Jesus and demand to know by what authority He was acting and speaking. After going back and forth, Jesus refused to answer their demand, because they were only trying to trap Him and have him arrested. He had made it very clear that His authority is God’s authority, and He had come as the Messiah.
So let’s look briefly at the idea of “authority.” The word comes from the Latin “auctoritas” which is related to the word “augere” which means "to increase, make bigger." A person with ‘authority’ isn’t somebody who wields coercive power over others. The exercise of genuine authority is not to control, or to keep people in line; rather, to have authority is to be someone who helps people reach their full potential.
So, when parents exercise authority over their children, it should be done in such a way as to help them become better people. When the clergy exercise authority, it should be to help people to become more of what God intends them to be.
This is the kind of authority Jesus showed perfectly. He invited people to follow Him, and to be more like Him. He came to serve, and not to be served. He came to give life in its fullness. He came to lead people into all they could be and were meant to be. We can tell the difference between good authority and bad authority – is it making you a better person? Is it helping you to become what God wants you to be?