A POWERFUL EXAMPLE BY ONE WHO IS IN AUTHORITY

Tuesday in the 1st Week in Ordinary Time
Mk 1:21-28

Power and authority – two words that connote greatness. Though not synonymous, power and authority are essentially related. However, a powerful man is not necessarily in authority and a man in authority is not necessarily powerful. An effective and genuine leader must nonetheless have both power and authority.

On the one hand, a man who wields power without authority is a tyrant. On the other hand, a man who exercises authority without power is a lame duck. The first is a monster, the second a clown. The first oppresses while the second provides a comic relief. A great man is he who has both power and authority.

Jesus has both power and authority. The Gospel today is only one of the many proofs that Jesus is both powerful and full of authority.

Jesus uses His power and authority to set people free. As in the Gospel today, He releases a man from the bondage of an unclean spirit. Jesus gives us an example of how to use power and authority together. And if only more and more people would follow His example, there would be less and less evil in the world.