A TYRANT, A CLOWN, OR A HYPOCRITE?

4th Sunday in the Ordinary Time
Mk 1:21-28

Power and authority do not always go together. There are those who are in power without authority and those who are in authority without power. Power without authority is dangerous while authority without power is comical.

Because power is the ability to cause or prevent change, influencing people and events, those who exercise it must always have the authority that justifies them in what they do. For most people who suffered from dictatorship, such as we, Filipinos, or under military regimes, power is associated with force, compulsion, and violence. Certainly, the power that is synonymous only with force makes victims of all its subjects. That is not the power of Jesus.

One does not have to be in authority to have authority. It is not being in authority that makes those in authority credible and trustworthy. We know by experience that sometimes people do not follow those in authority because those in authority have lost their moral authority. But there are those who enjoy a considerable following even if they are not in authority. They are listened to, looked up to, attended to, and followed because, while they are not in power, they have authority. Those who are in authority without power are called “lame ducks” while those who are not in power but have authority are called “heroes” or “saints”.

People rightly oppose the power that exploits, manipulates, coerces, oppresses, suppresses, and bullies. But power need not be destructive and vicious. Mohandas K. Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Archbishop Oscar Romero, and, our very own, Ninoy Aquino used the power of nonviolence in fighting oppressive systems. Though assassinated, they became even more powerful because of their moral authority. Exercising their influence on behalf of a suffering people, Gandhi, King, Romero, and Aquino became forces for good. This is the power that allies with love, a force that is spent on behalf of others, the kind of authority that does not have to be in authority and yet truly powerful.

The people who heard Jesus teaching and saw Him expelling an unclean spirit from a possessed man in the synagogue at Capernaum today were all amazed. Their words were, “Here is a teaching that is new and with authority behind it.”

Where was the authority of Jesus coming from? Where was His power emanating? Why was He different from those who were in authority – particularly the scribes and the Pharisees – during His time? How different was His power with those who were powerful?

Jesus taught with authority because He taught the people directly, without quoting from other rabbis or some great thinkers as was the practice of many teachers during His time, and as it is still the practice of many today. Very often, Jesus would say, “You heard it said…. But I tell you solemnly….” Jesus spoke not only as one who knew what He was talking about and was confident that He was communicating God’s message, but also as the One who fulfilled all the words of the prophets combined.

Jesus’ teachings had authority also because His inspiring words were supported by His powerful actions. After teaching the people, Jesus exorcised a man. His words captured the hearts and minds of the people and His action released a man from an unclean spirit. The public ministry of Jesus carried the pattern where word and deed went together. While He announced the news of God’s Kingdom through His teachings, His actions actually brought the power of that Kingdom in the midst of His listeners.

Finally, the complete congruence of His life and His teachings gave Jesus undisputed authority. He preached not only what He believed; He lived according to what He preached. He was the best example of what He taught. He did not only die for His message; He lived by it. His life in itself was His message. That kind of message is indeed always very powerful.

As we ourselves exercise power in one way or another and are in authority of some sort, we do well by examining always where our power lies and our authority emanates from. Are we confident that we speak the words of God? Are our words supported by deeds? Are we the best examples of what we preach? It not, then we can be any of the three: a tyrant, a clown, or a hypocrite.