Saturday’s gospel –
I will ask you a question, only one.
We see in today’s gospel, the chief priests, scribes and elders being given what was then a unique opportunity. All they had to do was to answer one question and Jesus would reveal all to them about where he came from and where he received his authority.
And they succumbed to political and popular opinion. They could not properly engage with Jesus in a matter of faith because they were fearful of the consequences of their response to their popularity.
Compare that with Our Lady. At the Annunciation she only had to answer one question for all of the reality of Jesus’ authority to come into being. In considering her response, she was not obsessed by how she would look to those around her, but how she could do God’s will.
And she responded.
Let us reflect for ourselves. We associate ourselves with Our Lady and are scornful of the Pharisees, but let’s be careful. In our response to the questions of our world where it questions the authority of Jesus, do we respond in a positive manner irrespective of the consequences to us or do we step back fearful of the consequences?
If we do the latter, we are the scribes.
Ironically, they sought popularity whilst Our Lady sought God’s will. They go down in history as infamous characters, she as the Mother of God, exalted in heaven.
Let not short-term expedience lose sight of our need to proclaim our faith and act upon it.
Gospel Mark 11:27-33 ©
Jesus and his disciples came to Jerusalem, and as Jesus was walking in the Temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to him, and they said to him, ‘What authority have you for acting like this? Or who gave you authority to do these things?’ Jesus said to them, ‘I will ask you a question, only one; answer me and I will tell you my authority for acting like this. John’s baptism: did it come from heaven, or from man? Answer me that.’ And they argued it out this way among themselves: ‘If we say from heaven, he will say, “Then why did you refuse to believe him?” But dare we say from man?’ – they had the people to fear, for everyone held that John was a real prophet. So their reply to Jesus was, ‘We do not know.’ And Jesus said to them, ‘Nor will I tell you my authority for acting like this.’