Posted by The WORD in other words (2018) by Fr Dionisio Miranda SVD – Univeristy of San Carlos, Cebu City
January 2 Before Epiphany
The Levites, Pharisees and Sadducees constituted the politico-religious establishment of the time, and they did not tolerate challenges to their authority lightly. Anytime a parallel authority emerged, they were quick to question its religious credentials. This time they asked John by what authority he baptized; in time they would ask Jesus by what authority he cast out demons.
Establishement representatives retaliated against John and Jesus because they had questioned, not the legitimacy of their authority so much as their accountability for their delegated authority. Clearly John and Jesus were not anarchists who rejected authority in principle; in no instance did either ever question the right of the Sanhedrin to issue religious norms.
What John and Jesus questioned was whether those who held political and religious power also possessed moral authority. Were they worthy of respect? Is this respect based on their accountability to the responsibility vested in their office? Are they servant-leaders in the true sense of the term?
It is this posture of respecting lawful authority but also questioning its irresponsible exercise that lies at the core of Christian political ethics. Because some believe the church should leave political questions alone and limit herself to religious issues, they fault the Church when she takes a critical position toward the state, as in the issues of reproductive health or of the death penalty. Unfortunately some issues are not always purely political; human issues are often political, religious and moral at the same time.
When authority goes wrong and it becomes necessary to denounce it after the spirit of the apostles. Christians should not be intimidated when it pushes back autocratically, saying, “Who are you to question me? How dare you have the temerity to take issue with my action?” Nosi balasi? Sino ba sila?
Our answer should simply be, because I am a human being like everyone else. Our faith-based answer should be, because I am a child of God; because I am a sibling of Jesus Christ; because I am a temple of the Spirit. God’s is the ultimate authority to which we must render an account of our actions.
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