Christ, the Light of the World

May you experience the presence of Christ, the Light of the World, everywhere, in everyone, so that hope will abound in your life and the world you live in. There is no corner of the planet where Christ is not. And may you share the light of Christ that is within you with everyone you meet, wherever you are, everyday.


Wilfredo Juan Baez

Tuesday, December 30, 2014

Take Your Authority



‘By What Authority
Matthew 21:23-32

I’ll never forget Bishop Violet Fisher’s words to me at my ordination, “Elder Baez, take your authority.  Bishop Fisher was talking about pastoral authority.  She was talking about taking charge of what I was given charge of.   When Bishop Fisher laid her hands on me and spoke those words to me she affirmed what had already become true in me. I was an Elder in the United Methodist Church.  

“Take your authority.”  What does that mean?  I received two kinds of authority that day from Bishop Fisher.  One kind of authority was ecclesiastical authority.  The other was spiritual authority.  Ecclesiastical authority was granted by the Clergy session of the annual conference and the UMC. It was institutional authority. It was made official by Bishop Fisher.  I was glad to have accomplished all the steps they required of me.  Theirs was an authority they could give and that they could take away.   This was an important authority, but a surface, outer authority and a secondary authority. 
 
The second kind of authority was divine authority.  It was given to me by God through Jesus Christ and through the power of the Holy Spirit.  This was a deep, inner authority and a primary authority.   No person could give me this authority and no person could take this authority from me.   My clergy credentials can be taken from me, through due process as they are given by the UMC.  But my authority cannot be taken away from me because it is given to me by God.  My responsibility cannot be taken away from me.
Ecclesiastical authority and Divine authority can be aligned and more often than not are aligned.  But Ecclesiastical and Divine Authority can come into conflict.

Ecclesiastical and Divine authority came into conflict over race.  A group of African Americans were praying before a worship event at the altar in their church, St. George’s’ Methodist Episcopal Church in Philadelphia, Pa.  The Trustees of the Church demanded that they immediately to the balcony where they belonged.  The Black members pleaded to be allowed to finish their prayers before going to the balcony.  The Trustees refused and dragged the Blacks away from the altar.  Richard Allen and Absolam Jones led a walkout and formed the African Methodist Episcopal Church.  They rejected the Ecclesiastical authority because they referred to a higher authority. They took their authority.
Approaching the time of the Civil War, to avoid upsetting the Southern membership of the church, it was forbidden for Methodist Episcopal Pastors to preach against slavery. 
Two pastors, spoke against slavery in the North Chili and Albion Churches and were sanctioned for doing so.  B. P. Roberts and others left the MEC and began the Free Methodist Church.  He rejected the Ecclesiastical authority because he referred to a higher authority. He took his authority.

The Reverends Jimmy Creech, Frank Schaeffer, Stephen Heiss, Thomas Oglivie and Melvin Talbert performed homosexual marriages, breaking church law in doing so.  They rejected the Ecclesiastical authority because they referred to a higher authority. They took their authority.

Jesus had authority.  His authority was recognized by others as different from the authority of the Scribes and Pharisees, the Temple Priesthood, King Herod and Rome.  
What made it different?  Like others, Jesus drew authority from his religion, its Holy Books, its traditions and from the Temple and its priests.  This was good and as it should be.  But first and foremost, Jesus derived his authority from God.  Jesus even wrestled with this authority and responsibility, but in the end aligned his will with God’s, saying “Not my will God, your will.”  He even taught his disciples to pray, “Your rule come.  Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

Jesus took his authority in the Temple.  He was teaching in the Temple.  But he wasn’t a Temple priest.  What was he doing teaching in the Temple?  That was the responsibility of the Temple priests. If not from the Temple Priests where was Jesus deriving his authority? 
The Temple Priests believed that they had authority over the Temple.  But Jesus was claiming a higher authority.  Jesus was holding the Temple authorities accountable to their covenant and to their primary authority, God, whose authority they were rejecting.  They were citing the Torah to make their claim to authority but they were no attuned to God’s voice.  They ignored God’s voice because it did not fit their own set opinions.
The Temple Priests, Scribes and Pharisees and the Sanhedrin, the Jewish leadership council had lost sight of what their true authority was.  They were leading by fear instead of love. 

What were they afraid of?  They were afraid of Rome.  They were afraid of Pilate. They were afraid of Herod.  They were afraid of the crowds.  They were afraid of losing power, privilege and profit.   What weren’t they afraid of?  They were not afraid of the only thing the scripture said they should be afraid of.  They were not afraid of God. They were leading by selfishness rather than by compassion.  
 
Where did they derive their authority from?  What were they trusting and obeying? They were trusting worldly powers.  They were obeying worldly authorities. They were not ruled by God’s commandments; love of God and love of neighbor.  They were ruled by fear.

Take your authority.  Take your responsibility.  Who am I talking to?  You can stop looking around.  I’m talking to you.  Take your authority.  Take your responsibility.  God is still talking.  God is still calling disciples.  God is still sending disciples.  And God is still equipping disciples.

God has given you authority. God has given you responsibility.  God has given you power. It’s up to you to say “Yes” to that authority and to follow through or say “No” to it and follow some other authority.  Bob Dylan wrote a song after becoming Christian. In it he declares, “You‘ve got to serve somebody.  You’ve got to serve somebody.  It may be the devil, it may be the Lord, but you’ve got to serve somebody.”

It is interesting to me that the fastest growing churches in the world are conservative and evangelical.  In the United States it’s the Mormons, Pentecostals and Islam.  These are all conservative and evangelical.  At the same time, the world is saying: “No to racism, no to sexism, no to homo-phobia” and “Yes to justice, yes to diversity and yes to gay marriage.” 
What are the conservative faith communities doing?  They are taking their authority.  They are taking their responsibility.  They are picking up their crosses and carrying them.  What are secular groups doing?  They are taking their authority.  They are taking responsibility.  They are picking up their crosses and suffering for the right. 

Why are the mainline churches declining in the United States? We are not taking our authority.  We are not taking our responsibility.  We’re waiting for God to act.  God has already acted.  God’s given us authority!  God’s given us responsibility!  Jesus has told us, pick up your crosses and carry them after my example.

Take your authority/responsibility for your life.  Take your authority/ responsibility for your attitude. It’s your attitude.  Take your responsibility for your health, your weight and your well-being. It’s your body and your mind.  Eat well, exercise and read.  Take your authority for your finances.  It’s your income.  It’s your choice when, where and how to spend it.  Budget, save, invest and give. Take your authority for your marriage, your family and relationships.  It’s your spouse, your children, your parents, your siblings and your friends.  Spent time together, obtain counseling and talk. Take your authority for your job, your career and your education.  It’s your future.  Plan for and invest in your future.  Take that course or training. Take your authority for your church, your denomination and your religion. You are the Body of Christ.  Serve.  You make a difference.  Take your responsibility for your neighborhood, community and nation.  Ours is a government of the people, for the people and by the people. Take your authority for your faith.  Pray.  Read the Bible and other spiritual books.  Meditate. Live what you believe.  Take your authority for the gospel.
The gospel is the Good News that the reign of God is near or here. It is within our reach, within our grasp, now: God’s will on earth as in heaven.

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