Holy Tuesday

AUTHORITY

Now has the Son of Man been glorified.

John 13.31.

Full readings: Isaiah 49. 1-6; Psalm 7.1-6, 15-7; St. John 13. 21-33, 36-8.

Our Lord spoke these words after stating that one His disciples would betray Him, and it would be he to whom He gave the morsel of bread. Judas went out into the night after receiving the bread. As to-morrow’s Gospel reading is that passage from Matthew when Judas arranged such betrayal, I shall leave further discussion for the morrow.

To-day I shall concentrate on the traditional reflection for Holy Tuesday, the day of questions. As Jesus continued to teach in the temple, He was approached by the chief priests and scribes about His authority to teach. Rather than give a direct answer He counter questions them about the baptism of John. They are trapped, which no doubt infuriated them even more, especially after listening to the parable of the wicked tenants. Then the Pharisees tried to ensnare Jesus through His disciples by asking them, “Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor or not?” Jesus aware of their malicious intent answered for them and for us too that we must pay our taxes. So on this day of questions Our Lord made it quite clear that His authority comes from God, but at the same time He recognized a Princely authority in this world, and that His disciples and we live under that authority in this world. In others words Christians live in a political State, as well as the heavenly realm. He thus acknowledged that we are citizens of two worlds, and in both the Authority must be obeyed. Therefore as Christians we have to respect the authority of the State in which we live, and if we object to any of its laws, it must be done through the right channels. Being a Christian does not give us the right to ignore laws of our country, but it does give us the right to challenge them and work towards their change or alteration if they are unchristian through the proper process.

By what authority did He challenge them? Christ challenges them by that Higher authority which is His from His Father. His authority is able to penetrate the souls of all because it is divine, and so it unveils the narrowness, the rigidity, and above all the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and Scribes. In their ostentation of piety they had forgotten what humility and the kingdom of heaven were all about; in their insistence of tithing on the least things, they had forgotten the substance of the law, judgment, mercy and faith; and in insisting on dotting every “i” of the law, they had forgotten the heart and purpose of their Law.

Our Lord broke more than convention and rules when He openly condemned how these religious authorities have misinterpreted the whole concept of the religious Law by insisting on outward observances but ignoring the spirit and mercy of it. Furthermore he advocated to those listening to His teaching not to follow the hypocrisy of their religious leaders.

This Holy Tuesday God’s authority must confront us. We have to ask ourselves by whose authority do I live? It is not mine, certainly not the State’s, but God’s as the Giver of all life. However sometimes we forget that God is the supreme authority, and allow ourselves to be captivated by seducing demonic powers such as drugs or even Satan himself. If we allow this to happen for too long then we shall end up like the Pharisees having a hollow sound to our lives.

Even Christians who try to live under God’s authority must allow that authority to penetrate their very being on Holy Tuesday to determine whether their life is pharisaic at all. It is all so easy to be seen praying in church, but are we really praying? It is all so easy to be caught up with the angelic singing of the choir and yet not to be thinking of God at all or why we are in a church or chapel. It is all so easy to set an hour aside for prayer and then spend most of it day dreaming. It is all so easy to visit someone in hospital and think this is my good deed for the day. And so one could go on. What it means that it is almost too easy for us to be like the pharisees, “whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness” (Mt.23.25). So what Christ said about the Pharisees and Scribes, He could also say about us. If we take Holy Week seriously, we must heed our Lord’s warning and authority that we must not be outwardly what we are not inwardly. If we learn to be humble and not seek any kind of exaltation then we shall not fall into the Pharisees’ trap.

On this Holy Tuesday let me submit myself to Your authority in all that I do, knowing that if I submit completely I shall not live like the Pharisees by seeking recognition, but in humility, silently rejoicing that I am able to do Your will and be Your instrument in this world. Amen.