Our Ultimate Authority
- davidwperk
- Jul 2, 2024
- 6 min read
Devotional Reflection, Tuesday, July 2, 2024
Proper 8, the week of the sixth Sunday after Pentecost
The Rev. David W. Perkins, Th.D.
Key phrases for reflection from today’s reading:
23 When he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching, and said, ‘By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?’
You will find the full text of today’s Gospel reading at the end of this reflection.
Daily Office Lectionary Readings (BCP, 973)
AM Psalm [120], 121, 122, 123; PM Psalm 124, 125, 126, [127]
Num. 22:21-38; Rom. 7:1-12; Matt. 21:23-32
Today we celebrate the Feast of Walter Rauschenbusch, Washington Gladden, and Jacob Riis. (See below.)
David’s Reflections
The German theologian Dietrich Bonhöffer, martyred by Hitler in 1945, wrote, "Our hearts have room for only one all-embracing devotion, and we can only cleave to one Lord." * Bonhöffer ministered during the rise and fall of The Third Reich. In a time when the church in Germany was compromising with Hitler, he and others in the Confessing Church were resisting the state’s claims of absolute authority, putting their lives and those of their families at risk.
Our readings of the Gospels easily can miss the point that the religious leaders arrayed against Jesus also were political functionaries. The Sanhedrin, composed of priests and members of the religious parties of the Sadducees and Pharisees, was allowed by the Roman governor of the province to exert political power over the internal affairs of Judea. That authority included control of the Temple precincts and the affairs of Temple life.
Jesus had just cleansed the Temple, ordering out those who sold animals and those exchanging currencies. The Temple tax had to be paid in local coinage that lacked the image of the Emperor; the money changers charged exchange fees. Those concessions were under the control of the Sanhedrin and the priests. By cleansing the Temple, Jesus had usurped their authority, prompting their question about who had given him the right to do these things.
As we approach Independence Day, we give thanks to God for this country and its liberties and privileges. Like you, I get a chill at the singing of The National Anthem or at hearing Ray Charles’s rendition of America the Beautiful. Yet, we are called to remember that people like Dietrich Bonhöffer loved their country as well. Love of country does not require blindness to the injustices lingering within our borders and our foreign policies or to the inconsistencies its leaders can evidence; rather, love of country requires resistance to practices that violate its core values. Our history of violating those core values stretches out behind us littered by the deaths and shattered lives of those who spoke truth to power and attempted to exercise their rights.
We acknowledge God alone as our ultimate authority and we remember Paul’s teaching that God intends government to be a servant of divine justice (See Romans 13). We express love of country in a variety of ways—voting, paying taxes, praying for our political leaders, serving in the military, and involving ourselves in the political process. Yet, it also is a love of country to dissent if and when our leaders’ actions are inconsistent with our own core values and our national charter (the Constitution). It is a love of country to dissent when persons and groups are not experiencing justice. Dissent got grafted into our DNA by the founding fathers dissent from British injustices. The civil rights movement of the 60’s affords us a prime example of how dissent can evoke change.
Today’s Gospel reminds us that the best expression of commitment to Jesus’ authority is to obey his teaching. It was Jesus who said, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s.” Our loyalties to Jesus and to the state are part of the same basic expression of our devotion to God’s reign expressed in those two ways. Dissent as citizens expresses our ultimate commitment to God’s rule and our desire that the country we love more fully reflect and live into that rule.
Imagine with me two circles, a smaller one drawn within a larger one. The larger circle represents divine authority, the smaller, civil authority. As long as the smaller circler remains completely within the larger one, our citizenship serves God’s intent for peace and justice. But, when a portion of that smaller circle of civil authority drifts outside the larger circle and civil authority conflicts with God’s authority, we have no choice but to dissent. As the Apostles put it in Acts 5:29, “We must obey God rather than any human authority.”
* Dietrich Bonhöffer, cited by Richard J. Foster, Money, Sex, and Power (New York: Harper, 1985), p. 26.
Collect of the Day, Proper 8, the sixth Sunday after Pentecost
Almighty God, you have built your Church upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone: Grant us so to be joined together in unity of spirit by their teaching, that we may be made a holy temple acceptable to you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (BCP, 230)
Today we celebrate the Feast of Walter Rauschenbusch, Washington Gladden, and Jacob Riis, prophetic witnesses (died 25 July 1918, 2 July 1918, 26 May 1914, respectively).
Collect of the Feast of Walter Rauschenbusch, Washington Gladden, and Jacob Riis
Loving God, you call us to do justice and love kindness: we thank you for the witness of Walter Rauschenbusch, Washington Gladden and Jacob Riis, reformers of society; and we pray that, following their examples of faithfulness to the Gospel, we may be ever mindful of the suffering of those who are poor and work diligently for the reform of our communities; through Jesus Christ, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
A Collect for Peace
O God, the author of peace and lover of concord, to know you is eternal life and to serve you is perfect freedom: Defend us, your humble servants, in all assaults of our enemies; that we, surely trusting in your defense, may not fear the power of any adversaries; through the might of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (BCP, 99)
For the Nation
Lord God Almighty, you have made all the peoples of the earth for your glory, to serve you in freedom and in peace: Give to the people of our country a zeal for justice and the strength of forbearance, that we may use our liberty in accordance with your gracious will; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (BCP,258)
A Prayer for Light
Lighten our darkness, we beseech you, O Lord; and by your great mercy defend us from all perils and dangers of this night; for the love of your only Son, Jesus Christ, Amen. (BCP, 111)
A Collect for Mission
Almighty and everlasting God, by whose Spirit the whole body of your faithful people is governed and sanctified: Receive our supplications and prayers which we offer before you for all members of your holy Church, that in their vocation and ministry they may truly and devoutly serve you; through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. (BCP, 100)
Daily Office Gospel, Matthew 21:23-32
23 When he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching, and said, ‘By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?’ 24Jesus said to them, ‘I will also ask you one question; if you tell me the answer, then I will also tell you by what authority I do these things. 25Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin?’ And they argued with one another, ‘If we say, “From heaven,” he will say to us, “Why then did you not believe him?” 26But if we say, “Of human origin,” we are afraid of the crowd; for all regard John as a prophet.’ 27So they answered Jesus, ‘We do not know.’ And he said to them, ‘Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.
28 ‘What do you think? A man had two sons; he went to the first and said, “Son, go and work in the vineyard today.” 29He answered, “I will not”; but later he changed his mind and went. 30The father went to the second and said the same; and he answered, “I go, sir”; but he did not go. 31Which of the two did the will of his father?’ They said, ‘The first.’ Jesus said to them, ‘Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you. 32For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him; and even after you saw it, you did not change your minds and believe him.
Daily Offices in the Book of Common Prayer
Morning Prayer, Rite 2, page 75, The Book of Common Prayer
Noonday Prayer, page 103, Book of Common Prayer
Order of Worship for Evening (Vespers), p 109, Book of Common Prayer
Evening Prayer, Rite 2, page 115, Book of Common Prayer
Compline (Night Prayer), page 127, Book of Common Prayer
Daily Devotionals, page 136, Book of Common Prayer
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