By What Authority?

Gospel: John 11: 45-56

The religious leaders gather together and conspire to put Jesus to death after he raises Lazarus from the dead.  In their thinking, if Jesus is the Messiah, the people will follow him and sweep the Romans out of power in order to restore the kingdom of Israel.  They would then be out of power since they only have their positions because Rome appointed them; they are not legitimate leaders according to the Law of Israel.  

Those in positions of power tend to rely on the fact of appointment or the position itself as justification for their authority.  The religious leaders of Jesus' day do so as well.  As noted before, Jesus relies on the good deeds he performs to speak on his behalf; in short, Jesus relies on moral authority as the basis for his work and ministry.  Good deeds come from God and the one who performs good deeds has God's authority.  

Someday religious leaders will learn that moral authority is far more important than authority of position or rank.  If one does not possess moral authority then they in fact have no authority at all.  When scandals are allowed to exist and when religious leaders have sold themselves out as mere mouthpieces for political agendas, moral authority is lost and it is difficult to recover.  This Lenten time of repentance and reform is an occasion for such recovery and conversion for us all.