Matthew 21: 23-27
The Centrality of Faith
in our Spiritual Journey…
In today’s Gospel reading from
Matthew, we find Jesus reminding us again of the importance of faith in our
journey from worldly slavery to spiritual freedom.
Is Jesus of divine origin or
is he merely human? Do we trust our worldly-physical instincts or do we
submit to God’s divine-spiritual inspiration? Do we fear the paralyzing
evils ever present in a human world or can we rely on Jesus’ promises for a
liberated kingdom stemming from divine faith.
We live in a world filled with
terror. People intimidate us, threatening loss of physical
comforts. A kingdom free of fear, a world empowered by faith in a promise
beyond human instinct, is hard to imagine unless, as Jesus reminds us, “we let
go and let God.”
Albert Einstein is famously
remembered for his quotation that “Imagination is more important than
Knowledge.” The product of human wisdom and knowledge is the same fear
that paralyzed the chief priest and elders from answering Jesus. The
harvest of faith is a liberating salvation driven by imagination flowing from
divine inspiration that no worldly knowledge can prove otherwise.
Unfortunately for the chief priests, the elders and ourselves, we remain
paralyzed by the slavery that is unbelief, unable to hear Jesus’ authoritative
message.
Hugh
O’Donnell
http://www.osbpgh.org/Advent%20Reflections%202002.htm
Matthew 21
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23 And when he was
come into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came
unto him as he was teaching, and said, By what authority doest thou these
things? and who gave thee this authority? 24 And Jesus
answered and said unto them, I also will ask you one
thing, which if ye tell me, I in like wise will tell you by what authority I
do these things. 25 The
baptism of John, whence was it? from heaven, or of
men? And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From
heaven; he will say unto us, Why did ye not then believe him? 26 But if we shall
say, Of men; we fear the people; for all hold John as a prophet. 27 And they
answered Jesus, and said, We cannot tell. And he said unto them, Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things. |