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MEDITATION:

Written by Adam York, a contemporary Christian author.

You could say that our culture has an authority problem. Fifty years ago, respect for authority was the rule rather than the exception. Job titles like president, senator, general, or reverend used to be enough to demand people be treated with authority. The reasoning was simple: Somebody thought enough of those people to put them in positions of authority so they could be respected and trusted. Respect for authority has eroded in the span of a few decades because of a lack of trust. People used to trust their authorities, then their authorities betrayed them (at least in popular opinion). In addition to the trust issue, we tend to see authority as an encroachment on our freedom to do what we want, when we want. If someone has authority, it means he or she is in a position to wield power and command over things, but we don’t like anyone–or anything, for that matter–to have power over us.

Authority is a word that comes up frequently when people talk about Scripture. When we say the Bible has authority in our lives, we mean what’s written in it establishes truth and determines how we are to live as Christians. But how can the Bible do that? And how do we not allow our personal authority issues to conflict with the role God’s Word is supposed to play in our lives? At the root of our objections to authority is our sense of entitlement. We believe we have the right to do anything we want to do, and we’re ready to cry “foul” the moment someone or something infringes on those rights. We’re kidding ourselves if we think that’s true. We were purposefully imagined and crafted into being by the God of the universe. He’s the One who made us, so His is the ultimate authority in our lives. As the One who made everything, God is really the only being in all the universe who can rightly claim “rights.” He’s the One with all the authority, and the Bible, as God’s Word, carries that authority in its pages. That means the Bible isn’t just a book. It’s not like Poor Richard’s Almanac or another book of wise sayings. It doesn’t contain merely suggestions or advice. To say the Bible has authority is to recognize its great differences from other books… Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we find that when we go to the Bible to read it, it actually reads us. We see ourselves measured against its commands. Our true motivations are revealed in its characters. And the goodness and grace of the gospel drips off its pages.

PRAYER:

Written by The Lasallian Brothers, a religious teaching organization founded by Jean-Baptiste de LaSalle (1641-1719) in France and is now based in Rome.

Let us pause and remember that the God Who created us, Who redeemed us, and Who calls us to holiness and wholeness, is forever with us. We are God’s people and we continually live in His presence. Glory to You, Source of All Being, Eternal Word, and Holy Spirit. As it was, is now, and forever shall be. It is You Who nourishes us through Word and Sacrament. All glory and praise to You. Amen.