December 14/Third Monday of Advent
They discussed this among themselves. . . And they said to Jesus in reply, “We do not know.” ~ Matthew 21.27
As this contentious election year draws (thankfully) to a close, I have come to the conclusion that the apotheosis of inauthenticity is a political debate. The throwaway lines, the cheap posturing, the refusal to answer difficult questions directly, the proffering of empty promises over real commitments — taken together, these constitute an exercise in disingenuousness. The debate between the chief priests and elders and Jesus in today’s Gospel is not so different. Recognizing that the members of the Jewish religious and legal establishments are trying to trap him with a disingenuous question, Jesus counters with another question. “By whose authority are you acting?” they ask; Christ parries, “Was John’s baptism of heavenly or human origin?” Keenly aware of the political ramifications of their answer, unable to reply cleanly and squarely, they triangulate, prevaricate, and obfuscate until they fall back on the half-hearted defense of every politician ever: “We do not know.” Earlier in this Gospel, the priests and elders have failed to see the truth and to hear the truth; today they show themselves unable to speak it. Do we do any better today? As Christians in a secular culture, we sometimes find ourselves in the position of having to defend teachings that are hard or challenging. We may avoid taking a stand that offends or seems unfashionable. And so, like the chief priests and elders, we triangulate, prevaricate and obfuscate. But faced with the reality of Jesus Christ, nothing less than genuine commitment will suffice. As Alfred Delp, a German Jesuit who was martyred by the Nazis in 1945, wrote, “In the presence of the Ultimate the only thing that survives is what is authentic.”
Lord who governs the world and all that is in it, Give me the courage to embrace the truth of my faith and to speak it with conviction. Amen.
For today’s readings, click here: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/121420.cfm
To hear the Cambridge Singers sing John Rutter’s “God Be in My Head,” click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGMcFt61yjo
