Authority versus Power, theological speaking. When God speaks—and thus His Son, Jesus—He speaks Truth. When we hear the truth, like the people in today’s gospel in the synagogue, we are riveted.

Power is something we consider that comes with position or office. It is statutory. For example, we hold that our Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches of the federal government have power over us by virtue of the Constitution and the consent or will of people.

In today’s gospel, Jesus speaks with authority in that His words are Truth and His intentions are to bring about the “most excellent good” for us—salvation and our dwelling within the inner and divine life of God. God invites us to His Truths because God respects our free will, freedom, and our desire for authority—which appeals to the inner self. Authority naturally grows in our desiring of it as our freedom grows; power is less authentic as it is imposed upon us, thus it rules over us. Jesus speaks to this desire for authority as He notes how God made us to exist within a living dialogue of Freedom, Faith and Grace. This makes sense as we consider power as controlling us: a young child runs out from the yard and after the ball rolling into the street. The parent does not try to reason with the child but rather grabs on to him, taking control, and protects him. As we grow older and grow in freedom, we also grow in the desire for
authority-seeking to be reasoned with, informed and educated. Jesus is doing just that in the synagogue today, as he speaks the Truth. May we too be spellbound and amazed by His Words!