Mark 1:27
All were amazed and asked one another, "What is this? A new teaching with authority. He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him."
Authority tends to be a dirty word today, and it can seem that "speaking with authority" is the opposite of humility. Even when chatting online, I've felt the urge to add qualifiers such as "in my opinion" or "personally" onto statements so as to soften the strength of my assertions.
Jesus doesn't need any qualifiers. He doesn't tell us: "In my opinion, you should love your enemies and pray for those who hate you." Jesus never says: "I personally believe that the Kingdom of God is at hand." No, Christ simply tells it like it is.
Of course, Jesus *was* the Truth, whereas we merely may happen to know it. I still qualify my words when speaking on important issues that I may not have all the facts about, but when it comes to the truths of revelation given by Christ Himself, it's important not to let false humility be an excuse for cowardice. Jesus gave authority to his disciples to preach the Gospel. Are we speaking with that authority when passing on his message, or are we hiding behind soft language, thinking ourselves more humble than Christ?
Get to know our seminarians! Today's reflection was written by:
Donald Amodeo, Pastoral Year
Home parish: St. Mary's Catholic Church
Did you know...
A seminarian for the diocese of St. Petersburg, Donald Amodeo is the author of the afterlife adventure "Dead and Godless" and is currently serving his pastoral year at St. Paul's Catholic Church in St. Pete.
Pray with us for the men and women discerning the priesthood and religious life. To pray for our seminarians by name or to find out more about the Diocese of St. Petersburg vocations office, click here.
