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Gospel: Matthew 21: 23-27
When Jesus had come into the temple area,
the chief priests and the elders of the people approached him
as he was teaching and said,
“By what authority are you doing these things?
And who gave you this authority?”
Jesus said to them in reply,
“I shall ask you one question, and if you answer it for me,
then I shall tell you by what authority I do these things.
Where was John’s baptism from?
Was it of heavenly or of human origin?”
They discussed this among themselves and said,
“If we say ‘Of heavenly origin,’ he will say to us,
‘Then why did you not believe him?’
But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ we fear the crowd,
for they all regard John as a prophet.”
So they said to Jesus in reply, “We do not know.”
He himself said to them,
“Neither shall I tell you by what authority I do these things.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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“We do not know” can be a valid answer to certain questions of faith.
None of us knows when the world will end; how many people will be saved; what the resurrection will be like in its entirety; the extent of divine judgment; what heaven is like; or what the face of God the Father is like.
While we may have inklings of knowledge, at times “we do not know” is a fair answer.
But not always.
Sometimes we must decide.
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For example, before a child is baptized, the parents and godparents are asked questions which demand an answer.
“Are you ready and able to raise this child in the Catholic faith?”
“Do you believe in God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth?”
“Do you believe in one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church?”
“We do not know” is not a sufficient answer.
Either “I do” or “I don’t.” … “I am,” or “I’m not.”
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In today’s Gospel, Jesus asks the high priests and religious elders a question that demands a clear answer: “Where was John’s baptism from? Was it of heavenly or of human origin?”
It’s a catch-22, because Jesus has implicitly linked himself with John. If they say that John’s baptism was of divine origin, then they are also acknowledging Christ’s divine mission. But if they deny it, then they’ll lose the support of the crowds.
So, they retreat into the non-committal area of, “We do not know.”
Such a public embarrassment only fuels their urgent need to rid themselves of Christ. In less than 72-hours, they’ll have him arrested and paraded before Pontius Pilate.
Then Pilate and the rest of the crowds will have to answer the same question: “Who is this man, Jesus? Is he of human or divine origin?”
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In the end, it’s a question we all must answer. “We do not know” is insufficient. Yet words are not really necessary, either.
Who do we say Jesus is?
May our decisions reflect that answer today.
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Image credits: (1) Solo Practice University (2) Christ and the Pharisees, Ernst Zimmerman (3) Graciousquotes.com