It is said that the following incident took place off Massachusetts back in the early 50’s. It was a stormy night at sea and a large battleship saw a light in the distance. The light was directly on the ship’s course. The captain of the ship was alerted and had a radio message sent out: “Light up ahead, bear ten degrees south.” The captain received the reply, “Sir, you must bear ten degrees north. The captain grew furious, got onto the radio himself, and yelled, “I am Captain James Smith, that’s captain in the United States Navy. Whoever you are, I am ordering you to bear ten degrees south. Who are you and what is your rank?” He heard the feeble answer, “This is Seaman First Class Howard Scott, Sir; you must bear ten degrees north.” The captain barked out, “I am on the bridge of the Battleship USS New Jersey, and I am telling you to bear ten degrees south.” Then he heard the reply, “But, Sir, I am in the Baker’s Island Light House, and you had better bear ten degrees north.”
A statement carries authority according to two things: who is speaking and what is being said. The captain had authority due to his rank. The seaman had authority due to what was said. Jesus had both. What he said was true. He also had authority because of who he was.
We are called to exercise authority in some manner of discipleship, whether it be as leaders in our parish community, leaders in our occupation, or leaders of a family, or as disciples of the Lord. We know that authority – whether secular or religious is no longer automatic with a title or position.
Jesus spoke with authority. He was not like the scribes and Pharisees. He didn’t call us just to do some of the things that he did. He called us to be him to others. Today we pray that we might be invested in the authority that flows not just from what we say, but from who we are as disciples of Jesus Christ.