Reading 1
Nm 24:2-7, 15-17a
When Balaam raised his eyes and saw Israel encamped, tribe by tribe,
the spirit of God came upon him,
and he gave voice to his oracle:
The utterance of Balaam, son of Beor,
the utterance of a man whose eye is true,
The utterance of one who hears what God says,
and knows what the Most High knows,
Of one who sees what the Almighty sees,
enraptured, and with eyes unveiled:
How goodly are your tents, O Jacob;
your encampments, O Israel!
They are like gardens beside a stream,
like the cedars planted by the LORD.
His wells shall yield free-flowing waters,
he shall have the sea within reach;
His king shall rise higher,
and his royalty shall be exalted.
Then Balaam gave voice to his oracle:
The utterance of Balaam, son of Beor,
the utterance of the man whose eye is true,
The utterance of one who hears what God says,
and knows what the Most High knows,
Of one who sees what the Almighty sees,
enraptured, and with eyes unveiled.
I see him, though not now;
I behold him, though not near:
A star shall advance from Jacob,
and a staff shall rise from Israel.
Gospel
Mt 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.”
Meditation: Matthew 21:23-27
Who gave you this authority? (Matthew 21:23)
You can almost hear the foot stamp that goes with this demand. Just tell us! Not because we really care about what’s true but so that we can find a way to get rid of you. Jesus had just ridden triumphantly into Jerusalem, and people were already hanging on his words, being healed, and singing his praises. That made some of the religious authorities unhappy. They were determined to prove his teaching wrong so that they could stop others from believing in him.
It’s a ridiculous request, really, and yet Jesus’ enemies were sure of themselves. They didn’t think he was smart enough, on a human level, to avoid their trap. They certainly didn’t believe that he was God’s chosen Messiah. They could not allow themselves to accept that this everyday preacher could be Israel’s salvation.
Sometimes the gospel is as hard for us to believe as it was for these religious leaders. For instance, Scripture is clear that God knows everything about you. Do you believe it? That can be a scary thought, because we all have “stuff” lurking in the shadowy corners of our hearts. But God loves you unconditionally, regardless of what you have done or failed to do. He loves you in spite of your judgments and biases. He loves you through your weaknesses and infirmities.
Because of his love, God also knows what’s best for you—even if you don’t agree with him. Do you believe that? He has the right to direct your life, no matter what your intellect tells you and no matter what your own desires or goals may be.
It can be hard to believe sometimes, but God really does love you. He really does want good for your life. It’s okay to ask him the challenging questions from time to time: Why is this happening to me? How should I respond to the crisis unfolding around me? We just need to be sure we don’t sound like these elders of Israel who asked an innocent question … but with devious motives. If our hearts are right when we ask, God will answer us. Even better than that, his answer will comfort us!
“Father, I know I need healing and forgiveness, but mostly I need to know that I can rely on your love. Open my heart so that I can trust you more.”
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