Reading 1
Jude 17, 20b-25
Beloved, remember the words spoken beforehand
by the Apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Build yourselves up in your most holy faith; pray in the Holy Spirit.
Keep yourselves in the love of God
and wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ
that leads to eternal life.
On those who waver, have mercy;
save others by snatching them out of the fire;
on others have mercy with fear,
abhorring even the outer garment stained by the flesh.
To the one who is able to keep you from stumbling
and to present you unblemished and exultant,
in the presence of his glory,
to the only God, our savior,
through Jesus Christ our Lord
be glory, majesty, power, and authority
from ages past, now, and for ages to come. Amen.
Gospel
Mk 11:27-33
Jesus and his disciples returned once more to Jerusalem.
As he was walking in the temple area,
the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders
approached him and said to him,
“By what authority are you doing these things?
Or who gave you this authority to do them?”
Jesus said to them, “I shall ask you one question.
Answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things.
Was John’s baptism of heavenly or of human origin? Answer me.”
They discussed this among themselves and said,
“If we say, ‘Of heavenly origin,’ he will say,
‘Then why did you not believe him?’
But shall we say, ‘Of human origin’?”–
they feared the crowd,
for they all thought John really was a prophet.
So they said to Jesus in reply, “We do not know.”
Then Jesus said to them,
“Neither shall I tell you by what authority I do these things.”
Meditation: Mark 11:27-33
We do not know. (Mark 11:33)
Have you ever felt cornered by someone’s interrogations? You know that no matter how you answer, you’ll get yourself in trouble. Usually, this happens either because you really are guilty of the thing your questioner is pressing you about or because your questioner has so twisted the truth that there is no way out. Either way, you can’t salvage the situation, and you have to resign yourself to having lost a battle of wits.
Now imagine how the Jewish elders must have felt when Jesus asked them whether they believed in John the Baptist’s preaching. There was no way they could answer without placing themselves in a negative light. If they said they did believe, he would press them on the way they abandoned John to Herod. If they said they didn’t believe, they would appear to be on the wrong side of the people, who considered John to be a hero. So, they chose the path of least resistance and played dumb.
Mind you, Jesus wasn’t trying to make these leaders look bad. He just wanted them to confess that they had been wrong about John the Baptist. He hoped that reminding them about a shadowy part of their past would spur them to repentance and to change their position about John—and about Jesus himself.
Jesus may take a similar approach with us at times. He may bring to mind a situation where we mistreated someone. Or he may remind us of a long-standing grudge we have been holding or a sin from our past that we have not acknowledged—all in the hope that we will face it and turn to him in repentance.
The chief priests and scribes could have replied, “You’re right. John’s baptism was from heaven, and we didn’t believe him. We should have tried to defend him when Herod had him arrested. Even more importantly, we should have accepted his message.” Instead, they hardened their hearts.
Let’s not play dumb! If and when the Holy Spirit brings some past unpleasantness to the surface of our minds, let’s acknowledge it and deal with it. How else will we ever find freedom and peace?
“Jesus, thank you for giving me so many chances to repent and turn back to you. Give me the courage to listen to your Holy Spirit’s questions so that I can know even deeper freedom and a greater friendship with you.”
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