SUNDAY, JANUARY 29TH, THE FOURTH AFTER THE EPIPHANY

A question often put to Jesus, as his ministry progressed and his miracles abounded, was the question of authority. His words and actions clearly demonstrated that he was in touch with a greater power, and Jesus himself always acknowledged that he was about not his own, but his Father's, work. Well and good, but who asked Jesus in the first place to preach, teach and heal? Was it God's will, or was it Jesus's? By whose authority was Jesus doing these things? "What is this?" they cried, "A new teaching -- with authority!" Sometimes as Christians we feel that we have the right answers or feel we should do the right thing. The question in the back of our minds is, by what authority should we claim a Christian moral response?