Sunday Vigil
Reading of the Word of God
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Whoever lives and believes in me
will never die.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Mark 11,27-33
They came to Jerusalem again, and as Jesus was walking in the Temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to him, and they said to him, 'What authority have you for acting like this? Or who gave you authority to act like this?' Jesus said to them, 'And I will ask you a question, just one; answer me and I will tell you my authority for acting like this. John's baptism, what was its origin, heavenly or human? Answer me that.' And they argued this way among themselves, 'If we say heavenly, he will say, "Then why did you refuse to believe him?" But dare we say human?' -- they had the people to fear, for everyone held that John had been a real prophet. So their reply to Jesus was, 'We do not know.' And Jesus said to them, 'Nor will I tell you my authority for acting like this.'
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
If you believe, you will see the glory of God,
thus says the Lord.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
It is the third time that Jesus enters Jerusalem and walks in the temple, which has now become the usual place he teaches. Jesus had not received any permission to teach. He was a "lay person," in the sense that he did not belong to a priestly line. His opponents are convinced that their authority was founded on the doctrine of Moses. But what was the foundation of Jesus' authority to chase the merchants out of the temple, to preach, and to heal? Indeed, in this question a central issue is hidden. The question had already been raised in the synagogue of Nazareth when Jesus first preached. Both the inhabitants of Nazareth and the leaders of the people refuse to allow Jesus to have any authority over the people and even less over them. But Jesus, using a typical rabbinic technique, responds to them with another question. He asks them, "Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin?" Those high priests, scribes, and elders could have answered truthfully. But they were afraid of the reaction of the crowd if they had discredited the Baptist. Jesus' preaching is the continuation of that of the Baptist, and the Word of God cannot be silenced, neither by chains nor by prejudice. The Word does not speak to those who are not prepared with an open heart to receive it. Even in Nazareth, faced with the total lack of even the search for truth, Jesus could not work miracles.