And his teaching made a deep impression on them because, unlike the scribes, he taught them with authority.
Jesus’s authority is not vested in him by power or position. He has not set himself up like the scribes have as better than those to whom he is talking. Rather his authority comes from his relationship with God and the idea that he also practices what he preaches.
Jesus does not go around telling others how wonderful he is – and yet his reputation spreads throughout Galilee. People believe and trust in him because of the authenticity of his words and actions.
Today the amount of column inches and air time devoted to “celebrities” seems to keep on growing. And yet what are the measures for these people’s success? As a society we seem to have become obsessed with wealth, power and celebrity at the expense of a genuine appreciation of those who live their lives in the service of others, making a difference and living out the values that they teach.
Perhaps this week we can spend time building up those in our society who are also authentic teachers, like Jesus was – those who show us how to live our lives in a spirit of humility and self-sacrifice. And perhaps we can also try to live out more closely what we profess to believe. Ensuring that we enable all people to live life to the full.
God of love,
grant that we may always try to live out our faith in our actions as well as in our words, as we follow the example of your Son Jesus, the great teacher.
Amen.
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