“So I tell you: what yon forbid on earth will be forbidden in heaven; what yon permit on earth, will be permitted in heaven.” Matthew 18, 18.
“He who hears you, hears me. He who rejects you, rejects me. And he who rejects me, rejects him who sent me”. Luke 10,16.
“By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13,35.
When Jesus began to preach, people were surprised. “For he taught them as one who has authority and not as their scribes”. (Mt 7,29) Jesus did not support his doctrine by citing learned opinions of scholars. He proclaimed a message on the strength of his own authority: “But I say to you...”, (Mt 5,22) as one who knew himself commissioned by God. “I can do nothing on my own; I judge only as God tells me. So my judgment is right, because I am not trying to do what I want, but only what he who sent me wants”. (Jn 5,30)
Jesus’ authority manifested itself also in his miraculous cures (Mk 5,30) and in his power to forgive sins. (Mt 9,6) Confronted with the priests in the temple, Jesus insisted on possessing authority. (Mt 21,23-27) Jesus sent his apostles into the whole world in the awareness: “To me has been given all authority in heaven and on earth”. (Mt 28,18)
Jesus’ authority cannot be relegated to the periphery of the gospel message. The artificial separation of Jesus’ moral doctrines from his self-understanding (however popular with enlightened Humanists) cannot be justified in any way. The same phrase that contains the statement: “Love your enemies” enshrines the authoritative self-assertion: “I say to you”. (Mt 5,43)
The same lesson through which Jesus teaches that all people will be judged by their fraternal charity, presupposes that Jesus himself is the supreme judge and the norm of all good. “Whatsoever you did to the least of my brothers you did to me”. ((Mt 25,40) Jesus is the absolute Lord. He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. (Jn 14,6) Without his authority Jesus could not demand the obedience of faith and he could not save us.
The apostles shared in Jesus’ authority. They were commissioned to continue Jesus’ work of authoritative salvation.
“Jesus gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every sickness and disease”. (Mt 10,1) Jesus gave them the authority to take decisions that would guide others’ consciences “to forbid and to permit”. (Mt 18,18) Jesus authorised them to receive disciples in his name, to baptise them and to teach them his way of life. (Mt 28, 19-20)
We cannot separate the existence of the apostle from his or her authority. The apostle is precisely “apostle”, “sent”, to the extent in which he or she was officially empowered to act on behalf of the master. The apostle is not a philosopher who speaks from his own wisdom or a doctor who applies her own medicine. The apostle has authority. The apostle can teach and heal because he or she has authority.
It is useful to reflect on the relationship between our personality and our authority. Sociology tells us that any community or group tends to be guided by so called “natural leaders”. These are persons who possess the qualities required to inspire and lead others. Among such qualities we may reckon: the ability to maintain good human relations; a special talent in the skills demanded by the group; maturity of character; and the sense of responsibility. Whereas others may try to command respect in vain, natural leaders will spontaneously be recognised and accepted by the group.
Without any doubt Jesus himself was a natural leader. But what about the apostles? Were they chosen by Jesus because they had social qualities conducive to make them accepted as natural leaders?
We know that Jesus selected the apostles very carefully. Before calling the twelve, Jesus prayed the whole night. (Lk 6,12) He chose only those whom “he himself selected”. (Mk 3,13) Studying the gospels, we find plenty of indications to show that Jesus did not only select them on a spiritual basis, but also with an eye on their natural talents.
Peter, the first Pope, was undoubtedly a born leader who proved his leadership at various occasions at Caesarea Philippi, (Mk 8,29) on the mount of transfiguration, (Mk 9,5) on the road to Jerusalem (Mk10,28) near Bethany (Mk 11,21) and at the last supper. (Mk 14,29) Paul too was called by Jesus because of his gift of leadership. ( Acts 26,16-18) We may be sure that all the apostles had natural qualities that predisposed them for their special mission.
Some degree of natural leadership was undoubtedly presupposed in Jesus’ selection of the apostles. But the authority Jesus gave may not be judged as an extension of such natural dispositions. Jesus gave something startlingly new and entirely different.
Simon, the magician, was a natural leader greatly esteemed in Samaria. (Acts 8,9-11) He realized that the power demonstrated by Peter and John went far beyond his own. ( Acts 8,18-19) Even a poor natural leader if called by Christ will preach and sanctify with Christ’s authority. The most gifted natural leader will lack this authority, unless it is explicitly conferred on the individual by Christ.
For every kind of leadership a special talent is required. A student who proves himself a natural leader in the classroom, may have no influence on the football field. What is the particular talent which Jesus was looking for in those whom he called to continue his mission? The main talent seems to have been that of love. It is love that Jesus insisted on when confirming Simon Peter in his apostolic function. “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” Jesus repeated the question three times. (Jn 21,15-17.)
Loyalty to himself and dedicated devotion to the flock was the virtue that predisposed a person to becoming Jesus’ ambassador
Jesus often speaks of a quality that we might call priestly charity. Jesus expects his priests to take the utmost care for the spiritual welfare of even one person, as a shepherd looking for the hundredth sheep. ((Mt 18,10-13) He wants his priest to be ready to die for his sheep. (Jn 10,11) Priestly charity does not mean that a priest should have charity in a higher degree than other Christians.
Charity is the nature of the priestly function itself: the charity of saving people by the word of truth and the healing of grace.
The priesthood was born out of Jesus’ divine love for the people, “As he saw the multitude his heart was filled with pity for them, because they were worried and helpless, like sheep without shepherd”. (Mt 9,36) Jesus’ own mission proceeded from love. “For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not die but have eternal life”. (Jn 3,16) But the apostles continue the same mission. “As the Father sent me, so I send you”. (Jn 20,21)
As Jesus gave himself in love, so the essence of the priesthood is a giving of Jesus in love. We cannot separate Jesus’ authority from his person or from his love. The same applies to spiritual leaders who receive Jesus’ authority. By the authority which they exercise they make Jesus present among people and manifest his love. The personality of the individual leader will have a part to play.
If the individual is a natural leader, God wants that person to make use of this quality to facilitate his or her spiritual mission. But the authority of Jesus should transcend and transform the human person. It should give him or her the power to manifest Jesus to others, not in a demonstration of social competence but by a radiation of Jesus’ saving love. “He who hears you, hears me.”. (Lk 10,16)