He Taught Like One Having Authority, Not Like The Scribes
by Deacon Robert Schnell 01/14/2020
When I was in law school there was a famous professor who taught trial practice (basically, how to try cases) all over the country. He didn't just teach students; he made a handsome living teaching established lawyers what to do in the courtroom. He sold videos (it was before YouTube) and gave seminars. He was a very engaging presenter, and his ideas all seemed to make sense, at least if you didn't know much about trying cases. So there came a time when someone decided to hire this teacher, who seemed to know so much about trying cases, to actually try a case. It turned out to be a disaster. He knew a lot of theory, but the jury seemed to hate him, and things that were supposed to work smoothly, didn't (courtrooms are like that). It is one thing to have studied a lot, and know academic theories. It is something else entirely to have actually done-- experienced-- something. Perhaps that distinction is what is going on in today's gospel (Mk 1: 21-28) where the crowd immediately can see the difference between Jesus' teaching (He teaches as "one having authority") and the way the scribes taught. The scribes, after all, had studied a great deal and knew a ton about the words of the scriptures. But they were not the "Word," the One who is present in the scriptures, the One about whom all the scriptures speak. They were not the One about whom John wrote: "In the beginning was the Word...." You almost have to feel sorry for the scribes, because there was no way that they could teach about the scriptures in a way that would compare favorably to the teaching of the "Word." In a sense we are all like the scribes. We're trying to teach about the "Word." We're trying to bring others to the "Word." We're seeking to inspire. Those are all good things, or course, as far as they go. But in the doing of these things it can quickly become all about us, and our ministry, and our sense of self-worth, and our need to accomplish something. Rather than trying to teach with authority about the words of the Scriptures, perhaps the best thing we can do is humbly introduce the "Word" to those around us, whenever we can. After that, we can step back and let Jesus "teach with authority."