Patrick Comerford
The 50-day season of Easter, which began on Easter Day (5 April 2026), came to an end on Sunday with the Day of Pentecost or Whit Sunday (24 May 2026). In the Church Calendar we have been back in Ordinary Time since last Monday, and tomorrow is Trinity Sunday (31 May 2026).
The calendar of the Church of England in Common Worship today recalls Josephine Butler (1906), Social Reformer, Joan of Arc (1431), Visionary, and Apolo Kivebulaya (1933), Priest and Evangelist in Central Africa. Before today begins, I am taking some quiet time this morning to give thanks, to reflect, to pray and to read in these ways:
1, reading today’s Gospel reading;
2, a short reflection;
3, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary;
4, the Collects and Post-Communion prayer of the day.
Mark 11: 27-33 (NRSVA):
27 Again they came to Jerusalem. As he was walking in the temple, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders came to him 28 and said, ‘By what authority are you doing these things? Who gave you this authority to do them?’ 29 Jesus said to them, ‘I will ask you one question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. 30 Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin? Answer me.’ 31 They argued with one another, ‘If we say, “From heaven”, he will say, “Why then did you not believe him?” 32 But shall we say, “Of human origin”?’ – they were afraid of the crowd, for all regarded John as truly a prophet. 33 So they answered Jesus, ‘We do not know.’ And Jesus said to them, ‘Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.’
Today’s reflections:
The setting for today’s Gospel reading (Mark 11: 27-33) is the Temple in Jerusalem. Christ is teaching in the Temple, when the Chief Priests, the Scribes and the elders challenge his authority to teach (Mark 11: 27-33). There he is also challenged by some Pharisees and Herodians (Mark 12: 13-17), some Sadducees also question him (Mark 12: 18-27), and then a Scribe who overhears all these questions, answers and arguments has a question of his own, and asks, ‘Which commandment is the first of all?’ (Mark 12: 28).
Today’s reading (Mark 11: 27-33) explores the confrontation in the Temple where the chief priests, scribes, and elders challenge Jesus’s authority following his disruptive actions in Jerusalem.
Jesus provides an interesting example of a Socratic Counter-Challenge when, instead of answering directly, he cleverly defuses the trap by asking the religious leaders whether John’s baptism was from heaven or of human origin.
The leaders are paralysed by the political implications of any answer they give. They cannot say ‘from heaven’ without looking foolish for not believing John, and they fear the crowd’s reaction if they say ‘of human origin’.
This encounter offers a contrast between Jesus, who teaches with undeniable, independent personal authority, and the establishment leaders who rely strictly on reciting traditional, institutional rulings.
The Scribes pay attention to the law and have intimate knowledge of its content. They are responsible for making copies of the law and teaching it to others (see Ezra 7: 6; Ezra 7: 10-12; Nehemiah 8: 1, 4, 9, 13). The Scribes are usually Pharisees. They support but sometimes also supplement the written law with their traditions (see Matthew 23: 2).
In the Gospels, the titles ‘scribes’ and ‘lawyers’ are often interchangeable (see Matthew 22: 35; Mark 12: 28; Luke 20: 39). They are teachers of the people (Mark 1: 22) and interpreters of the Law. They are widely respected because of their knowledge, dedication, and law-keeping.
The Scribes act responsibly and seriously in their task of preserving Scripture, and they copy and recopy the Bible meticulously, even counting letters and spaces to ensure each copy is correct.
But in the Gospels they are often charged with ignoring the spirit behind the Law, so their regulations and traditions added to the Law become more important than the Law itself. They know the Law and they teach it to others, but they do not always honour the spirit of the Law.
The Greek word for authority used here is ἐξουσία (exousia), which comes from the verb ἔξεστι (exesti) and refers to something that is lawful, may be done, is permitted or is permissible.
The English word ‘authority’ comes from the Latin auctoritas, an abstract noun from the verb augere, to increase or to make bigger. The same verb gives us the word author.
A person with ‘authority’ is not merely someone who wields coercive power over others. The exercise of genuine authority is not to control or keep in line. Exercised properly, authority is being an agent in releasing the potential that is in people, to be an empowering agent.
Jesus does not wield coercive authority. He invites people to follow him; he came to serve, not be served, he came to lead people into the full development of all they could be and were meant to be. His authority is the authority of outreaching love.
How have I exercised authority in my own life – as a parent, as a priest, as a teacher, as a writer or journalist who may influence the thinking, the decisions and the actions of others? Is the world a little better, a little more loving because of what I say or do?
Today’s Prayers (Saturday 30 May 2026):
This week in Pray with the World Church, the prayer diary of the Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel), from 24 to 30 May 2026 (pp 58-59), the theme has been ‘Carriers of the Flame’ and was introduced last Sunday with reflections by Carol Miller, Church Engagement Manager, USPG.
The USPG Prayer Diary today (Saturday 30 May 2026) invites us to pray:
Renew us as a praying and faithful people, that the flame of Pentecost may shine in our churches and homes.
The Collect:
God of compassion and love,
by whose grace your servant Josephine Butler
followed in the way of your Son
in caring for those in need:
help us like her to work with strength
for the restoration of all to the dignity
and freedom of those created in your image;
through Jesus Christ our Saviour,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
The Post-Communion Prayer:
God our redeemer,
who inspired Josephine Butler to witness to your love
and to work for the coming of your kingdom:
may we, who in this sacrament share the bread of heaven,
be fired by your Spirit to proclaim the gospel in our daily living
and never to rest content until your kingdom come,
on earth as it is in heaven;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Collect on the Eve of Trinity Sunday:
Almighty and everlasting God,
you have given us your servants grace,
by the confession of a true faith,
to acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity
and in the power of the divine majesty to worship the Unity:
keep us steadfast in this faith,
that we may evermore be defended from all adversities;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Yesterday’s Reflections
Continued Tomorrow
Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org
