A Reflection for the Memorial of St. Gregory the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church
Find today’s readings here.
He taught them on the sabbath, and they were astonished at his teaching because he spoke with authority.
Jesus taught the people with authority. This idea is mentioned several times in the Gospels, but today’s passage is particularly helpful for clarifying what it means. Walking through the synagogue, Jesus is harassed by a man possessed by a demon, and he utters a command that the demon promptly obeys. It’s a clear manifestation of his power, but there’s more to it than that. Prophets, priests, and earthly kings must all appeal to a higher authority for the power to do supernatural things. For Jesus, there is no higher authority.
Moses, normally a model of humility, was sternly reprimanded at the waters of Meribah for working a miracle without giving the glory to God. When Elijah humiliated the priests of Baal by calling down fire from Heaven, he began by praying, “Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word (1 Kings 18).”
Jesus says, “Be quiet! Come out of him!" That’s all it takes.
Earthly authorities today are unlikely to follow Elijah’s example by appealing publicly to God. Nevertheless, the deeper truth applies to our time as much as any: no merehuman can appropriately exercise authority simply on his own say-so, in pursuit of his own chosen ends. Only God can do that.
Today’s feast honors St. Gregory the Great, a sixth-century pontiff who clearly understood what it meant to wield earthly authority. Born into a wealthy and influential family, he had political talents and entered public service as a young man. But he soon left that path, seeking instead to grow in holiness by embracing the monastic life. It was a troubled time, with the church fighting corruption and multiple factions vying for power within Rome. St. Gregory’s preference for the monastery was readily understandable, but his gifts were sorely needed, so he was called back into service, first as a deacon and eventually as a pope. He accepted the mantle of authority without relish, but served the Church energetically, encouraging missionary work, using his diplomatic talents to promote peace, and tamping down corruption within the church itself. He wrote prayers and cultivated reverent liturgy. He called himself the “servant of the servants of God,” a phrase that is associated with the papacy to this day. St. Gregory knew how to place himself at God’s service, giving back all the talents that were given to him.
As St. Paul reminds us in today’s reading, the ways of “the spirit” are often incomprehensible according to earthly logic. In this world, people in authority are often seen as superior to others, and they easily persuade themselves that they deserve to have their own way. God sees things differently. Only he can give commands with no further obligation to explain or justify himself. Everyone else receives authority only at God’s pleasure, for the sake of serving others.
Examining the world in our own time, it may sometimes seem that this way of thinking about authority has disappeared completely, and that we are doomed to be subject to liars and charlatans who dominate at their pleasure. Do not worry. We have a living God, and when it comes to the point, even the demons obey him.
