Ecclesiasticus 51:12-20 / Mark 11:27-33
It is not easy to admit that we are wrong, especially when we are confronted with facts.
It is even more difficult for people of authority to admit that they are wrong.
Simply because there is just too much to lose.
When the authorities confronted Jesus, it was Jesus who presented the facts.
But in refusing to acknowledge the facts, and by saying "We don't know", the authorities have exposed themselves.
Ironically, it was the people of authority that had put their own authority into question.
We are all people of authority in some way or another.
Some of us are parents who have authority over our children.
Some of us are supervisors and managers who have authority over our subordinates.
But this authority is given to us to discern what comes from God and to do the right thing.
In other words, authority is synonymous with service.
We serve our children by teaching them the right values.
We serve our subordinates with justice and fairness.
We serve like Jesus did, who came to serve by showing us how to live out the truth with love.