Power vs Authority

 Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B

Our discussion these days often revolves around power - who has it and who doesn’t? The powerless often decry that the powerful have a monopoly over power which they do not hesitate to abuse and the powerful would often justify the exercise of such power for a greater good, i.e. they are doing it for the people. But discussions on power often leaves everyone dissatisfied. The powerful will always claim that they need more power, and those who claim to be powerless will always complain that they do not have enough power. The problem is confounded when we conflate power with authority – we often think they are one and the same thing.

A distinction is made between power and authority in today’s gospel. We see the unrestrained power of evil and the liberating authority of Christ. The unclean spirit’s power over this man had subjugated his mind and will. The man was no longer free. On the other hand, we witness the unique authority of Christ, an authority which is not based on imposing one’s will on the other, an authority which does not rely on the wisdom of others, an authority which does not seek to dominate, but one which liberates.

Let’s be honest, if authority was exercised by any other person other than our Lord, it would immediately trigger an adverse response from most of us. "Authority" is a word that makes most people think of law and order, command and control, dominance and submission. We focus over and over again on the oppressive side of authority. One tragedy of our time is that "authority" has become almost a dirty word in our society, while opposition to authority in schools, families, society and the church generally is cheered upon and seen as something fine. The reason for this is that we are unable to distinguish authority from power.

Scripture, by using two Greek words, makes a distinction between power and authority.  “Dunamis” is usually translated as “power,” from which we get our word ‘dynamite.’ “Dunamis” implies power, strength or even violence. In the New Testament, this is often associated with the ability to do miraculous things. Whereas, the Greek word “exousia” is usually translated as “authority” and suggests jurisdiction, right, and strength. Jesus indeed had dunamis, but more importantly He had exousia, the authority of the Son of God. And that very same authority has been entrusted to the apostles and to the Church. Without such God-given authority, the exercise of power would be ruinous. Instead of being a gift, power without authority can become a great source of temptation.

In today’s gospel, our Lord exhibits power in driving out a demonic spirit but more significantly His teaching was recognised by the people as one “with authority.” But they do not fully understand that authority. At this stage of the gospel, only the demon is able to recognise Him, for the power of evil knows its adversary, it knows that the time of its defeat and destruction has come. The demon understands that our Lord comes with the authority of God. The story reflects the great cosmic battle between the power of God and that of evil, where God is always triumphant. At the very same time, this story helps us understand how authority can also mean freedom and liberty. The authority of Christ is one which frees man from enslavement to sin and evil.

But not all exercise of power is liberating. When power is separated from authority, it descends into authoritarianism. Authoritarianism is authority corrupted, twisted. It is power without authority. It is the exercise of power without accountability. The unclean spirit had power over this man but it did not have the authority to be there. Its control over this man was an abomination in the eyes of God. Authoritarianism appears when the submission that is demanded cannot be justified in terms of truth or morality. Authoritarianism betrays an imperious mentality that thinks that one’s actions must always be without constraint. Authoritarianism often involves a greasy, sneaky and even manipulative abuse of power. But perhaps the most insidious distortion of authoritarianism is that it actually denies legitimate authority in order to hold that authority for oneself autonomously.

But true authority is sacrificial and giving. Such authority is a matter of service rather than one which lords over others. Our Lord demonstrated such authority in His ministry – He came to serve and not to be served. Secondly, true exercise of authority demands that we be accountable to another. Legitimate authority is needed to keep unbridled power in check. It is not meant to legitimise authoritarianism nor empower the ruthless.

Most people today would cite conscience as the licence to do whatever you will. Conscience, though it is the subjective moral seat of judgment, cannot unseat the objective source of moral authority which is God who communicates His will through Christ, through natural law, through reason and through the moral authority of the Church. When subjective conscience is raised to a level that supersedes all the others, when its primacy is declared above others, it does not liberate but enslaves or abandons us, making us totally dependent on personal taste or prevailing opinion. This is what Pope Emeritus Benedict called the “dictatorship of the subject.”

Today, modern man fails to recognise the irony of his predicament. He believes that the rejection of any external authority, especially in the area of moral authority, will guarantee his personal liberty and freedom. We live in a culture that is steeped in relativity, one that promotes the individual’s right to question all authority. In a world where there are no clear absolutes, everyone claims to speak with authority - dogmas are substituted for opinion, objective science is substituted by what is politically convenient, objective truth is substituted with subjective feelings (“I feel that this is the right thing to do” rather than “this is the right thing to do, even though I don’t feel like it”). Relativism is a form of enslavement – we are enslaved by our own thoughts and feelings, believing them to be the only valid truth that is worthy of submission to. But real freedom is only ever found under authority — God’s authority in Christ and that same authority now exercised by the Church. It is freedom not to do wrong, but to do right; not to break the moral law, but to keep it; not to forget God, but to cleave to Him every moment, in every endeavour and relationship; not to exploit others, but to lay down one’s life for them.

By rejecting authority, we are certainly not bringing about a correction of the abuse of power. On the contrary, those who abuse power do so precisely because they reject legitimate authority, they reject accountability. Aren’t tyrants observing this principle: “Rules for thee but not for me?” But if we recover the proper use of authority, an authority that is accountable to God, to His Christ and to the Church, then freedom is enhanced, power is channeled to its proper goal and the common good is served. True authority is motivated by love, it serves love and engenders love.