First Reading: Jer 23:1-6; Psalm: 23. R. v. 1; Second Reading: Eph 2:13-18; Gospel: Mk 6:30-34

THE THREE PILLARS OF CHURCH AUTHORITY

BY FR VALENTINE NNAMDI EGBUONU, MSP

“At that time: The apostles returned to Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught.” (Mk 6:30).

The passage quoted above may appear short; but it is packed with wisdom worthy to be digested by every Catholic, and by extension every Christian to keep the faith of the gospel unaltered and unspoiled. It was in the gospel of the previous Sunday that Jesus sent out his apostles in pairs, giving them authority to preach and to heal. Today’s gospel recounts how the apostles returned from this mission to report to Jesus all that they had done and taught. One would suppose that having received authority from Jesus to preach and heal; the apostles now had the leeway and the autonomy to carry out this mission without recourse to Christ who sent them out. But the apostles defied this supposition and reverted to Christ to ensure they are in line with his gospel message.

This says two things: First, that Christ intends that the message of the gospel should perpetually continue after his earthly departure; hence, the need to pass on the faith to the apostles who would become the custodians and teachers of the faith. Secondly, and very importantly, that the authority given to the apostles and by extension to every Christian to preach the gospel; does not in any way give us the definitive autonomy to preach the faith in defiance to Christ’s intended message. In other words, what we preach and teach is not subject to our wilfulness alterative to Christ’s original teaching; and hence, must be examined under the guidance of the gospel truth. The apostles had to revert to Christ to be sure they are in line with the truth of the gospel.

Christ’s teaching authority is divinely originated and definitive. For this reason, the gospel message which the apostles received from Christ must be guarded conscientiously and preached accordingly. It is from this divinely revealed truth wherefrom the Church derives her authority to preach and to teach so as not to err or deviate from Christ’s original teaching. The Church does this in three ways: through the Scripture, Tradition and the Magisterium. These are the three legged stool upon which the Church’s teaching authority stands to keep the faith unaltered and unspoiled.

THE SCRIPTURE

The Scripture which comprises both the Old and the New Testament carries the teachings of the Law and the Prophets, the gospel of Christ, and the evangelism of the apostles and the Church. It is from the Scripture that the Church builds her faith, and forms her worship and prayers. The prayers of the Holy Mass and the liturgical readings are drawn from both the Old and the New Testament. To describe the unity of the two, Saint Augustine comments that “the New Testament lies hidden in the Old and the Old Testament is unveiled in the New” (CCC no 129). It is in Christ that the Old Testament is fully accomplished. “For this reason, the Church has always venerated the Scriptures as she venerates the Lord’s Body. She never ceases to present to the faithful the bread of life, taken from the one table of God’s Word and Christ’s Body” (CCC no 103). But since when left to his own discretion man can misinterpret the Scripture, the Church does not rely on Sola Scriptura (Scripture Alone) as her only source of authority; but employs two more sources of authority to safeguard the faith – Tradition and the Magisterium.

TRADITION

In the Christian Churches today, we have had instances of multiple interpretations on a single passage of the Scripture. This is the danger of yielding to human impulses, thereby twisting scriptural interpretations to suit our convenience. Tradition helps to guard against this error. Tradition consists of the teachings of Christ, the practice and transmission of these teachings by the apostles to the early Christians down to our own time, and the doctrinal teachings of the early Church Fathers. Tradition is older than the Scripture; for long before the Scripture was written; the apostles preserved and transmitted all they had learnt from Christ through memory and oral teaching. This oral teaching through which the faith of generations of Christians was formed is what the Church calls Oral Tradition. It took years for these teachings to be written down. And it was until 382AD that the official canon of the Bible was established. And since not all that Christ taught was written down in the Scripture (Jn 21:25), recourse to tradition offers the Church more divine insight in her teachings. So, to get our interpretations and understanding of the Scripture right, the Catholic Church often reverts to tradition.

THE MAGISTERIUM

The Magisterium is the teaching office of the Church that consists of the Pope and Bishops. By apostolic succession and the laying on of hands, they are the apostles of today whom Christ gave authority to teach and guide the flock of Christ. The Second Vatican Council states that “this Magisterium is not above the Word of God, but serves it, teaching only what has been handed on, listening to it devoutly, guarding it conscientiously, and explaining it, faithfully, by divine commission and with the help of the Holy Spirit. From this one deposit of faith it draws everything which it presents for belief as divinely revealed.” (Dei Verbum 10). Acts of the Apostles chapter 15 reports how the early apostles (the first bishops of the Church) in the first Council of Jerusalem were able to resolve the controversy among believers on whether the Gentiles should receive circumcision upon conversion. Christ did not give any explicit teaching on this. But through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and the guidance of the Scriptures, the apostles were able to promulgate a decree on the Church’s official teaching on this matter. In the Church’s history, this style of resolving doctrinal conflicts through convocation of Church Councils have continued till date. Of the apostles Christ said; “He who hears you, hears me; he who rejects you rejects me, he who rejects me, rejects Him who sent me” (Luke 10:16).

With these three sources of authority, the Church has kept unalloyed the teachings of the gospel till date. The Church employs these three sources of authority in the formation of the ministerial priesthood and in the building of the Catholic faith. The Church often reverts to these sources of authority from time to time to keep her in line with the intended teachings of Christ. For this reason, we are reminded today that our knowledge of the Scripture and the mandate to preach does not give us the freedom to preach the gospel unguided. But we must also obey the authority of the Church’s Magisterium who also is the custodian of sacred tradition and the teacher of the faith.

Priests should submit to the guidance of their bishops in matters of faith and morals. The Christian faithful should listen to their priests who pastor under the authority of their bishops. Sodalities, Pious societies, Marian\Charismatic renewal movements, and all other pious organizations/groups in the Church should follow the lead of the chaplain assigned to them. Be circumspect of any prayer group or privately owned adoration ministries whose minister(s) act in defiance to any of the Church’s teaching authority. What happens thereon might be injurious to your faith. Because when left to his own devices and subject to personal piety, man can easily be misguided in matters of faith and morals, and can be carried away by the euphoria of fame and success. Our wisdom can never surpass the wisdom of the Church. The three sources of the Church’s teaching authority are meant to whip us into the line.

PRAYER FOR THE DAY

Lord Jesus, we thank you for the gift of your Word and the Church. As we obey your mandate to go out and preach the gospel; we pray for the docility and willingness to do so under the guidance of the teaching authority of the Church. Amen