OBEDIENCE LEADING TO AUTHORITY


SAINT VINCENT FERRER, PRIEST

Act 6:8-15; Ps 119:23-24,26-27,29-30; Jn 6:22-29

God’s Power Exercised by Men

By obedience to the Father, the Son, in the human nature he assumed, exercised the authority of God the Father on earth. Obedience enabled him to participate in the life of the Father as the Son of Man and carry out the work the Father assigned him to do. He told the disciples this when he said that the living Father sent him, and he drew life from the Father. In the same way, he would send the disciples, and they would draw life from him. On further reflection, we note that the pattern of this participation of the Son of Man in the life of the Father through obedience is present in all creation. Each creature participates in the life of God according to its nature, through which it obeys the command of God that brought it into existence. Thus, Saint Augustine says that creatures speak to us about God, each according to its nature and limitations. God made man in his image and destined him to be like God through obedience to the divine will. The Son of Man appeared to fulfil this destiny of man and call us back to the glory our first parents forfeited by disobedience to God’s words. Hence, the authority of God that the Son of Man exercises on earth belongs to us. The fall and our sins necessitate our confession of faith in the Son of Man to receive forgiveness of our sins and attain the glory destined for us.

On this basis, the Son of Man is our Way to God, as he proclaimed. The Gospel tells us how the crowd sought after him after one of his demonstrations of his divine authority; he used five barley loaves and two fish to feed five thousand men, not counting women and children. They sought him out to eat more bread or for temporary provisions. The Lord discouraged such motivation for coming to him. “I tell you most solemnly, you are not looking for me because you have seen the signs but because you had all the bread you wanted to eat. Do not work for food that cannot last, but work for food that endures to eternal life, the kind of food the Son of Man is offering you, for on him the Father, God himself, has set his seal.” The food we must eat daily is listening to the word of God that expresses the will of the Father. The Son of Man can make divine provision for us because of his obedience to the Father. So, we have the heavenly bread in abundance by following and listening to him. The sign they failed to see is that he expresses the will of the Father. Thus, he answered their inquiry on what pleases God: “This is working for God: you must believe in the one he has sent.”

To believe in the Son of Man God sent is to assume the authority of the Son of Man, who came with the authority of the Father. Saint Stephen believed in the Son of Man, who died for our salvation and received the Holy Spirit of adoption. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit in a believer is the source of God’s life and authority. Stephen lived and exercised the divine authority as a medium of expression of the divine will. “Stephen was filled with grace and power and began to work miracles and great signs among the people.” As a sacrament of the Son of Man, Stephen sacrificed his life to accomplish Christ's mission of preaching the Gospel and salvation of souls. The same applies to Saint Vincent Ferrer, who followed the Son of Man in his preaching mission and the working of great signs and wonders to show the power of God among us who obey his will. He was born in 1350 in Valencia and joined the Dominicans at 17. He set out on his preaching mission in 1399 with the approval of the Pope. He preached throughout Western Europe with fiery words and eloquence that attracted thousands to listen to him. He announced himself as the angel of judgment. He converted thousands of Jews and Moors, among others, to Christianity. He died in Vannes in Brittany on 5 April 1419.

Let us pray: O God, who raised up the Priest Saint Vincent Ferrer to minister by the preaching of the Gospel, grant, we pray, that, when the Judge comes, whom Saint Vincent proclaimed on earth, we may be among those blessed to behold him reigning in heaven. Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.

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