You’re not the boss of me! If you are a parent there is a good chance you have heard these words. Perhaps you uttered them yourself when you were a child. Maybe they were directed to an older sibling or babysitter. I have to admit that I still get a bit nervous every time I pass a police car on the side of the road (even if I am under the speed limit)! There’s just something about authority. And they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.” Mark 1:27 As we move through the season of Epiphany, we see Jesus as God’s anointed Son, revealing the Father to us in all his glory. And in Mark’s gospel (the Gospel appointed for this liturgical year) we see him as one revealed to have Authority. Demons, diseases, and natural elements both recognize and yield to his authority. …and they said to him, “By what authority are you doing these things, or who gave you this authority to do them?” Mark 11:28 And yet, there are those who hold up their hand and say, “you’re not the boss of me!” Some are the teachers of the law, others are God fearing members of the Pharisees, and others are “would be” disciples who chafe at the call of Jesus to follow him. "You're not the boss of me! I think we as disciples still struggle with the idea of authority today. Are we going to allow the “Word made flesh” to have authority in our lives? Imagine what might happen if we were willing to come before the scriptures and allow them to speak to us, to inform our lives, to shape our behavior, and as St. Paul puts it, to transform our minds. What new epiphanies might we experience If we were to come to Jesus and say, “You be the boss of me.” Almighty God, whose Son our Savior Jesus Christ is the light of the world: Grant that your people, illumined by your Word and Sacraments, may shine with the radiance of Christ's glory, that he may be known, worshipped, and obeyed to the ends of the earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, now and for ever. Amen. Blessings,
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