During the first week of my first position as a priest, a sweet,
innocent looking 13-year-old boy named Vinnie came to my office with a
question.  Little did I know that Vinnie was the Dennis the Menace of
the parish when he took me to a nearby stairwell where, underneath,
sat an old decrepit safe.  Vinnie said the safe used to be in the main
office but no one had the combination and he wanted to see what was
inside.  So he asked my permission to open it.  Envisioning Vinnie
would come prepared with white gloves, a stethoscope, and loads of
patience (he was such a clean cut boy after all), I gave him
permission.

That Sunday after services, as a crowd gathered for coffee in the
Fellowship Hall, few people paid attention to the muffled din of
hammering and banging emanating from the nearby stairwell until a
concerned parishioner came up to me and said, ‘Vinnie is tearing apart
that old church safe with a crowbar and hammer, he says you told him
it was OK.’

Questions of authority have been with the Church since the beginning.
Who gives us permission? How do we know where the buck stops? By what
authority do we say and do?  This last question comes up in this
Sunday’s Gospel as Jesus is confronted by the religious establishment
of His day.  These religious leaders were looking to answer
essentially the same question you and I have asked: how does God want
us to live? What code or guideline do we follow? Where does authority
lie?

For those in the Anglican tradition, we approach these questions of
authority seeking to be informed by three sources, Scripture,
Tradition and Reason.  The ‘three-legged stool,’ if you will, upholds
our ethical conversations as we seek first to hear the Bible’s take,
then those of our fore bearers, then that of human intellect.  Sure,
other Christians may align these differently, or even add a leg or
two, but when you and I are presented with difficult questions, the
Anglican tripos has served us well.

Not long ago the WWJD bracelet was all the rage and reminded us that
the mind of Christ comes to us nearly always through Scripture,
Tradition and Reason.  So in the week ahead, as we run across
important questions regarding politics, war, economics, and even
personal issues child-rearing and medical challenges, let us engage in
a wider conversation of discernment through these ancient, yet
relevant partners.