Meditation: "Teaching with Authority"

“And they were astonished at his doctrine, for he taught them as one that had authority.” -- Mark 1: 22

I have always loved this passage from the gospel, especially the words “astonished” and “authority”. The people who listened to Jesus 2,000 years ago were truly transformed by his teaching – figuratively “turned to stone”, to use the root meaning of the word “astonished”. His words were so unusual in their straightforward power that his listeners’ lives were changed from the inside out. One minute they were easygoing, befuddled fishermen and laborers, and the next minute, after hearing Jesus explain the true meaning of life, they were as silent as stones – stones that were ready to be further transformed into something wonderful. This transformation of his followers was able to happen primarily because they sensed unusual and enormous power radiating out from him. He spoke with the authority of a power much higher and vaster than just a single human person. My dictionary says that the word 'authority' has to do with “power assigned to another”, and it was clear to Jesus’ disciples that a truly wondrous force (they called it “God”) had assigned wondrous power to Jesus. He didn’t speak with the typically feeble power of a separate human being; he spoke with the authority of the immeasurable and invincible Universe. I wonder, today, if I could be this kind of teacher for my students. Could I teach in such a way that they could sense in my words an authority that comes from far away and far beyond a small, isolated, human ego? Could I teach in such a way that my students would be truly astonished at my words? These are not prideful questions on my part. In fact, they are the opposite, for they are born of my own sense of humility about my work. I have known for a long time that “I”, Hamilton Salsich, don’t do any of the teaching that goes on in my classroom. It’s all done by the infinite Universe (which some people call God). All I do is allow it to happen, and if I’m “allowing” in the best and fullest way possible, my teaching might just be astonishing to my students.