The Gospels tell us that one of the things that distinguished Jesus from the other religious preachers of his time was that he spoke with authority, while they didn’t. Fr. Rolheiser asks: “What gives words authority? What gives them transformative power? There are, as we know, different kinds of power. There’s a power that flows from strength and energy. We see this, for example, in the body of a gifted athlete who moves with authority. There’s power, too, in charisma, in a gifted speaker or a rock star. They, too, speak with a certain authority and power. But there’s still another kind of power and authority, one very different from that of the athlete and the rock star. There’s the power of a baby, the paradoxical power of vulnerability, innocence, and helplessness. Powerlessness is sometimes the real power. If you put an athlete, a rock star, and a baby into the same room, who among them is the most powerful? Who has the most authority? Whatever the power of the athlete or the rock star, the baby has more power to change hearts. The Gospel text today has the Jewish authorities asking Jesus where he gets his authority. Jesus spoke in ways defined by the Greek word exousia. We don’t have an English equivalent, but we have a concept. Exousia might be described as the combination of vulnerability, innocence, and helplessness that a baby brings into a room. Its very helplessness, innocence, and vulnerability have a unique authority and power to touch your conscience. Jesus spoke with vulnerability, and innocence gave his words a special power and authority. What moves the world is often the powerful energy and charisma of the highly talented, but a different kind of authority moves the heart.”