The Star That Silences Our Questions

Voice over by Carol San San Lwin

Num 24:2-7.15-17a; Psalm: 24; Mt 21:23-27

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ, the Word of God today presents us with a striking contrast: the clear, prophetic vision of an outsider who sees God’s plan, and the spiritual blindness of religious insiders who cannot recognize God’s presence in their midst. It calls us to look beyond our human calculations and to welcome the unexpected ways in which God’s authority breaks into our world.

The Book of Numbers offers a surprising scene. Balaam, a pagan seer hired to curse Israel, finds his mouth filled with God’s blessing instead. The Spirit of God comes upon him, and he proclaims a vision of a people destined for glory, dwelling in a land of abundance. Then, his gaze extends to the far future: “A star shall advance from Jacob, and a staff shall rise from Israel.” The Church has always seen in this prophecy a promise of the Messiah, the radiant King who would come from the line of Jacob. A pagan, with his heart opened by God, sees the truth more clearly than the chosen people themselves.

This theme of unexpected recognition finds its ultimate expression in the Gospel. The chief priests and elders, the established religious authorities, approach Jesus in the Temple to challenge Him. “By what authority are you doing these things?” they demand. Their question is not sincere; it is a trap. They represent a system of authority that is closed, self-referential, and threatened by the raw, divine power evident in Jesus’ teaching and miracles. Jesus, in His wisdom, reveals the hardness of their hearts. By asking about the origin of John the Baptist’s authority, He exposes their dilemma: they are not seekers of truth, but calculators of political consequences. Their final answer, “We do not know,” reveals a spiritual blindness far greater than Balaam’s pagan vision.

God’s revelation often comes from the margins, unsettling our comfortable categories. The “star from Jacob” was not recognized by those who studied the stars most meticulously. The Lord’s authority, manifest in works of mercy and words of truth, was rejected by those who held institutional power. As Pope Francis reminds us, God’s truth calls us to a “constant self-renewal” and a humility that is always open to being surprised by grace.

The comfort for us is that God’s authority is not a distant, impersonal force. It is the loving, powerful presence of Christ, the Bright Morning Star, who guides us through the darkness. The challenge is to examine our own hearts. Where do we, like the chief priests, set conditions for God? Do we demand that He act according to our expectations, within our comfortable frameworks, before we will believe and obey?

Let us pray for the grace of Balaam—to have our eyes opened by the Spirit to see God’s star rising in our own lives, even in the midst of difficulty and uncertainty. And let us have the humility to lay down our defensive questions and simply adore the authority of Christ, who alone has the words of eternal life. Amen.