Jesus, who gives us commands, is no hypocrite. He himself obeys the very words he asks us to follow. Though risen and glorified, he remains fully human—one who has learned obedience through suffering, just as we must. Appointed by the Father as Lord through his resurrection from the dead, he now reigns with full authority, subject only to the Father. He is not distant or removed; he has the Father’s full attention, and his prayers are heard. He is our Lord, our teacher, and the true authority over the Church.
And yet, we have sinned. We, the Church, have often refused to submit to his authority. We have looked for other voices to follow. We have created structures, systems, and authorities of our own making—sometimes even in his name—but not truly submitted to him. In doing so, we have dishonored our Lord.
Above us, the warlike eagle spies from the heavens—a symbol of judgment, a sign of the sin we’ve tried to ignore. It flies not just as a warning to the nations, but as a portent to the Church itself. We have not regarded Jesus as the sole authority over his people. Instead, we have enthroned human ideas, traditions, and personalities, while ignoring the voice of the one who died for us, rose for us, and now calls us to follow him.
But Jesus has not changed. He remains faithful. He is the rightful head of the Church. He alone has been given supreme authority over us by the Father. No other name, no other throne, no other teacher or prophet stands in his place. It is time for the Church to return—to cast down idols of man-made authority, to listen again to the voice of the Shepherd, and to submit once more to the one who has the Father’s ear and the right to lead us.
Let us return to Jesus, not only in word, but in truth. Let his authority be enough.
Stephen D Green, with ChatGPT, April 2025
