4th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Over the past few days we have been celebrating Catholic Schools week. We have taken the time to think about the good that has come from our schools. We have also taken time to thank god for our school teachers and our parents who in our homes are our first teachers. But as we thank God for our schools and our teachers we remember that learning is a lifelong experience of so many things. THE readings for the 4th Sunday in Ordinary invite us to recognize Jesus and grant him authority in our lives. Moses was the prophet for his time and for the needs of his people. In the first reading, Moses foretells the coming of a mighty prophet. Who are the Moses-like prophets for this time for us and our needs? Who do we trust and follow? Whose words and examples direct our minds to Jesus the word of God the authority of the Father? The second reading from Corinthians discusses the states of married and unmarried life, highlighting how the unmarried can focus more directly on pleasing the Lord. This theme of undistracted devotion is relevant to understanding different vocations and the ways they can lead to holiness.
In this Sundays Gospel we hear about the authority of the Lord to cast out demons and devils. The gospel reading is taken from Marks gospel . As Jesus begins to teach in Capernaum. The people are spellbound because he spoke with authority, not like the scribes. A man comes to Jesus who is in the hand of an evil power and Jesus makes the devil come out of the man. The bystanders are amazed because Jesus has such authority. What do we mean when we speak about the authority of the Lord? What do we mean when we talk about authority in general? What ways do we exercise authority in relation to those around us? What ways do we exercise the authority of the Lord as Christians? The word authority comes from the Latin word auctoritas. The basic meaning of this Latin word is creator, the word author also comes from this word. In general, authority is intimately connected with its source that source is the person who gives another the authority to do something so the authority that Jesus has comes from his Father. God’s love for everyone is declared to us in the scriptures. God speaks with us there. The message is clear: If we are God’s we are to care about and for each other and that includes the refugees, the abused, the poor, the ill, and the mentally challenged.
It means Everyone everywhere! Jesus, entire public life was about compassion and mercy. He despised arrogance, fought hypocrisy, and he believed the heart was stronger than the law. He brought God’s mercy and compassion to the earth and in the process brought us forgiveness from our self-interest, our scapegoating, our manipulation of frayed emotions, and our insecurity in the face of diversity of language, race, nationality origin, or whatever We are truly prophets when we stand for the truth, for the marginalized, for the alien, for the victim of war, for the victims of capitalism that serves only the capitalist. We are surrounded by many voices claiming authority – in media, in politics, in our communities. How do we recognize the true prophetic voice? The key is do those voices follow the teachings of Christ and the Church. The challenge for all of us is to discern and hear the voice of God, to speak and live our faith authentically, and to orientate our lives towards our faith so that other people may believe what Christ teaches and take up his request to follow as we are following him.
Fullerton T 