Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B, February 1, 2015
Scripture Readings: Deuteronomy 18:15-20; First Corinthians 7:32-25; Mark 1:21-28
This Sunday we hear in the Gospel that Jesus is at the synagogue in Capernaum, beginning his public ministry and teaching “as one having authority,” in the works of Saint Mark, and furthermore, that Jesus is driving out unclean spirits, bringing healing and wholeness to those who are oppressed.
In the curing of the man with an unclean spirit in the synagogue (wonderfully re-enacted in Franco Zeffirelli’s 1977 classic film, “Jesus of Nazareth,”), Jesus uses a powerful sign to inaugurate the arrival of the Kingdom or Reign of God and freedom from all that is evil or opposed to life.
The text from the Book of Deuteronomy, the first lesson for this Sunday, speaks of a prophet who will arise among the people and to whom the people shall listen, because this prophet would bear the very words of God. The people were eager to know God’s will for them, conveyed via the prophets, who were special messengers of God.
From the time of Moses, many centuries before the coming of Christ, to the prophets not long before Christ’s birth, the figure of a leader and guide of God’s people, in the person and message of the prophet, was an important element in the life of God’s people. So much so was this the case that the disappearance of the prophets and prophecies during the time of exile in Babylonia (a few centuries before the coming of Christ), was a hard and difficult time for the people, who continued to hope for a leader and liberator from oppression and sorrow.
For the follower of Christ, the reading from Deuteronomy is fulfilled in the Prophet above all prophets, Christ the Lord, Second Person of the Blessed Trinity and Redeemer for all times.
The text of the second lesson may be a bit off-putting to modern ears, with a seeming down-playing of marriage and elevation of the unmarried or celibate state. However, the underlying message of Saint Paul is more along the lines of “freedom from anxiety,” to be found in adherence to Jesus Christ, regardless of one’s state in life, either as a married or single person.
The emphasis then is not so much putting down any legitimate state in life, but of promoting a life where needless interior division, anxiety and distraction is brought to a minimum. Easier said than done, we might all add, but it remains an ideal for living life in and with Jesus Christ.
Again, Saint Paul’s injunction is neither a denial of the beauty or a despising of the body and sexuality, but of finding the best method for all, married or not, to give oneself to the Reign of God and to all people in genuine love and self-forgetfulness.
This is no easy task, but in fact what is being asked of all who adhere to Christ, young and old, men and women. As one friend likes to express it all, “difficult but not impossible.” Isn’t much of life just that?
The words that Jesus speaks in the place of Jewish prayer on the Sabbath, the synagogue, is living and active, and not mere theory. Jesus acts on behalf of an unwell man with a desire to show that God wills well-being, and the salvation of all people.
Jesus not only teaches, but acts to put his teaching into practice. Saint Mark the evangelist, one of the four Gospel writes, insists that Jesus works miracles, and in so doing, amazes the people present and we as well who ponder Jesus’ words and deeds many centuries later.
As Son of God and Prophet to the nations, Jesus possesses power to bring true freedom and to lead people to God’s house. This happens even during this life, of course, and is perfectly fulfilled in the life of come, after one’s earthly sojourn.
In the Gospel texts, Jesus is clear that he does not want to be recognized simply as a wonder-worker, but as the bearer of healing that is even deeper than physical or psychological wholeness and balance. Jesus desires all people be free from interior fright and paralysis, anguish and remorse, even more crippling than physical illness.
True recognition of who Jesus is does not arise from mere fame for doing miracles, but comes from acceptance that Jesus is God. Jesus’ humble acceptance of God’s will even to death on a cross and finally a glorious resurrection from the dead is the clearest sign of who Jesus is. There could be no better prophet than this, who is capable of bringing true freedom to any and all who are broken-hearted.
We are invited to follow this Lord, putting our lives in God’s hands and being willing servants of God’s word, for the building up of the Body of Christ today in the world. There could be no higher calling, directed to all of us.
So that this Sunday’s Scripture readings might resonate with and enlighten our life, here are some questions to ponder:
What is the point most appealing to me in this Sunday’s three readings?
What is it that caused the people of Jesus’ time the most admiration when they listened to and watched Jesus?
Why did the people perceive that Jesus was different than the religious leaders of that time?
The spirit of evil had a no power in Jesus’ presence. What impact did the power of Jesus have on the people around him, committed followers or not? What impact does the power of Jesus have in my life?
Does my life and my community (parish, monastic or other) produce some or much admiration among people? Who and why?
Prior Christian Leisy, OSB, Monastery of Christ in the Desert, Abiquiu, New Mexico
