Fourth Sunday Ordinary

Fourth Sunday Ordinary
January 29, 2006

Moses spoke to all the people, saying:, “A prophet like me will the LORD, your God, raise up for you from among your own kin; to him you shall listen.(Deuteronomy 18:15-20)". "The people were astonished at his teaching,for he taught them as one having authority... (Luke 1: 21-28)"

Moses tells the people that their wish has been granted. They were too fearful of encountering God directly, and would rather hear what God had to say through a designated human being. This marked the end of an era after which Yahweh spoke to them through prophets. They no longer would have to face God directly and now could pick and choose which prophets and which statements they wanted to hear and which ones they did not. Moses was telling them in effect, "OK, you got what you asked for. I will speak to you through human beings and through natural and historical events. Let's see what you do with it." Israel's history, and our own, reveal the answer. We only listen for what we want to hear, and reject whatever contradicts our favorite ideas and treasured prejudices.

Here at the beginning of Mark's Gospel Jesus is portrayed teaching the Torah and healing people. What Jesus is doing gives authority to what he is saying, something not seen since the days of Moses. Jesus' entire life, his whole being, words and deeds, go together in one marvelous package so that he cannot be ignored. This reminds us that whatever authority we may have come and not just from what we say, but from how we allow ourselves to be conformed to the life of God. The man recognizes that Jesus is "the holy one of Israel" but is afraid of him. It is not him speaking but something alien and destructive that has a hold of him. Jesus repudiates the "evil spirit" and relieves him of this burden of anxiety, replacing it with confidence and hope.

Both of these passages address a similar issue: acceptance of the truth about ourselves and the life of the Most High within us. We may have developed some confusion about evil spirits, thinking that they are something separate from ourselves, inhabiting us against our wills and needing to be exorcised. We mistrust the power of God even when confronted with it directly, like the man who perceives Jesus as a threat instead of a friend and brother. It is difficult to accept the truth about ourselves and the world around us. We would rather get our truth from television, Internet, novels and movie "reality".

Nevertheless God insists on meeting us directly, looking deeply into our hearts, minds and souls, telling us about ourselves in spirit and truth. Listening to this with courage is all that is required.