January 29, 2012

Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time 
Lectionary: 71

Reading 1 Dt 18:15-20

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.
This is exactly what you requested of the LORD, your God, at Horeb
on the day of the assembly, when you said,
'Let us not again hear the voice of the LORD, our God,
nor see this great fire any more, lest we die.'
And the LORD said to me, 'This was well said.
I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their kin,
and will put my words into his mouth;
he shall tell them all that I command him.
Whoever will not listen to my words which he speaks in my name,
I myself will make him answer for it.
But if a prophet presumes to speak in my name
an oracle that I have not commanded him to speak,
or speaks in the name of other gods, he shall die.'"

Responsorial Psalm Ps 95:1-2, 6-7, 7-9

R. (8) If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Come, let us sing joyfully to the LORD;
let us acclaim the rock of our salvation.
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us joyfully sing psalms to him.
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Come, let us bow down in worship;
let us kneel before the LORD who made us.
For he is our God,
and we are the people he shepherds, the flock he guides.
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Oh, that today you would hear his voice:
"Harden not your hearts as at Meribah,
as in the day of Massah in the desert,
Where your fathers tempted me;
they tested me though they had seen my works."
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

Reading 2 1 Cor 7:32-35

Brothers and sisters:
I should like you to be free of anxieties.
An unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord,
how he may please the Lord.
But a married man is anxious about the things of the world,
how he may please his wife, and he is divided.
An unmarried woman or a virgin is anxious about the things of the Lord,
so that she may be holy in both body and spirit.
A married woman, on the other hand,
is anxious about the things of the world,
how she may please her husband. 
I am telling you this for your own benefit,
not to impose a restraint upon you,
but for the sake of propriety
and adherence to the Lord without distraction.

Gospel Mk 1:21-28

Then they came to Capernaum,
and on the sabbath Jesus entered the synagogue and taught.
The people were astonished at his teaching,
for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes.
In their synagogue was a man with an unclean spirit;
he cried out, "What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?
Have you come to destroy us?
I know who you are?the Holy One of God!"
Jesus rebuked him and said,
"Quiet! Come out of him!"
The unclean spirit convulsed him and with a loud cry came out of him.
All were amazed and asked one another,
"What is this?
A new teaching with authority.
He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him."
His fame spread everywhere throughout the whole region of Galilee.

Scripture Study

This Sunday we celebrate the Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time. In the first reading we hear Moses tell Israel that God will raise up from among them a prophet like him who will mediate the word of God to them. They are told to listen to him. How well am I listening to the word of God as it comes to me? In the second reading Paul continues to remind the Corinthians and us that all of the world which we take to be so real will pass away very soon. How permanent are the things upon which my eyes are focused? The gospel presents Jesus in the midst of His teaching ministry. The Kingdom of God, present in Jesus and in His teaching, causes panic in a demon who is then cast out. How detectable, by others, is the Kingdom of God in me and in my life?

NOTES on First Reading:

* 18:15-22 This section deals with the prophetic office. Prophecy was Israel's form of mediation. Here the prophet is described as being a native or true Israelite who is called by God and continues the prophetic office of Moses (Exod 33:11; Num 12:1-8; Hos 12:13).

* 18:15 Because of the context which is opposition to the pagan soothsayers, it seems that Moses is referring generally to all the true prophets who would succeed him. This passage was understood in a special Messianic sense both by the Jews (Mal 4:5-6; John 1:21; 6:14; 7:40) and by the Apostles (Acts 3:22; 7:37). Since Christ is the Great Prophet in whom the prophetic office finds its fulfillment and completion, the Church has always applied it to Christ.

* 18:16 The reference is to the meeting with God on Horeb which is found is found in 9:7-14. In Exodus the story is told as occurring ion Mt Sinai (Exod beginning with Chapter 19). Prophecy has its origin in the people's request for mediation between God and themselves.

* 18:18 This is reminiscent of the call of Moses (Exod 4:12, 15-16) and Jeremiah (Jer 1:9). In Israel's history there is a close connection between prophecy and the law (2 Kings 17:13:15). See also Isa 50:4; 51:16; John 17:18; John 4:25; 8:28; 12:49, 50; and 15:15.

* 18:20 The death penalty was threatened against the non-Yahwistic prophet and the one not commissioned by Yahweh who presumes to speak for Him (Jer 23:9-32; 28:16-17). For use of " in the name" see 13:1,2; 1Ki 18:19, 27, 40; Jer 2:8; 28:15-17; Zec 13:3; Re 19:20.

NOTES on Second Reading:

* 7:32-35 The basic premise here is that the coming of Christ will occur very soon. It would be silly to place more commitments on one's self when everything will shortly come to an end.

* 7:32 Anxious concern is a characteristic of unredeemed existence. Paul sees the redeemed believer as living in supreme calm and peace.

NOTES on Gospel:

* 1:21-28 The healing-exorcism story follows the following pattern: Jesus encounters the possessed man exorcism departure of the demon impression made on the bystanders.

* 1:21 Capernaum was a city on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee. It was the center of Jesus activities in Galilee. Synagogue services featured prayers, scripture readings (usually from the Torah or Law and from the prophets), and teaching. Anyone of sufficient learning could be asked to teach. There was no need for formal rabbinic ordination in Jesus' time. These services were largely the invention of the pharisees who, at first, were probably hoping that Jesus would join their movement since he seemed to support their services.

* 1:22 Scribes usually quoted from the great Rabbis and generally presented the opinions of others. Jesus taught with the force of personal conviction and the authority of God. The authority of Jesus is one of the dominant themes of Mark's Gospel.

* 1:23-27 Sickness represents not the Rule of God but of Satan, the enemy of God. Jesus sets out to make the Rule of God present by healing, and casting out devils who keep people bound in sickness and insanity. He overcomes Satan and makes the future Kingdom of God begin to be present on earth. Jesus also made the Kingdom of God present by His teaching. He taught by His actions as well as by His words. His actions gave power to His words. A simple touch could bring healing.

* 1:23 A parallel is found in Luke 4:33-37. The man is described as possessed by an evil force. This was not simply a matter of ritual impurity. The idea presented is that the man's behavior was due to an outside force under the direction of Satan. Jesus' exorcisms were seen as moments of victory in the struggle with Satan.

* 1:24 Literally what the unclean spirit says is: " What to us and to you, Jesus Nazarene? " This is not so much a question as it is a protest against the disturbing, threatening presence and teaching of Jesus, the Holy One of God. Jesus' mere presence is an announcement of the end of Satan's power and therefore causes fear on the part of the demon.

* 1:25 What Jesus says is not nearly as polite as the NAB's "Quiet," or the KJV's "Hold thy peace." The word He uses is "phimoo" from the word for muzzle and is in the second person passive imperative or "Be muzzled." Jesus refuses to accept testimony from demons and unclean spirits even when they are telling the truth because even the truth in their mouths is a means of deceit.

* 1:27 The authority of Jesus is an important theme of Mark's Gospel.

Courtesy of: http://www.st-raymond-dublin.org:80/scripture.php - St. Raymond Parish, Dublin, CA

Meditation:  "Jesus taught them as one who had authority"

Do you believe that God’s word has power to set you free and to transform your life? When Jesus taught he spoke with authority. He spoke the word of God as no one had spoken it before. When the Rabbis taught they supported their statements with quotes from other authorities. The prophets spoke with delegated authority – “Thus says the Lord.”When Jesus spoke he needed no authorities to back his statements. He was authority incarnate –  the Word of God made flesh. When he spoke, God spoke. When he commanded even the demons obeyed.

Augustine of Hippo (354-430) remarked that “faith is mighty, but without love it profits nothing. The devils confessed Christ, but lacking charity it availed nothing. They said, 'What have we to do with you (Mark 1:24)?' They confessed a sort of faith, but without love. Hence they were devils.” Faith is powerful, but without love it profits nothing (1 Corinthians 13). Scripture tells us that true faith works through love (Galalatians 5:6) and abounds in hope (Romans 15:13). Our faith is made perfect in love because love orients us to the supreme good which is God himself as well as the good of our neighbor who is created in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:26,27). Hope anchors our faith in the promises of God and purifies our desires for the things which will last for eternity. That is why the word of Christ has power to set us free from all that would keep us bound in sin, deception, and despair. Bede the venerable abbot of an English monastery (672-735) contrasted the power and authority of Jesus' word with the word of the devil:  “The devil, because he had deceived Eve with his tongue, is punished by the tongue, that he might not speak” [Homilies on the Gospels 1.8].

Faith is both a free gift of God and the free assent of our will to the whole truth that God has revealed. To live, grow, and persevere in the faith to the end, we must nourish it with the word of God. The Lord gives us his Holy Spirit to enlighten our minds that we may grow in his truth and in the knowledge of his great love for each of us. If we approach God’s word submissively, with an eagerness to do everything the Lord desires, we are in a much better position to learn what God wants to teach us through his word. Are you eager to be taught by the Lord and to conform your life according to his word?

"Lord Jesus, your word is power and life. May I never doubt your saving love and mercy, and the power of your word to bring healing and deliverance to those in need."

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This reflection is courtesy of Don Schwager, whose website is located at: http://www.rc.net/wcc/readings/