As we continue to read Sunday Gospels in Ordinary Time, reflecting on Jesus in his public ministry, there is Christological revelation about him. In the Gospel Reading for the 4th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B, Mark 1:15-20, it is the authority of Jesus.
We started a liturgical year on the First Sunday of
Advent and spent the Advent season to prepare ourselves to encounter the
progressive revelation of the mystery of the incarnation of Christ, the Son. At
the Nativity of Christ, we recognize the incarnated Christ in the newborn baby in
swaddling clothes, placed in a manger. Through the Christmas Season, we
reflected on the growth of this baby born to poverty, from age 0 to age 30.
Then, we began following the incarnated Christ in the human flesh of Jesus in
his public ministry, as we started Ordinary Time.
The Theos-Logos
incarnated in the human flesh of Jesus in Mary’s womb at Annunciation. Nine months later, Jesus was born of Mary. He
was circumcised on the 8th day and given name, Jesus. He was
presented to God after 40 days of Mary’s postpartum purification and recognized
as Christ by Simeon and Anna. He was visited by the Magi from the east, as they
recognized as the newborn King of Israel. To be safe from Herod the Great’s
massacre of children of age 2 and under, Joseph took Jesus and Mary to Egypt
and stayed there until Herod’s death, as advised by the angel of the Lord. Upon
returning to Nazareth from Egypt, Jesus grew up in the house of Mary and
Joseph. When he was 12, he was separated from Mary and Joseph for 3 days,
during their visit to the Temple in Jerusalem for Passover, but he was
found. When he was 30, Jesus made himself
appear to the public as he came to John the Baptist to be baptized to begin his
pubic ministry. After his Baptism, led by the Holy Spirit, Jesus came to the
wilderness to fast for 40 days and nights and fended off temptations set by Satan.
Upon this, Jesus began recruiting his disciples and his public ministry in
Galilee.
For the last two consecutive Sundays, as we began
Ordinary Time, the Gospel Readings (John 1:35-42; Mark 1:14-20) reflected Jesus
calling for disciples and how the first batch of the disciples responded to the
call and started following him. According to Mark, Jesus initiated his public
ministry in Galilee with his proclamation of the Gospel of God, calling repent
for conversion from sinfulness, reiterating the teaching of John the Baptist to
be entitled to the Kingdom of God, which was already imminent. And, the public
ministry of Jesus was already in progress to establish the Kingdom, which
symbolizes the salvation upon the redemption.
In the Gospel Reading for the 4th Sunday
in Ordinary Time, Cycle B (Mark 1: 21-28
), Jesus, along with the first batch of his disciples, came to the synagogue in
Capernaum on the Sabbath . And, in the synagogue, Jesus taught as one having authority and not as the
scribes (v.22). While he was teaching with authority, a man possessed by an
unclean spirit 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!”(v. 24). The voice was actually from the unclean
spirit in the possessed man. It seemed that everyone else did not recognize the
authority of Jesus yet at that moment. However, the unclean spirit in the
possessed man recognized who Jesus really was, both as a man (Jesus of
Nazareth) and as God (the Holy One of God), before anyone else would. Then,
Jesus commanded the unclean spirit, “Quiet!
Come out of him!”(v. 25), and it came out. Seeing Jesus’ authority over demon,
the people in the synagogue were so amazed, saying to one another, “What is this? A new teaching with authority.
He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him”(v.27), recognizing
the authority in Jesus.
Note the contrast between demon (unclean spirit) and people in their reaction to Jesus’ presence. Demon immediately recognized Jesus both as human and as divine, while people did not. They recognize the authority of Jesus upon his exorcism on the possessed man. As people recognized Jesus’ authority, they began wondering who Jesus was and what his authority in his teaching and over demon was.
The way the unclean spirit reacted to Jesus tells
that demon was disturbed by the presence of Jesus. Demons must remember what
God said in Genesis 3:15: Christ will destroy Satan. Thus, demon must have felt
threatened by Jesus, who is the Christ incarnate, who was sent by the Father to
fulfill Genesis 3:15 in Revelation 20:1-10. For demon, he must remain vigilant
of Christ’s presence as it is a matter of survival for Satan. God the Father
sent Christ as he is incarnated in the human flesh of Jesus to save us and
deliver us from the snare of Satan into the Kingdom of God. And, the authority
of Jesus is for these two missions: saving us and destroying Satan.
Demon immediately recognized Jesus both as human and
divine. But, people were just amazed by his authority over demon and in his
teaching. Their amazement did not necessitate their recognition of Jesus as Christ.
So, what is an important take-home theme from this
Gospel Reading?
Ever since the First Sunday of Advent, we have been
reflecting on who Jesus really is and now in Ordinary Time, through his public
ministry.
How do we recognize the authority of Jesus?
Our recognition of the authority of Jesus is of
critical importance in our faith in Christ. Believing in Christ also means
believing the authority of Jesus, given by the one who sent him to us, namely
God the Father in heaven (i.e. John 5:26-27; 7:16; 10:18). And, as prophesized
by Isaiah (61:1-2), the authority of Jesus is reflected in his divine appointment
through the Holy Spirit (Luke 4:18-19). Thus, the authority of Jesus is not of
human origin. In fact, his divine authority is over everything in God’s
creation, both on earth and in heaven (Matthew 28:18), as the King of the
Universe. Thus, the authority in the Gospel Reading (Mark 1:21-28) is his authority
not limited to his teaching and exorcism but everything on earth and in heaven.
The authority of Jesus was also prophesized by Moses,
as the First Reading (Deuteronomy 18:15-20). As his death drew near, Moses told
the Israelites that God will raise a new prophet with the divine authority (v.15,
v. 18), and he was speaking of Christ. Moses also warned of a false prophet,
who has no divine authority (vv.19-20). Thus, Moses reminds us in the First
Reading that we must listen to the prophet with the divine authority, namely
Christ in Jesus. And, it is important that we correctly recognize the divine
authority when we listen and follow. In fact, Moses himself had the authority
given by God.
God has also given the authority through Christ to
his apostles. And, Paul is one of them. In the Second Reading (1 Corinthians
7:32-35), Paul, with the divinely appointed authority through Christ, calls us
to be free from worldly concerns and anxieties to be authentic disciples of
Christ. So, if one is so overwhelmed with issues on marriage, Paul says that it
is rather better to be celibate, as
celibacy allows us to devote to our God-given missions, free from all these
worries and anxieties on marriage and family, thus making our respective
mission works as apostles more authentic. This enables our mission works to
reflect the authority of Jesus better, as he remained celibate himself.
Do we see the authority of Jesus? And how well is
Jesus’ authority reflected in us? It depends on how free we are from worldly
concerns.
Let us stay tuned with the divine-appointed
authority of Jesus as we will continue following him in his public ministry.
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