Homily for the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

With Authority, He Speaks

Fr. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara CSsR

Homily for the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

St. Gerard Majella Catholic Church

Baton Rouge, LA

January30, 2012

Throughout the gospel, we keep reading of people who had unclean spirits and who were possessed by demons. The Jews and the ancient world believed strongly in the existence of demons and devils. They believed that the whole world was littered with demons. They can possess, especially people who were spiritually weak, and then used such people to cause havoc in families and in societies. As for where these demons came from, some people believed that they were as old as creation itself. Some believed they were the spirits of wicked people who had died and were still doing harm to people. Most people believed that demons came from the unholy union between some of the angels and the beautiful daughters of men (Genesis 6:1-8). 

The Jewish people and the ancient world dreaded these demons due to their wicked acts. Consequently, many exorcists arose claiming to have the ability to cast out demons.  They used elaborate incantations, spells, and magical rites in their attempts to cast out demons. Then Jesus enters the scene. While these exorcists used long incantations, long rites and rituals, Jesus used clear and simple authority to put the demons in their place. With authority, Jesus was able to speak to evil spirits, demons and the devils and they not only listened to him, but also obeyed him. With authority, the Son of Man spoke. And his power was not in spell. His power was not in long incantations. His authority was not in elaborate rites and rituals. The power and authority was in Jesus. And when he spoke, the people and the demons were astonished. From today’s gospel taken from Mark 1:21-28 we learn that even the demons knew him. 

Today’s gospel tells us that Jesus entered the synagogue and taught on the Sabbath day. As he taught, the people were astonished at his teaching because he taught them with authority and not as the scribes. The people were astonished because Jesus taught from the heart. He taught with absolute conviction because his message is from above. In the Gospel of John 3:11, he himself says, “Very truly I say to you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen...” In his teaching, Jesus bears testimony of the intimate relationship that he has with his Father. The scribes on the other hand get their knowledge not from their personal relationship with God but from their long study of commentaries on the Law. Most of their teaching is not from the heart, but from the head. The people were astonished because Jesus’ teaching always brought about a positive change of heart and life. Through his message, he changed not only people’s lifestyles but also their conditions. When the scribes are presented with a man born blind, they seek to explain why he was blind- whether it was he who sinned or his parents. But Jesus was only interested in curing the blindness and setting a child of God free. For this reason, he performed healings and exorcism together with his teaching, to show that his primary concern is to change the human situation not just to explain it.

I am sure you have heard assertions like “It does not matter what religion one belongs to since all religions lead to God.” This assertion is seriously questionable. It is questionable because if Jesus is God made flesh for us, then it does really matter what religion we have. Even the demons recognized him. Even the devils knew him. Even the demons called him by name: “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? It was not the demons and the devils that gave Jesus a bad and tough time. When he shows up, they simply vacate. When Jesus shows up, the demons flee from his presence. When Jesus shows up, the demons are shown the way out. When Jesus appears, the demons disappear. Those who gave Jesus a bad time were the religious people. Those who were resistant to Jesus were the religious know-it-all. The more they realized that Jesus of Nazareth was really who he claimed to be, the more they attempted to destroy him. They more they realized that he was the Son of God, the more they tried to get rid of him. The more they understood that he was the Holy One of God, the more they tried to kill him. 

The people of Jesus’ time tried to get rid of him. Of course, after killing him, they buried him in a tomb and then assigned soldiers to guard the tomb. But Easter tells us that their effort to keep him in the tomb was an abject and historic failure. Today, many people try to get rid of Jesus by simply ignoring him. But guess what? The danger of ignoring him is equivalent to the danger of ignoring your doctor or the instructions on your drug prescriptions or ignoring the direction on how to fly an airplane. Others try to get rid of Jesus by believing that Jesus was just another interesting guy in human history. Some say he was just another prophets like all other prophets that existed. Some equate him with Buddha or Mohammed or some guru from the Far East. They just cannot see that Jesus is the Holy One of God. He’s the only One that the demons tremble when he shows up! Only Jesus spoke with authority. Only Jesus rebuked the demons with words: “Quiet! Come out of him!” Only him could say to the leper, “Be cured,” to the cripple, “Rise up and walk!” to the deaf and dumb man, “Be opened” and to dead Lazarus, “Come out.” Only Jesus said to the blind man of Luke 18:42, “Receive your sight!” Only Jesus said to ten lepers in Luke 17, “Go and show yourself to the priest,” and on the way, ten of them were totally cleansed. Only Jesus rebuked a raging sea to the astonishment of his disciples who declared, “Who is this that even the wind and seas obey him?” (Matthew 8:27). Only Jesus could say to a sinner, “Your sins are forgiven.” Only Jesus could pick up a loaf of bread and a cup of wine and say, “This is my Body, this is is Blood.” Only Jesus died resurrected after three days. 

I believe that all of us gathered here today do not ignore Jesus. We believe in him. If not, we would not be here listening to his words and getting ready to receive his Body and Blood. But when someone reduces Jesus and equates him with other great men or women that had lived, do we let them go away unchallenged? Is the voice of the Lord just one of many? When someone disrespects Jesus, do we keep quiet? When a friend or a family member makes a false statement about Jesus, do we let them go away unchallenged? We need to remind them that only Jesus speaks with authority like no one else. Only Jesus says, “I have come that you may have life, life in its fullness” (John 10:10).