Read Reflect Respond

Feast Days |  Sundays |  Videos | Latest

Year - B

Homily for the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

READ: (Deut 18: 15-20; 1 Cor 7: 32-35; Mk 1: 21b-28)

REFLECT: Be genuine prophets, have single minded devotion and realize the power of Jesus…

Dear friends we are in the fourth Sunday in ordinary time. The liturgy of the day invites us to realize and recognize the power of God in and through Jesus and the power of God in each one of us as Christians, the followers of Christ. We hear in the Gospel of John, “But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God” (Jn 1:12).  Yes, the power of God in us is to become the children of God and make others as well God’s children.  Today, God manifests his power in us through the faith we profess and practice, the grace from above that nurtures and nourish our faith practices. So based on the readings of the day, I would like to share with you three points of reflection, as how we can realize and recognize the power of God in us and we can empower others through the power of God in us.

1.     Be genuine prophets of God:

A true prophet is the one who is raised by God, who speaks on behalf of God, who does and speaks what God wills and commands. A genuine prophet stands by God’s commands and statutes and abides in it as well. Therefore, true prophets are after the heart of God and they do what pleases God and not what pleases oneself. Something similar we find in the first reading of the day. The first reading from the book of Deuteronomy invites us to be genuine prophets of God, who speaks what God wills, what God commands and shows ones faithfulness to God and his words. That’s what we hear in the reading that God will rise up a prophet like Moses and we need to listen to him only. If anyone who has not been approved by God or speaks what God has not commanded or who speaks in the name of other gods shall face death.

Perhaps the first reading of the day gives us two indications, one that there would be continuity of prophets after the death of Moses and the second one is a prophet like Moses would be raised up in the future. We all of us know that Moses, a prophet and leader, who lead the people of Israel, who was a mediator to approach God and convey them the divine manifestations of God. Similarly, there would be one such person to continue leading the people of Israel them too, mediating between God and people, thus making known to them the divine revelation of God. So that they continue to walk in the statutes of God and remain in God’s love.

Very importantly, we also find the clear mentions of the prophetic functions in the first reading. The spokesmen like Moses, the one called by God among Israelites would receive and speak only what is commanded to them by the Lord. So great would be the power and authority of prophet raised in the name of God. If anyone disobeys prophet’s words, it would be as equal as disobeying the word of God and will be held accountable for such an act of disobedience. Moreover, another important point to note is that if any of the prophets in the name of God proclaim false messages or speaks or supports others gods, they would face death as consequences of their unfaithfulness and insincerity to God and his words. So it is a call to be genuine prophet of God, using the power of God invested in us rightly and properly.

Although, the first reading passage is attributed to Jesus as the prophet and leader who would establish the kingdom of God in the future, yet, being and becoming prophets of today’s world is the call of every Christian. Today each and every Christian is called to be a prophet of God in God’s name. If we consider ourselves as prophets of God, we need to be lead by God’s spirit, God’s will, God’s plan and God’s words. Most of us have lost the credibility to be called as prophets of God as there is no credible and moral life-style manifested in life. At times, we mislead the people in the name of diverse classification that are prevalent like caste, region, language, rites, colors and ethnic background etc. It is a reminder for all of us that as followers of Christ we have the power of God or the power of Christ in us, we need to use it rightly for the right purpose, genuinely for genuine reasons. So as prophets of God, let us bring people closer to God, live in unity and live genuine lives as God wants of us his children.

2.     Have single-minded devotion to God:

A very beautiful description about single minded devotion is shared that, “Single minded devotion is an unwavering focus and dedication to a particular goal or purpose, often characterized by intense concentration and perseverance.” Yes, we all of us have a particular goal or purpose in life and we wish to have one such goal or purpose in life for a meaningful life. We need to be single-minded, when we wish to focus on achieving a goal. So that nothing else gets on our way. The single minded devotion could help and support us to keep ourselves from being distracted or disturbed unnecessarily.  In particular, as Christians we have a purpose or goal in life, that is, to focus our attention towards God. So that once we focus our attention towards God, all else would fall in line to move ahead smoothly. It does not matter what state of life we live but what matters in all state of life is focus our undivided attention and focus on God, so that God become the centre of life and our life revolves around God always.

That’s perhaps the second reading from St. Paul’s letter to First Corinthians tells us. St. Paul lays an open invitation to be free from all anxieties and worries of life. Everyone has worries and anxieties, but we need to keep aside all worries and tension and focus on the Lord Jesus with an undivided heart and single-minded devotion. St. Paul very clearly states that it is neither married or unmarried are free from anxieties of life, but when we keep aside our worries and turn ourselves to the Lord with a single-minded focus, God gives us blessings in abundance, there is satisfaction and fullness of life, happiness and peace.

Today most of us have understood the single-minded devotion to God wrongly. Because, some might feel it is only the privilege of the few individuals or religious people etc. some might give up saying, ‘it won’t be possible, why I should give a try.” But if we look at it little intensely, we would understand that each one of us in our own state of life, whether in families or religious institutions, we can devote ourselves to the Lord single-mindedly, when our priorities are right and properly set. In all areas of life, when God becomes the centre, our hearts and minds, ways and means automatically turns towards it.

Very beautifully Pope Francis tells us, “Where life is headed is the way to get through the experiences of fatigue, bewilderment, and even failure. When we lose sight of what makes life worth living for, we compress our life into the present. We merely seek maximum enjoyment and end up living day by day, without purpose, without a goal. Our homeland, instead, is in heaven; let us not forget the greatness and the beauty of our destination.” Yes, our homeland, our purpose and destination is to reach heaven, for which we need to have single-minded devotion, without being affected by the worldly concerns, we need to place our trust in God and walk ahead with faith and grace from God. I am sure, when we are devoted completely to the Lord, the Lord always finds a way out for us to abide in us and to pour his grace on us in abundance.

3.     Realize the power of Jesus:

The power and authority of Jesus is innate as Jesus is the Son of God. Whether we realize and recognize the power of Jesus or not, the power and authority of Jesus remains the same always. What we need to do is to realize the power of God in us through Jesus and the spirit of God. Only such realization of God’s power in us will bring about change and prosperity in our lives and others lives. That’s what we see in the gospel reading of the day, the realization of the power and authority by crowd and the unclean spirit. The gospel reading of the day speaks on the power and authority of Jesus and how people realize the power of Jesus. We have a very clear mentioning and distinction about Jesus’ power and authority from the crowd themselves. They observed the difference between the authority of Jesus and Scribes. That’s why at the start of the gospel reading itself we hear that the crowd was astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority and not as the scribes. In reality, the scribes did not have as much as power and authority Jesus, perhaps they could not have had such power and authority as Jesus had, because scribes were only human persons but Jesus is the Son of God. Yet, we see people making their observation of power and the distinction of power manifested by Jesus and scribes.

Once again, at the end of the gospel reading we hear that people were astonished because of Jesus’ new teaching with authority as the unclean spirit proclaims Jesus as the Holy one of God. Yes, the astonishment of the crowd about Jesus underscores a point of note that they have not seen such powers being demonstrated earlier, either from the scribes, Pharisees, Sadducees or any other people, but they have perceived the unique power and authority in Jesus. Yes, we all of us know the reason behind Jesus’ power and authority. The power and authority of Jesus is, because, Jesus is the Son of God, the Word Incarnate, the Saviour of the world.

Perhaps one of the reasons for the astonishment of the crowd could be that Jesus taught the people based on his own power and authority from God and not by quoting any scholars of the past as others did at the time of Jesus. Moreover, the teachings and miracles of Jesus as well prove at one point of time that Jesus was and is powerful both in word and deed. The authority and power of Jesus in words can be seen in the previous episode of Mark’s Gospel 1: 16-20. It is the call of first disciples, the power and authority of Jesus is seen in words as he calls the first disciples, at Jesus’ word, they leave everything behind and follow Jesus. In Mk 1: 21-28 as well we see the power and authority of Jesus in action as the crowd realizes a new teaching from the power and authority of Jesus and when the unclean spirit makes known to People that Jesus is the holy one of God. The unclean spirit realized that Jesus is the holy one of God and has the power to destroy. That’s why the unclean spirit exclaimed, “Have you come to destroy us?” Yes, Jesus’ power and authority is from on high as he is the Son of God and all the more Jesus had the power and authority in his words and deeds. That’s what distinguished Jesus from others. .

All the more, the words of the unclean spirit uttered as ‘holy one of God’ is the messianic title attributed to Jesus at the time of annunciation of the Lord to Mary in the gospel of Matthew and Luke (Matt 1: 18-25; Lk 1: 26-38). Although, we do not have the infancy narrative of Jesus in the Gospel of Mark, yet the attestation “Jesus as Son of God, the beloved of God and the chosen one of God,” is seen at the time of baptism in the Gospel of Mark (Mk 1:11). The realization of Jesus as the holy one of God is a reminder to all of us to understand the power and authority of Jesus. Jesus is the holy one of God, because he has a special bonding and relationship with God as Son of God. It is an undeniable fact that Jesus has power and authority over all things. But do we realize the power of Jesus in us as Christians by virtue of Sacraments that we have received? The power of God in us through Jesus and the Spirit, the power of God in us through the reception of sacraments and the faith we profess call each one of us to manifest the power of God to others in love and service.

Today most of us have failed to realize the power of God, the power of Jesus and the power of the spirit, because we rely on our own power, strength and authority. We tend to think that the power and authority that we hold is everlasting and that’s self-generated. But God makes us realize that without the power of God in us, we are nothing. In the gospel reading of the day, the crowds were astonished at the new teaching, power and authority of Jesus, even the unclean spirit realized the power and authority of Jesus, but the scribes and Pharisees or some others could not realize or recognize the power and authority of Jesus. Why? It is because they were completely immersed in their own thoughts, teachings and concepts that were already set. They were not ready to come out of their inner-circle or ideologies that they had created. Those ideologies blinded them and failed them to realize and recognize the power and authority of Jesus. Similar things can happen to us also, if we are fully immersed in oneself – self-authority, self-power, self-gain and selfishness. So let us realize the power of Jesus in our lives and make others recognize the power of Jesus in us by the good example of life that we live.

RESPOND:

Do we resemble in character as genuine prophets of God in our lives?

Do we devote ourselves single-mindedly to reach our purpose and destination in God in different state or status of life we live?

Do we realize the power of God in us through Jesus in the Spirit and do we make others realize the power of God in us by good example of life?

Let us live as genuine prophets, have single-minded devotion to God, realize the power of God in life and make others to realize the power of Jesus in us with good examples of living. Amen.

 God bless us all! Live Jesus!

Fr. Ramesh George MSFS

rameshvkmsfs@gmail.com

9500930968