Mark 1: 21 - 28
The Word: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/013121.cfm
It is a well-known fact that our third President, Thomas Jefferson, was a rationalist. He was a brilliant man, a kind of historian and philosopher, who also claimed to be a Christian. Yet, being a product of the Enlightenment he was not especially fond of the supernatural. In fact he dismissed the miraculous quite openly.
Nonetheless, he had great admiration for the moral
teaching of Jesus. So, he decided to
collect various English translations of the New Testament and quite literally
did a cut and paste job using a sharp knife and placed the life of Jesus in a
more coherent chronological order. In
addition, he eliminated all references to the miraculous from the Gospels. So, no walking on water, feeding of the
thousands, healing of the blind or leprous, no exorcisms and certainly no
resurrection.
So he constructed what has been called the Jefferson
Bible entitled: “The life and morals of Jesus of Nazareth.” It was published in
1820.
Jesus was essentially reduced by Jefferson to nothing
more than an inspiring moral teacher. A
kind of wise sage whose philosophy of life provided a solid guide for right
moral living. In essence, according to
Jefferson’s reconstruction, Jesus did nothing except teach from the mountaintop
as it were. It is a Jesus of history locked in time and space.
In our Gospel this Sunday, however, we cannot deny that
we see another Jesus of Nazareth. It is very
much a teacher, yes, but one who teaches with a particular authority and “not
as the scribes” as Mark relates the words of the people in the synagogue. There
was evidently a particular charisma around Jesus that those who heard him were
“astonished" and greatly moved by what seemed to be a unique presence about him.
Typical rabbinical teaching would always make reference to
previous teachers: “Rabbi Gamaliel said this . . . Rabbi Ruben said this . . . and I say such
and such” for example. No rabbi would claim to be speaking on his own
authority. Yet, Jesus spoke with such
authoritative certainty that it left the crowds deeply impressed and his honor
spread quickly. Thomas Jefferson would likely have approved of this Jesus as
well. But, Jesus’ authority, as we read in Moses' promise, is that of God himself.
Our first reading from Deuteronomy helps to support this
as we hear Moses speak to the people: “A prophet like me will the Lord, your
God, raise up . . . to him you shall listen.” Our Christian tradition makes a
clear connection, then, between this prophecy of Moses, the greatest reference
point for all Jewish authority and teaching, as fulfilled in Jesus.
That certainly is an undeniable image of Jesus. But in the synagogue, the scene is quickly
interrupted by man who screeches out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of
Nazareth?” This is no mere objection to
what Jesus may have been teaching. It is a direct challenge by another darker
spirit to his authority and his mission.
At this moment Jesus is more than a mere brilliant and
insightful commentator. He commands the
powers of evil in this man, possessed by an “unclean spirit.” That spirit
speaks the truth of who Jesus is: “The Holy One of God.” A truth strangely
known by this dark spirit but not understood by the assembly.
So, merely by Jesus word, by his command, “Quiet! Come
out of him!” the confrontation is ended.
Both teacher and exorcist overcome the crowd who states: “What is this? A new teaching . . . and he
commands unclean spirits and they obey him.” The Jesus we see is one who commands our
homage and our full response. It is the full Jesus of faith which gives Christianity its legitimacy and our lives hope as we place
our trust in a God who has entered our lives and taken charge to heal the
broken, offer mercy to the sinner, confront the ungodly and the dark forces that
desire to break us and tear us away from him.
Is this the Jesus you follow and believe in? Or is the image of Jefferson more compatible
with your lifestyle? Is the Jesus of
comfort and good advice one that has become Lord of our lives or can we walk
the way of true discipleship?
In his preaching today, Mark opens his Gospel with a Jesus
who challenges us and calls us to deep conversion of life: “The kingdom of God
is at hand. Repent, and believe in the
gospel.” We cannot divorce this
proclamation from what happened next in that synagogue on that Saturday
centuries ago. His preaching was nothing less than the announcement that God
has come in power to rescue his people.
His power then, his presence remains here among us as
well. The coming of Christ was not just
a moment in history but the beginning of God’s action to reverse and heal the
effects of sin in a broken world. His
power over that of darkness is a family of believers, true disciples gathered
in faith, worship, fellowship in Christ, baptized into his community, made holy
by the sacraments and sent on mission to proclaim the good news. The Church, the Body of Christ living and
active in this world. The message of the Gospel has a power of its own to transform lives in Christ and we are called to share that "power" as we become a light in the world.
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