4^th Sunday of ordinary Time B

SVP 31 January 2021

I think you know, don’t you, that the three readings we have at each Sunday Mass are all connected; connected to a theme. Sometimes, though, it takes a lot of thinking to find the connection. Today it’s not too difficult to see how the first reading from the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy fits with the Gospel reading of St. Mark. The key is in the words of the unclean spirit crying out through the mouth of the possessed man in the synagogue: “I know who you are: the Holy One of God”. In other words: “you are the Messiah, the long-awaited messenger of God”. The first reading from that important book of the Old Testament, Deuteronomy, reminds us of God’s promise to the Jewish People that God will send his special prophet who will reveal all that is to be revealed about God.

When Jesus did come, the people were quick to recognise him as a great prophet. Many realised that he was the anointed one, the Messiah, the one promised by God. Somehow, Jesus was perceived to speak with authority. The people could see this authority in his actions, when he drove out the evil spirits from the possessed and in his healing miracles.  They recognised that he was very different from other teachers and others who claimed authority, like the scribes and the pharisees. Jesus’ actions were proof of his words.

We can ask ourselves where Jesus’ authority comes from. Certainly, Jesus gained some authority through his education. He knew the Bible, probably by heart, certainly in great depth. It is clear that Jesus knew God through his familiarity with the Word of God in the Bible; not just reading it but studying it and meditating it.

It has never been easier than today for us, his disciples, to follow his example in this matter. To help us, there is a host of expert commentaries and spiritual talks that we can listen to on You Tube or read on apps like Universalis. There’s a myriad of free or popular publications available today to help us familiarise ourselves with the Word of God. When we get to know the Word of God, when we take time to meditate and pray, we get to know God, and this changes our lives. In turn, it gives us authority; an authority that is similar to that of Jesus.

The other source of Jesus’ authority is his great love for his Father, God. It is so clear in the gospels that Jesus loved God, delighted in God, dwelt in God’s love, sought out God’s presence at night in prayer, in the silence of the desert and at the lake shore. Because Jesus sought out God, God revealed his love for his unique Son ever more deeply.

And this is the message of the second reading today from St Paul’s letter to the Corinthians. We have to read it wisely though. If we don’t, we’ll get stuck on those words, “an unmarried man can devote himself to the Lords affairs”, and we could mistakenly believe that only unmarried men can know God!  

Firstly, let us remember that when Paul wrote these words Christians were convinced that Jesus would soon be returning for his final coming and that the world as they knew it would come to an end. So, St Paul believed that it was better not to be distracted by the affairs of married life, but to devote oneself totally to prayer and good works – to sell everything one had and to live off the hand-outs of others – to occupy oneself in preparing the end of the world.

In this passage, that belief is behind the radicality of hat he writes. Taking that into account, we understand that Paul is not preaching against marriage but is telling us that whatever state of life we choose, let us spend all the energy we need to grow in God’s love; let us devote ourselves to allowing God’s love to grow in us and take the necessary means to do this. Of course, we know now that Christ’s return for the final judgement is not today. And we know that loving our neighbour is the best means of loving God. So, marriage, the love of your spouse, fidelity to your partner, the love of your children, these are all the best ways to love God. Add to that prayer and spiritual reading, and you cannot go wrong.

In your marriage, just as in your celibacy, says St. Paul, Jesus will grow in you and you will grow in Jesus, in the same way that you grow into each other in your love. And he tells us in that lovely passage of chapter 13, which we all know by heart, “Love will prevail”.

And this love will prevail over all pain and loss and trauma, over all evil things of this life. This love will prevail over our grief at the deaths of 100 000 of our loved ones during this pandemic. God’s love will prevail for those who have fallen into suffocating poverty in these last months. God’s love will prevail for the thousands of people who are fleeing Hong King to come to this country where they hope to find welcome in our churches. God’s love will prevail, for the victims of ethnic cleansing and cruel slaughter, it will prevail for the Rohingya people and for the Uyghurs, for the Congolese and the Libyans and the Yemenis crushed by the horrors of war. God’s love will prevail, the more we, the disciples of Christ Jesus, allow it to burn in our hearts and shine in our lives.

The more we trust in the authority of Christ, the more we will open our hearts to his love which is the source of all his authority. The more we open our hearts to his love the sooner his Kingdom will reign in our world. Amen.