Reflection on Mass readings for Jan. 28
Deuteronomy 18:15-20
Psalm 95:1-2, 6-7, 7-9
1 Corinthians 7:32-35
Mark 1:21-28
Imagine observing two different classrooms at a local high school one day to see how effectively the classroom teacher communicates information to his students.
As the bell buzzes for the first class to begin, the rowdy crowd of students slowly saunters into the classroom, not bothering to take out any supplies or study materials. When the class finally commences, you observe how the teacher spends most of the time barking threats at the boisterous students in one corner, while ordering students to pay attention in the other. The students seem to shrug off these threats, having heard them before and knowing that they are empty. This unspoken fact only perpetuates the chaos of the class.
However, the next classroom is different. The teacher waits at his door and greets the students as they walk past him in single file. They proceed to their desks and immediately take out their supplies and get to work. When the class begins, you observe how carefully the teacher presents his lesson. He encourages the intellectual capacity of his students by compelling them to go deeper, all the while checking their understanding with constant questioning.
Unlike the first class, these students know this teacher means business. Any deliberate disobedience or unacceptable behavior will be met with consequences. This teacher’s air of authority provides the atmosphere needed for the students to attentively engage in their lesson.
Throughout the Gospel of Mark, the evangelist often underscores the authoritative power in Christ’s words and deeds. This Gospel for the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time is no different. The opening line reads, “The people were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority … ” (Mk 1:22). While it is true that the people were undoubtedly astonished by Christ’s preaching, they were even more so because of the authority that permeated his every word and deed.
The word translated as “authority” is the Greek word “exousia,” meaning “from the being of” or “out of one’s being.” To have authority is to properly exercise a power that has been bestowed. When Christ speaks, he speaks not simply as a man but as a divine Person who has been given all power and authority from the Father over the entire cosmos.
Therefore, everything Christ commands is effectively carried out because everything is subject to him. So, what does the authority of Christ teach us from the Gospel, and how does it carry over into Christ’s encounter with the man possessed by a demon?
When confronting demons, and particularly in this case, when the demon cries out Christ’s true identity, Christ authoritatively silences the demon with both a word of rebuke and command: “Quiet! Come out of him!”
Saint Thomas Aquinas can help us understand why it is necessary for the demon to be silenced in this particular episode. He explains that when a demon tells a truth, it is only in order to deceive. Secondly, demons who confess truths do so to carry out an evil purpose (Summa Theologiae 1).
Christ authoritatively rebukes the demon to be silent, which is followed by a command which the demon is unable to counter. Whatever deception or purpose the demon had intended, Christ’s authority as Lord of the universe and of all creation overcomes and overpowers the insidious assault.
But the Gospel account seems to convey another important truth which reveals why Christ’s authority is good news for us. By virtue of our baptism, which has made us participants in Christ’s three-fold mission of priest, prophet and king, we too have a share in the authority of Christ. Because our authority is rooted in this great sacrament, which enables us to entrust ourselves “wholly to God and believe absolutely what he says” (CCC 150), we are able to have absolute confidence in our baptismal authority given to us through the Person of Jesus Christ.
When we are afflicted by trials, doubts, evils or lies that the evil one whispers, do we counter them in prayer with confidence in the authority that Christ has conferred on us by our baptism?
Or do we allow these things to have authority over us, as if we were orphaned sons and daughters of a negligent father?
When we are faced with the trials that tempt or confound us, let us have recourse to the very authority in which Christ has given us a share.
Sister Mary Josephine joined the Congregation of the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia in 2008. She currently serves at Our Lady of Mount Carmel School, Newport News, teaching middle school theology.