Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 71
Reading I
Dt 18:15-20
Moses spoke to all the people, saying:
“A prophet like me will the LORD, your God, raise up for you
from among your own kin;
to him you shall listen.
This is exactly what you requested of the LORD, your God, at Horeb
on the day of the assembly, when you said,
‘Let us not again hear the voice of the LORD, our God,
nor see this great fire any more, lest we die.’
And the LORD said to me, ‘This was well said.
I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their kin,
and will put my words into his mouth;
he shall tell them all that I command him.
Whoever will not listen to my words which he speaks in my name,
I myself will make him answer for it.
But if a prophet presumes to speak in my name
an oracle that I have not commanded him to speak,
or speaks in the name of other gods, he shall die.’”
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 95:1-2, 6-7, 7-9
R. (8) If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Come, let us sing joyfully to the LORD;
let us acclaim the rock of our salvation.
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us joyfully sing psalms to him.
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Come, let us bow down in worship;
let us kneel before the LORD who made us.
For he is our God,
and we are the people he shepherds, the flock he guides.
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Oh, that today you would hear his voice:
“Harden not your hearts as at Meribah,
as in the day of Massah in the desert,
Where your fathers tempted me;
they tested me though they had seen my works.”
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Reading II
1 Cor 7:32-35
Brothers and sisters:
I should like you to be free of anxieties.
An unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord,
how he may please the Lord.
But a married man is anxious about the things of the world,
how he may please his wife, and he is divided.
An unmarried woman or a virgin is anxious about the things of the Lord,
so that she may be holy in both body and spirit.
A married woman, on the other hand,
is anxious about the things of the world,
how she may please her husband.
I am telling you this for your own benefit,
not to impose a restraint upon you,
but for the sake of propriety
and adherence to the Lord without distraction.
Alleluia
Mt 4:16
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The people who sit in darkness have seen a great light;
on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death,
light has arisen.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Mk 1:21-28
Then they came to Capernaum,
and on the sabbath Jesus entered the synagogue and taught.
The people were astonished at his teaching,
for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes.
In their synagogue was a man with an unclean spirit;
he cried out, “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!”
Jesus rebuked him and said,
“Quiet! Come out of him!”
The unclean spirit convulsed him and with a loud cry came out of him.
All were amazed and asked one another,
“What is this?
A new teaching with authority.
He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him.”
His fame spread everywhere throughout the whole region of Galilee.
MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS,
Jesus Christ speaks with the authority of God because He is God. As Christians we need to constantly remind ourselves what is the source of Sacred Scripture, The Teachings of the Church, and Sacred Tradition. These things have all of their origins from God. This can be easily forgotten when we are living in a world influenced by secularism which serves as a gateway to sin. We can see this as very evident in society today where religion, faith, and God are being minimized in favor of people trying to build upon their own vision of what life should be regardless if it is against God. There is the presence of self-justification for people’s actions if they appear to be immoral or against God. Free-thought without the influence of God is encouraged with a forceful removal of that which has its origins in God. The concept of God is casually dismissed in favor of His absence. This arguably divides God’s creation against itself and sows chaos. Where there is chaos there is an absence of God; that which creates division and discord does not come from God. In a world filled with calamity it is clear that the answer to peace, love, and prosperity has been and always will be an awareness of God.
When things are ordered correctly a better result is always realized. When things are disorganized is when bad things tend to happen. God is supposed to be set above His creation and He is supposed to be recognized within His creation. He is a part of it and cannot be separated from it. When people think they can separate God from what He created only bad things can result. Human beings are capable of great things if they are done with God. We are also capable of terrible things if God is removed from the equation. In the first Scripture Reading today God said as much when He warned, “Whoever will not listen to my words which he speaks in my name, I myself will make him answer for it.” This was not a threat but more of a warning that those who did not listen to Him would face the consequences of their actions. I feel that we all can reflect on times in our lives when things went horribly wrong. Most likely, during those times, the advice of God and His presence was the farthest things from our minds. To live a fulfilling a life we must include God in our plans.
The Apostle Paul explains in his letter to the Corinthians how putting God first in our lives leads to less anxiety and less distraction. He presents a comparison between married people and those who have chosen a consecrated life closer to God. He did not advocate for one status above the other but instead presented a comparison between the two in this description. To become closer to God it is better to remove all earthly obstacles that just might inhibit the relationship. It is also good not to erect new obstacles by our choices. Making choices with God as the most important factor will bring about the best results and will help make our fears and anxieties to fade away. Putting God first makes us His servants and places us in the right order of things with God above all. This way of thinking also offers us solutions to everyday problems that we have and will encounter for the rest of our lives. Nothing is insurmountable with God and acknowledging this will automatically give us a new confidence. This confidence comes from God. Being distracted from God is a danger that we all should avoid. That which distracts us should be eliminated.
If we were to review a typical day in our lives what would we find? How much time do we spend distracting ourselves through entertainment, pleasures, and frivolous things that are meant to stimulate ourselves but serve no purpose beyond that? From multi-media, sports, music, to eating and drinking how much do we actually do which means anything except to satisfy some sort of urge in the moment? This spills over to our sexual conduct also. How much time do we spend reacting to our sexual urges that have the power to consume us? This review is not presented as a reprimand or an advocacy for removing all of these things in an extreme way. It is more to serve as a warning that all of these things can take precedence in our lives and blind us to the true joy of living that can only be discovered through experiencing God. When God’s love enters our life everything else will pale in comparison. Things built around and with God will bring about a more fulfilling life than just chasing after earthly pleasures. This goes back to Paul’s warning of putting things in the way of a relationship with God: it weakens us and causes fears, anxieties, and resentments to seep in. God does not want us to feel this way. He just wants us to experience joy and His love.
In the Gospel Reading today Jesus was teaching in the synagogue. Those present were astonished at His wisdom and the way He taught them. They were being fed mentally and spiritually. The forces which opposed Him, manifested in the form of an unclean spirit, were tortured by His presence and were cast out. Nothing could stand up against Him. When we listen to what Jesus is saying, enter into relationship with Him, and conduct our lives under His direction we too will experience what those in the synagogue experienced that day. We will enjoy a new way of living directed by the Light of Christ where the darkness in this world will never overcome us.
To build a house correctly the foundation must be solid with no cracks. Cracks lead to a compromising of the entire structure. Listening to God insures that our life will be built on a solid foundation that can withstand the strong winds of sin and temptation. What God says and how we listen will give us all the shelter we need to overcome all challenges and obstacles. As the Psalm says, “If God is on our side who can be against us?”
Deacon Tom
My Brothers and Sisters,
Throughout the history of the world, God has sent the prophets at different times to help guide the people living during that period. Those same words spoken are contained in our Sacred Scripture and are known as Divine Revelations because what was said is as important now as it was back then. They tell us about God and serve as the foundation of our faith. They provide instruction and comfort to us. It is through these writings that we are able to develop our own relationship with God and receive His wisdom. In our journey of faith, we are then taken to the Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles, and the various letters which lead to the full Revelation of Jesus Christ the Son of God. There is no more need of the prophets for we have Jesus Himself through The Living Word and His presence throughout creation. All has been given to us and we are now invited to live the full Christ Experience. Taking the Biblical Writings, the instruction received from the Holy Mother Church, and the Traditions of the Church, we have what is called the Deposit of Faith. As Christians, we have come to understand this as a gift from God to us. It is an expression of His love for us. It serves as a structure of sorts where from within we live out our faith-life with Him. Through it, certain truths are revealed which then allow us to deepen our experiences with Him.
In Paul’s Letter to the Corinthians, he tells us how in many circumstances our social responsibilities can get in the way of our spiritual responsibilities and serve as a distraction to what is of the ultimate importance which is God. Yes, it is through the family and the relationships therein that the Love of God is experienced. With that known, there will be many of us that can find ourselves frustrated and presented with challenges as we try to fulfill many roles to both our families and the Church. This dilemma can also extend into other roles we take on from work and societal obligations. What can easily happen when this occurs is a blurring of the responsibility to God and an obstacle to created between us and our relationship with God. It is easier to ignore something that is unseen such as God and concentrate on our physical existence that is before us. Everything then suffers as a result and nothing is done correctly. Ultimately what then happens is the absence of Joy and the entrance of sin and temptation.
The key to avoiding this dilemma is again focusing on all aspects of the Deposit of Faith and doing everything with Jesus in our hearts, soul, and mind. When we make the effort to do this, we then remove all the obstacles between us and God’s Grace. Obstacles that we constructed in the first place. The eyes of the people of Capernaum were opened in much the same way. They were astounded as Jesus’ teachings in the synagogue. It was through their reception of the Word that the path was cleared for them to experience miracles and demons were cast out. This was in stark contrast to when Jesus went to Nazareth previously and was utterly rejected. No miracles were performed and Jesus was astounded by their lack of faith.
The stronger our faith becomes the more we become aware of the presence of the Holy Spirit. It is the same with our relationships with people we interact with. The more time we spend with someone, the closer we become. To fully experience God’s Love, we must engage it continuously. There will be less and less anxiety; replaced with all the more joy and love. The path has been mapped out for us and the instructions are offered for us. The challenge is this: are we ready to take the time and effort to use them?
Deacon Tom
My Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
God’s authority in our daily lives is important. Who speaks for God? Do we want to listen to God? Are we interested at all in finding the meaning of life outside of ourselves? The challenges of the readings today keep pointing us outside of ourselves and toward a divine authority who wants to communicate with us but who will never force Himself upon us.
The first reading today, from the Book of Deuteronomy, is really strong. God’s people have told God Himself that they do not want to hear His voice directly! So God tells them that they will hear him now only through prophets. But real prophets, not the fake ones.
We may think that there is something odd in not wanting to hear God, but so often we ourselves do not want to hear God in His Word, in His Scriptures and in His Church. Yet at times, if a really strong and charismatic personality comes and is able to preach the Word of God, there are times when we listen. We are no different from the people of the time of Moses! We need prophets when we don’t listen to God. We need also to listen to God’s words about false prophets—for they will die!
The second reading is from the First Letter to the Corinthians. We are told that the unmarried person is able to be more concerned to listen to the Lord and to seek the Lord’s will. This does not mean such an unmarried person is better than a married person or even that such an unmarried person will actually be more concerned about the things of the Lord. Our holiness and our value before the Lord is in doing the Lord’s will and surely many married people are more concerned about the Lord than some unmarried. On the other hand, it is clear that an unmarried person who truly seeks the Lord is able to be more concerned solely about the things of the Lord because of the lack of spouse and children. The point, however, is always the same: listen to the Lord!
The Gospel brings us back again to this them of listening to the Lord. The people in the Gospel are totally amazed at Jesus and his power over unclean spirits. They could see that Jesus spoke as a person having authority on His own. But did the people of the Gospel follow the Lord? Not always! Even when the Word of God is right in front of us, we are still able to resist. God has given us this freedom to choose and so often we choose against God and thus also against ourselves.
Let us pay attention today to the many ways that God comes into our lives. Let us seek to be faithful to the voice of the Lord as it comes to us in Scripture and in the Church. Let us pay attention to the things of God and rejoice when God sends us the strength to be faithful.
Your brother in the Lord,
Abbot Philip
The connection between the first reading today and the Gospel is so very strong. Moses, in the first reading, from the Book of Deuteronomy, tells the people that God Himself will raise up a prophet for them, one who is their own relative and one to whom they should listen. We who follow Jesus come to recognize that He, Jesus, is the fulfillment of this prophecy—and even more than we could have imagined. He is our relative, a human like us in all things except sin. He shares our humanity with us and speaks to us about God. The challenge—and this also comes from Deuteronomy, is to listen to Him and to follow His words.
The Gospel of Mark today tells us about Jesus in the synagogue at Capernaum. Jesus teaches as one having authority and the people recognize that immediately. Even more, Jesus commands unclean spirits and they obey Him. This scares the people and they are no longer certain that Jesus comes from God. They have become accustomed to a safe practice of their faith and the actions of Jesus begin to challenge their sense of security.
Jesus challenges us! Faith in God is not about being secure. Faith in God is about having a living relationship with God, a personal relationship—and because of that relationship, doing the will of God in every aspect of our life. Far too often we hope that if we just do the right things, we can somehow achieve salvation. We need to become acutely aware of the difference between performing actions to appease God and acting out of a deep, personal relationship with the living God.
The second reading, from the First Letter to the Corinthians, shows us the advice of Saint Paul. This is advice to people about how to live. Saint Paul wants the followers of Jesus to be free of anxiety and so counsels chaste celibacy for the sake of the Kingdom. We know that Saint Paul never imposed chaste celibacy as a requirement. Rather, Saint Paul counsels women and men that chaste celibacy might be a better way to live in order to give one’s energies to the living God. Counsel to others is to help them seek God with all their being. Counsel is to help others live fully because of their personal relationship with God.
The Christian traditional recognizes both chaste celibates and married women and men as saints: those who have followed God as completely as possible in this life. When we read an honest life of a saint, we begin to understand a bit what it means to live out of a deep, personal relationship with God.
God has raised up a prophet for us, Jesus the Christ. God has given us His own Son to be our Savior, Jesus Christ. It is this Jesus who challenges us today to see His presence in our world and to respond with our whole being to that presence. You and I can convert the whole world, if we live from that relationship.
CHRIST IN THE DESERT MONASTERY
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