Sunday, January 28, 2024

FOURTH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME

(Deuteronomy 18:15-20; I Corinthians 7:32-35; Mark 1:21-28)

The Gospel according to Saint Mark is the shortest of the four canonical gospels. It's probably the least appreciated as well. But you can't say it's not dramatic. It draws us into the action as if it were an episode of Star Wars. The passage we read today is no exception.

To understand it we have to go back a little to last Sunday's gospel where Jesus says: “The Kingdom of God is at hand.”  You can bet on it. The Kingdom of God is essentially Jesus Himself, the Son of God. Now the kingdom is advancing like an army on the march. The forces of evil have to flee. God is reclaiming human hearts, the territory that was ceded to Satan and his demons.

In the gospel reading today we see a confrontation between Jesus and the enemy. The devil occupies the soul of a man. Perhaps the man is a lunatic, but the gospel does not say how the possession manifests itself. It doesn't matter. The presence of Jesus, charged with the Holy Spirit given to him at his Baptism, threatens the demon from head to toe.

The demon cannot resist him. He has to get out of the captive like a soldier whose trench has been ignited by a flamethrower.  The demon tries to challenge Jesus by revealing his identity, “the Holy One of God.” But the Lord silences him before the people realize what he is saying. In the statement the demon refers to himself with the plural “we.” He is speaking on behalf of all the demons whose domination of the world is being upended.

Jesus' action to silence the demon may cause us to ask, “Why? Isn't it good that everyone knows that the Son of God has come among them?” It's not good because Jesus doesn't want to be seen as a warrior coming to overthrow the government of Rome.  It is critical that we all understand that Jesus is not a political messiah but a spiritual one. He comes to save not only Israel but the entire world from evil habits that plunder the soul of life. The violence with which the demon releases control of the possessed indicates Jesus’ power to carry out this mission.

Jesus' desire that his identity not be revealed has been called “the messianic secret.” We are going to see Jesus insist it being kept throughout our reading of Mark’s gospel this year. But there is an exception to this pattern. It occurs on Palm Sunday when we read the Passion according to Saint Mark. After Jesus’ death on the cross, the Roman centurion says openly, “Truly this man was the son of God.” Of course, Jesus’ death prevents the centurion’s being silenced, but there is no point that the secret be kept any longer. Through his passion and death Jesus, the Messiah and Son of God, has revealed God’s purpose. He conquers human hearts by replacing sin with divine love.  

People in the synagogue say that Jesus speaks with “authority.” This word comes from the Latin word auctoritas meaning having influence over others. Jesus’ authority moves us to repent our greed, pride, lust, and other sins. It expels unclean spirits from their strategic position in our hearts. His authority frees us to follow him on the path of eternal life.