Word to the Wise
Tuesday, January 9, 2007 - First Tuesday in Ordinary Time
[Hebrews 2:5-12 and Mark 1:21-28]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."
Most Catholics would associate the term "real presence" with the consecrated bread and wine at Mass. But the church actually teaches that the "real presence" of Christ occurs in other ways as well: in the assembly of people gathered to celebrate Eucharist, in the Word proclaimed, in the celebrant, and in the faces of the poor. There is good reason to teach this. Today's gospel provides us with a clue. Notice the reaction of the people to the exorcism of the man with an unclean spirit. They are amazed at Jesus' teaching! His word in teaching is just as powerful as his word in driving out unclean spirits. Unlike the many exorcists who existed in Jesus' time, he does not drive out a demon by invoking some other power. It is his own word that drives out demons. It is this same word that is read and proclaimed in the church. It is this same word that is available to us each time we pick up the scriptures. Those who come late to the celebration of the Eucharist do not arrive before there is a "real presence" of Jesus. That presence begins when the community gathers and is powerfully present in the Liturgy of the Word! (All the more scandalous, then, is poor preaching or disregard for the Bible!) The gospel for today is a direct challenge to us to appreciate more fully the power of Jesus word! Listen up! AMEN
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