Word to the Wise
Tuesday, January 15, 2008 - Tuesday in the First Week of Ordinary Time
[1 Samuel 1:9-20 and Mark 1:21-28]All were amazed and asked of one another, "What is this? A new teaching with authority. He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him."
The reaction of the crowd tells us what the purpose of this story is. It's not really about exorcism. There were a lot of exorcists in Jesus' time. The ability to cast out evil spirits would hardly have made him anyone particularly special. It is his teaching that the crowd notes. Earlier in the reading we are told, "The people were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes." The scribes would present themselves as having studied under a particular teacher and therefore taught with the vicarious authority of that teacher. Jesus did not present himself as having studied under anyone. He was his own authority. And to demonstrate his authority, he casts out the demon. Thus his teaching has the same authority as his actions! I know the experience of having a teacher whose manner of presentation and knowledge of a subject made all other teachers seem like they were just reading from a textbook! Such a teacher commands trust and respect. (I sometimes feel that way each time my computer-savvy friend casts out another "demon" from my laptop!) What may be more difficult is to capture that feeling in regard to Jesus as teacher. Can we feel ourselves with Jesus in the presence of a great teacher who does not need to prove himself by someone else but whose command of the subject is his authority? This may require that we "sit and listen" instead of consuming sound-bytes! AMEN
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