Word to the Wise
Tuesday, January 15, 2019 - Tuesday in the 1st Week in Ordinary Time
[Heb 2:5-12 and Mark 1:21-28]Jesus came to Capernaum with his followers, and on the sabbath he 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. [Mark]
TUESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2019 DOMINICAN MARTYRS IN CHINA (St. Francis de Capillas, OP, Peter Sanz, OP, and Companions)
[Hebrews 2:5-12 and Mark 1:21-28 - These scriptures may vary at Dominican locales]
At this early stage in the Gospel According to Mark, it could be said that Jesus, in today's street parlance, is establishing his "creds." Two things happen in the scene in today's gospel. First, Jesus is shown to be a teacher of an unusual kind. He teaches on his own authority and not by simply quoting other teachers the way the scribes do. Like all good lawyers, the scribes would rely on precedent for what they taught. Jesus simply says, "I say so!" The second thing that happens is that he heals a man with an unclean spirit right there in the synagogue on a sabbath. This shows that he has his own authority and does not have to call on a higher one, and that he is going head on with Jewish observances that can harm human dignity. The scribes and Pharisees would consider healing to be "work" and not permitted on the sabbath. The conflict between Jesus and the Jewish authorities begins right away.
The Gospel According to Mark, as I have noted before, has a kind of "in your face" quality about it. At times it can be like having a glass of water thrown in your face to wake you up! Perhaps this could lead us to ask ourselves if there is anything about the gospel that surprises or shocks us to think about things differently. Or have we "domesticated" the gospel into pious inspiration that demands nothing of us but to be "nice?" Hang on! This gospel will take us on a bumpy ride! AMEN