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“Jeremiah Denounces the Priests”
by Max Lieberg, c. 1898 |
Readings for the Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time [2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [3]
Readings and Commentary: [4]
Reading 1: Deuteronomy 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.'"
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Commentary on Dt 18:15-20
In this passage from Deuteronomy, Moses speaks to the people presenting an oracle that predicts the coming of another prophet (“A prophet like me will the LORD, your God, raise up for you from among your own kinsmen; to him you shall listen.”). Moses' own prophetic place was unique, having been established at Mount Horeb. It first launched him on his mission to save Israel from bondage (Exodus 3:1ff); then save them from dying of thirst (Exodus 17), and finally to give them the Law of Moses (Exodus 19).
The oracle promises that others will follow Moses. They will authentically guide the people as God intendeds. The end of the passage contains a warning to any who claim to speak for the Lord falsely. Those who make such false statements will die.
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 95:1-2, 6-7, 7-9
R. 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.
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Commentary on Ps 95:1-2, 6-7, 7-9
Psalm 95 is a hymn of praise to God recalling his creative hand and omnipresent guidance. The final strophe (v. 7-9) recalls periods of salvation history where the people challenged God and demanded proofs of his continued support. (“Meribah: literally, "contention"; the place where the Israelites quarreled with God. Massah: "testing," the place where they put God to the trial. Cf. Exodus 17:7; Numbers 20:13.) [5]
CCC: Ps 95:1-6 2628; Ps 95:7-8 2659; Ps 95:7 1165; Ps 95:9 2119
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Reading II: 1 Corinthians 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.
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Commentary on 1 Cor 7:32-35
In this selection from St. Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians the apostle is attempting to answer questions posed to him by the community. Here he speaks further on marriage. "There is clearly no question of trying to deceive anyone by encouraging him to dedicate himself to a way of life in which he cannot persevere. All St Paul is doing is pointing out that the unmarried person is more available to the service of the Lord." [6] The attitude reflects the apostles' expectation that the Parousia will happen soon. (We see in v. 29, just prior to this reading “I tell you, brothers, the time is running out.”) The emphasis here is the need of the Christian to focus on things pleasing to God rather than the flesh.
CCC: 1 Cor 7:32 1579, 1618; 1 Cor 7:34-36 922; 1 Cor 7:34-35 506
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Gospel: Mark 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.
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Commentary on Mk 1:21-28
Jesus is teaching in the synagogue at Capernaum. “The account of a single day's ministry of Jesus on a sabbath in and outside the synagogue of Capernaum combines teaching and miracles of exorcism and healing. Mention is not made of the content of the teaching but of the effect of astonishment and alarm on the people. Jesus' teaching with authority, making an absolute claim on the hearer, was in the best tradition of the ancient prophets, not of the scribes.” [7] First the Lord astonishes the people with the “authority” of his teaching in the tradition of the prophets, as opposed to the scribes, and then proceeds to demonstrate the effectiveness of his authority by casting out an unclean spirit.
He encounters an “unclean spirit,” so called because it does not recognize the authority of God. Jesus commands the spirit to leave and it obeys. God in the person of Christ, after all, has authority over all things. In this way we see once more the assurance that Jesus is true God. The exchange between the Lord and this “unclean spirit” is instructive. The spirit attempts to gain mastery over Jesus by using his full name, “Jesus of Nazareth.” The address used by the one possessed, “I know who you are – the Holy One of God,” is an attempt to ward off the power of Jesus, not a profession. Jesus rebukes the spirit and orders it out. The event stirs fear as well as awe in those present.
CCC: Mk 1:21 2173; Mk 1:24 438; Mk 1:25 1673; Mk 1:26 1673
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Reflection:
The Gospel story gives us a clear picture of Jesus during his healing ministry on earth. We see in the exchange between the Lord and the “unclean spirit” recognition, if not a profession, that Christ has power over all things. We recognize that Jesus, the Messiah, is more than what Moses described in his discourse from Deuteronomy. He predicted the great prophets who would follow in his footsteps. Jesus was not “like Moses.” His mission was not to act as an intermediary between God and the people, he was God reaching out directly to them.
The warning that comes at the end of the passage from Deuteronomy should give us pause for thought. We are told in other Scripture passages (cf. Matthew 7:15) that there will be people coming who claim to speak in the Lord’s name but, in fact, make that claim falsely. The likes of Jim Jones and David Koresh who claimed divine guidance but were delusional met the fate promised in Deuteronomy. Unfortunately, they took many innocent people, including women and children duped by them, to their deaths. There are others, perhaps less sensational from a news standpoint, but more insidious, nonetheless. They claim some special relationship with God or some special insight that allows them to lead others in places where they should not go.
On a much milder note, many of you may have, either singly or in groups, watched the first series of The Chosen. It is a really excellent series, and we recommend it with just a small caution. The writers of The Chosen have done to some degree what Steven Spielberg did in Jurassic Park. The filmmakers of Jurassic Park and indeed, archeologists could only speculate on what dinosaurs looked like in life, and how they behaved. The writers of The Chosen have similarly taken scriptural truths and place around them a speculative set of circumstances and an environment informed by archeological research and as much fact as is possible to find, but in the end, the context in which Jesus is seen is the author’s speculation and not necessarily scriptural truth.
This is one reason the Church is so important. She gives us guidance from truth passed on from Christ to Peter and his successors. She is the repository for both the mystical and rational understanding of God’s intent for us. It is through that age-old wisdom that we are guided to the more intimate relationship with Christ that we seek.
Like the old patent medicine salesman of a past age who promised that their product could cure all that ailed you for a mere dollar, the message given by these false teachers that sounds too good to be true certainly is just that – not true! When we go looking for easy answers, especially when times are hard, we will almost always find a person who will offer us an easier way. In the final analysis we must remember, Jesus is “the way, the truth, and the life.” And his way is not the easy way, but it offers the reward that makes the difficult journey worthwhile.
Pax
In other years on January 28th: Memorial of Saint Thomas Aquinas, Priest and Doctor of the Church
[1] Catechism links are taken from the
Homiletic Directory, Published by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, 29 June 2014.
[2] The picture used is “Jeremiah Denounces the Priests” by Max Lieberg, c. 1898.
[3] S.S. Commemoratio[4] The readings are taken from the New American Bible except for the psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
[5] NAB footnote on Ps. 95:8.
[6] Letters of St. Paul, The Navarre Bible, Four Courts Press, 2003, p. 232.
[7] NAB footnote on Mark 1:21-45.
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