4TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME(YEAR B)

4th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B)

Deut 18:15-20; Psa 94:1-2,6-9; 1 Cor 7:32-35; Mk 1:21-28

Theme: YOU ARE A PROPHET OF GOD

Dearest friends today is the fourth Sunday in ordinary time of the year. The readings challenge us to be those prophets of God, who like Moses and Jesus, speak the word of God with authority which comes, not from studies like the Jewish scribes but from daily moments with God and holiness of life.

ONLY A PROPHET ENCOUNTERS GOD

Having seen how God destroyed Egyptians and all the plagues he inflicted on them because of their stubbornness of heart, although at a time, the people of Israel enjoyed God’s wrath against their oppressors, they themselves became aware of God’s wrath. The people of Israel then became afraid of having direct contact with God because they knew they were also a
stubborn people. This fear increased after the people had had experience of God talking to Moses (Ex 19:16-20:17). What they experienced made them to go to Moses and say, “You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us or we will die” (Ex 20:18-19).

Initially, God permitted that the people be brought up to the foot of the mountain (Ex 19:17), but now, the people do not even want to come close to the mountain. They were convinced that the glory and the awesomeness of God is too much for them to withstand. Hence, they dedicated Moses. Now towards the end of Moses’s life, the people became disturbed about ‘who will be a prophet to us?” That is, who will be capable to stand before the Lord, listen to him, and then communicate exactly the words of God to us? Would the death of Moses be the end of our relationship with God? It is in the midst of this worry that the word of God came to the people through Moses saying, “I will raise up a prophet like yourself for them from their own
people…” (Deut 18:18).

Dearest friends, the people did not want anymore to hear directly from God nor to come close to where he stands and speaks, not because God wanted to destroy them but because they were not sure of themselves and their level of holiness as to stand before God. It was not the people so to speak who wanted to avoid God, but the fear and the lifestyle the people were
living. For them, it takes one to be a prophet (to be Moses) in order to be able to stand before God. God desires to come to us. He desires to open his face for us to see. But we need to be prophets and possess the qualities of a prophet for us to be able to withstand his glory and divinity. 

During our baptism, we received this power to be God’s prophets and prophetesses, that is, to bring God’s message to others. But if we are not worthy to stand before God, and if we are not capable of hearing him how can we communicate? If we do not continuously purify ourselves, our senses, and if we do not spend hours with him in prayer, how can we be his prophets? God wants us to come to him but we need to first be prophets.

A PROPHET TEACHES WITH AUTHORITY

After Jesus’s teaching in the synagogue, the people were able to recognize the difference between his teaching and those of their scribes. Scribes as a matter of fact were the people who were trained in copying, reading and interpreting the scripture. They were so to speak custodians and teachers of the Torah. The authority with which Jesus taught the people was the authority of one who does not need to be taught by others about the word of God, but that of one who encounters the Father, interacts with him, hears from him and speaks exactly what the Father wants. Jesus’ teaching was not fruit of a learned skill nor of an awesome interpretation. No…his teaching was the fruit of direct experience of the Father.

Interestingly, not only the people discovered this difference, the unclean spirit also noticed it. The man with the unclean spirit was inside the synagogue as the teaching was going on. The scripture said “in their synagogue, there was a man possessed by unclean spirit”. The man did not come to the synagogue to buy bread because there was only one thing which was done in the synagogue: to listen to the word of God. After the destruction of the Second Temple by the Romans, the Jewish zealots, in order to keep the practice of reading the Torah and singing of hymns, began the practice of gathering and sitting in a round or semi-circle. It was from this practice that ‘synagogue’(meaning ‘place of assembly’) was born. 

So for this man with unclean spirit to be in the synagogue means that he came (and even possibly, he has been coming) to listen to the word of God. But it took the authority of the teachings of Jesus, the real prophet,
for the unclean spirit in this man to become uncomfortable.
1. The words of a true prophet edify: After Jesus’s teaching, the people were edified. They knew that something different was in their midst, something better and more authentic than what their scribes used to give them. The reason is because Jesus’s words were prophetic. Our words are required to be prophetic. If our words do not edify people and remind them of God’s love and forgiveness, God’s closeness to their broken hearts etc., if our words do not spring from a deep prayer and conversation with God, then we
may, instead of healing, be destroying.
2. The words of a true prophet draw out unclean spirits: It took Jesus’s words for the unclean spirit to manifest itself. If unclean spirits of hatred, sexual immorality, envy, corruption etc. do not feel uncomfortable upon hearing our words, then we must be something other than prophets. A true prophet awakes what is not of God in others and put them to flight.
3. The words of a prophet qualify him: the unclean spirit knew Jesus to be the Holy One of God just after it has heard Jesus speak. What do our words say of us? How do people rate us after hearing us speak? Do we speak to gain favor or do we speak to represent God and to inseminate the gospel of Christ in people’s heart?

Dearest friends, we are called to speak the true word of God without fear. But just as St. Paul said in the second reading, for us to be able to represent God without fear, we must be free from every worldly attachment and preoccupation and be entirely for God. We are all God’s mouthpiece, may neither our husbands, nor our wives, nor our relationships and human affairs
take away from us the authority to speak the gospel truth.

Be not afraid to approach God. It is not you who are afraid of coming close to God, but the unclean spirit of sin in you. Do not allow that unclean spirit to push you farther away from God but like this man in the gospel today, draw closer to Christ and give attention to his words, so that the unclean spirit will give way for you to enjoy the awesomeness and the glory which
God’s presence and closeness bring to you.

Fr. Nnamah Henry Chukwuezugo
Catholic Diocese of Aguleri