Homily for the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

For these past four weeks, we’ve been hearing stories about the beginnings of the Lord’s public ministry. We began with the Lord’s Baptism, with the appearance of the Holy Spirit and the sound of the Father’s voice, saying: “You are my Beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” This was followed by two Sunday Gospels describing the Call of the first Apostles, and has led us now into his first public appearance of teaching and miraculous healing.

So, as we move forward, we see Our Lord’s public persona and the future course of His ministry unfold, based in:
+ the revelation of His divinity
+ an attraction to His humanity  - and -
+ recognition of His “other-ness” by the crowds of people.

As we look closely at our brief Gospel passage, we encounter the reaction of the people on three different levels:
+ recognition of Christ’s authority in and of itself
+ recognition of the source of His authority
+ recognition of His authority in and for our lives.

Christ’s authority in and of itself
St. Mark tells us: “The people were astonished at His Teaching, for He taught them as One having authority and not as the Scribes.” To attain some insight into what Mark is telling us, it would be good to look at the hierarchical structure of ancient Jewish teaching authority.

A) At the most basic level were the Scribes mentioned today: These were the most visible and approachable. This position would find a modern parallel in our Religious Education programs with our Catechists. These men are learned and devout, building on 
+ the faith formed in the family
+ social and academic gatherings
+ teachings heard on the Sabbath

People recognized, appreciated and obeyed their authority, but that authority was limited to basic education and formation in the faith. 

B) The next higher level were the Pharisees. These men were specialists in the Law. For the Jews, living in a true theocracy,
religious laws were the Law of the Land. People consulted them on many subjects because Hebraic Law was far-reaching into their worship and ordinary living. For example:
+ Sabbath regulations
+ maintaining Kosher restrictions
+ reminding people of moral obligations, among many others

C) Finally, at the highest level were the Rabbis. These men were the Teachers par excellence, scholarly, yet pastoral in their interpretation and application of the Law, as well as leading the assembly in worship. This is the category in which the people beheld Jesus, but still, were “astonished” at the brilliance and clarity of His Teaching, not unlike His misadventure with the Elders in the story of The Finding in the Temple when He was a mere twelve-year-old.

This brings us to the second reaction in our story:
Recognition of the source of the Lord’s Authority
Here in this account, and elsewhere in the other Gospels, it is the “demons” who recognize the Presence of God in Christ, before ordinary humans do. Why is this? It’s because the “demons” are the descendants of the fallen angels who once saw God face-to-face. Therefore, they would recognize God and godliness with some immediacy.

And look at how this “unclean spirit” addresses Jesus, saying: “I know who You are — the Holy One of God!” This title would have astonished the onlookers because in the Old Testament, holiness is the prerogative of God alone. By extension, though, it is a quality associated with objects or persons consecrated to the worship of God, and is almost never used of human beings, and only rarely of Jesus Himself in the New Testament.

Yet, through the words of the demon, Saint Mark presents Jesus as so powerfully under the influence of the Holy Spirit that demonic possession is overcome and cast out at His word. Thus, the words of the demon turn this encounter into more than a routine exorcism… it becomes a confrontation between holiness and evil in which the “Holy One of God” prevails.

The continuing astonishment of the bystanders leads us to the third reaction:
Recognition of the Lord’s authority in and for our lives
The people then turn to one another and say, in amazement: “What is this? A new teaching with authority!” When they make this remark, the crowds are not referring to novelty within the Lord’s Teaching… His first words, as we heard them last week, “This is the time of fulfillment… The Kingdom of God is at hand… Repent and believe in the Gospel… continues the work of St. John the Baptist almost word-for-word. Some of the Lord’s contemporaries would not accept His Teaching, but the bulk of His words remained within the accepted range of Jewish thought.

The Lord’s “new teaching” finds its distinctiveness in four areas:

1) Compassion
The Lord’s compassion, and the compassion to which He calls all of His followers, is not an abstract benevolence, reaching out from a distance. Later in Mark’s gospel, the Greek word he uses that is translated as “having compassion” is actually rather physical: something like a gut reaction to an egregious situation.

Our Lord Jesus did not see Himself merely as a supplier of unmet needs whose task was to remedy deficiency; His response was, instead, to open a relationship in which all that was His, would be accessible to those who approach Him. His solidarity with them — personal and touching Him physically —  would lead them to solidarity with His heavenly Father.

The next area of distinctiveness in His Teaching was
2) His personal authority
The preferred mode of teaching in first-century Judaism was based in quoting precedents, well-known teachers, and reigning authority. This could sometimes factor out common sense and humanity from the equation, and be found lacking in the aforementioned compassion.

Jesus distanced Himself from any dehumanizing fundamentalism in both teaching and ministry. In general, Jesus went immediately to the heart of the matter without scholarly discussion. He spoke directly to the people’s real experience, unafraid to challenge them. Later, He will teach the deeper meaning of the Commandments as He says, “You have heard it said: ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ but I say to you…” building upon the Law, but not changing it, bringing the Law to life.

3) The Lord’s Parables are a third approach to Teaching.
The Lord makes use of images, metaphor, simile, and stories from life. He spoke to people’s life experience in a manner in which they get His message through intuition. As one Scripture Scholar wrote recently: “Much of the Lord’s Teaching
was directed to the right hemisphere of the brain… and thence to the heart.” This mode of teaching brought more than learning — it brought conversion.

4) Finally, there is the aspect of “Good News.”
In the Gospel of Mark everything Jesus said or did was good news. Even though the moral teaching of Our Lord and the demands of God’s reign are absolute, they are communicated in a way that inspires not fear and dread, but hope and confidence. There is a paradox that arises because, while wishing to be with Jesus, we might not always be able to internalize His message, or live up to His proposed values, try as we might.

The ultimate Grace in the Lord’s teaching is that He imparts Himself rather than mere external knowledge or expertise to those who learn from Him.

Looking back upon all this, as we consider Our Lord’s Teaching authority in all its aspects, it’s important to keep in mind the central thesis of today’s lesson from Scripture. It is this:  Our Lord’s foremost intention is to expel our demons. We have but to name them, confess them, and be absolved through the Sacrament so that we, too, might follow Him in holiness.