Readings: Deut. 18:15-20; 1 Cor. 7:32-35; Mk. 1:21-28
If We Fail to Plan, We Plan to Fail
1. Jesus had a plan and strategy to carry out the mission entrusted to him. First of all, he identified with the people he was sent to save by accepting a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. He allowed himself to be numbered among sinners. And then he went into a long retreat, praying and fasting for 40 days and 40 nights in the desert where he was tempted by the devil. He dismissed the devil with his three punch answers: “One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God; again, it is written, you shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test. And finally, Get away, Satan! It is written: ‘The Lord, your God, shall you worship and him alone shall you serve.” (Mt. 4:1-11). Then he inaugurated his mission and began initiating a new kingdom of justice, peace and love. Knowing that the task of the kingdom was not a one-man show, he “appointed twelve apostles that they might be with him and he might send them forth to preach and to have authority to drive out demons.” (Mk. 3:13-18). These were his plans for effective and successful execution of his mission. In all this, prayer was his driving force.
2. In today’s Gospel, Jesus is teaching in the Synagogue and “The people were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes.” (Mk. 1:22). Why? The scribes always quoted other sources to back up their teaching. But Jesus’ authority was himself. He had moral authority to teach. “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.” (Mt. 11:29-30). Jesus is that true prophet Moses referred to in the first reading. “A prophet like me will the Lord, your God, raise up for you from among your own kin, to him you shall listen.” (Deut. 18:15). Moses gave this final instruction before his own death after the Israelites had crossed over and took possession of the land God promised them. Jesus is the new Moses whose teaching will make a deep impression on those who listen to him.
3. Present in that Synagogue was a man with an unclean spirit who knew who Jesus was and called him out by name: “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!” (Mk. 1:24). The demon recognized Jesus as the Messiah anointed with God’s Spirit and possessing power over evil spirit. In ancient world, it was thought that if someone knew another’s name, he or she could exercise power over the other. To know one’s adversary’s name was to have a magical power over him. The demon felt that by calling Jesus “the Holy One of God,” Jesus would acknowledge defeat and retire from the scene. No. Only God can exercise that kind of name-power. “For the sake of Jacob, my servant, of Israel my chosen one, I have called you by your name, giving you a title, though you knew me not. I am the Lord and there is no God besides me.” (Is. 45:4).
4. How do we come to the presence of Jesus? With authority of assumption, that by calling him by name we are equal? When Jesus asked, ‘who do you say I am?’ our answer should demonstrate that he is our Lord, the Messiah and our redeemer; he is in-charge of our lives. We owe him our loyalty and our adoration; we must listen to him and do his bidding. Jesus rebuked the demon and commanded him to get out of the man, showing that he had supreme power over every sovereignty, principalities and powers of this world. Christ’s whole life is a mystery of redemption in his healings and exorcisms by which “he took our infirmities and bore our diseases.” (Is. 53:4).
5. People are possessed by different forms of evil spirit and vices; like the spirit of lies, gambling and addictions, sexual immoralities and lust, or laziness, gossip and gluttony. Every bad spirit seeks to destroy us and others. We must take our infirmities to Jesus and allow him to command the evil spirit to get out of us. Christ spent his time in prayer in order to rescue us from the power of darkness. He knew that his people were weighed down by many problems. Some had fever, some were lepers, others were possessed by demons, and still others were dead, and he had to raise them up. He still had to teach and feed thousands of people. Jesus was successful because he had a strategy that worked for him. The more he prayed, the more successful he was. He was so prepared in his ministry that nothing took him by surprise.
6. If we must be successful in our mission, whatever it may be, we must adopt the approach of Jesus. We must be men and women of prayer who must be “anxious about the things of the Lord”, like St. Paul tells us in the second reading. We must avoid distractions in our planning and in our prayer. It is by doing what Jesus did and by listening to his voice that we will have a meaningful life. And so, I conclude with the response to the responsorial Psalm this morning: “If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.”
Rev. Augustine Etemma Inwang, MSP
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