BIBLE STUDY #74
FOURTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
January 29, 2012


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.'"

The Word of the Lord

READING 2
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.
The Word of the Lord

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.

The Gospel of the Lord

Reflection

Capernaum is a village on the northwest side of the Sea of Galilee. It was fertile and prosperous and known for its fishing industry. It is the center of Jesus mission in Galilee and his home. Recent excavations have unearthed 2nd and 3rd century synagogues and a fifth century church built on the ruins of an earlier house church which is thought to be St. Peter’s house from the first century.

Jesus went to synagogue on a sabbath, showing his faithfulness to his religion and the importance of joining in communal prayer. He teaches in the synagogue and they were all amazed at his teaching. While this passage doesn’t tell us what he taught, it says, “he taught them as one having authority.” The scribes would teach by quoting the Rabbis or some point of law, but Jesus taught because of his authority based on his relationship with God as his Son.

While the term ‘exorcism’ isn’t used, that’s what Jesus does. There are 3 other exorcisms in this gospel: 1) 5:1-20 (the Gerasene demoniac); 2) 7:24-30 (the Syrophoenician woman’s daughter); and 9:14-29 (the boy with an unclean spirit). Jesus is also described as “preaching and driving out demons throughout the whole of Galilee” in 1:39. According to John R. Donahue, S.J., and Daniel Harrington, S.J. in The Gospel of Mark, the Liturgical press, Collegevile MN, 2002. these exorcisms have a similar pattern: “1) the meeting of the exorcist and the demon; 2) the attempt of the demon to resist divine power; 3) the powerful response of the exorcist, usually commanding silence; 4) a command to leave; 5) the departure of the demon; and 6) various reactions of amazement and wonder, often with the story being broadcast far and wide.”

As Jesus begins his public ministry, this exorcism shows us Jesus plan to take on and overcome the forces of evil. The unclean spirit is called unclean because of its resistance to the holiness of God. The spirit (a demon) knows that Jesus can destroy it. The admission by the unclean spirit that Jesus is the Holy One of God is an admittance of Jesus identity and also an attempt to ward off the power of Jesus by using his name, which was to take mastery over him. Jesus identity was announced earlier at his baptism in 1:11: “And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased’” is now shouted out and reaffirmed by the unclean spirit, who knows who Jesus really is. As human as Jesus can appear, he is also a person of mystery and power.

Jesus rebukes the demon and it leaves the man because Jesus is stronger than the forces of evil. Since we are powerless over evil, Jesus conquers the power of evil so we can be reborn in love and freedom. His fame spreads far and wide because of the authority of his teaching and his power over evil forces.

Many people who saw Jesus perform miracles did not believe in him or recognize him for who he was. The demons certainly did, however. The Apostles didn’t really understand until Pentecost. God respects our free will and allows us to say yes or to say no to him. Do we accept Jesus in our hearts and let him overpower evil in our lives? Do we live prophetic lives that reflect the power of Jesus in our lives?

In the first reading from Deuteronomy, Moses promises that God will send prophets from among them, and that they should listen. Moses was initially an unwilling prophet, but was the first mediator between God and the people, and turned out to be the prototype of a prophet whom all future prophets would follow. The prophets found out that it was not an easy job. Prophecy includes predicting the future, but the major job of a prophet is to point out the weaknesses, failings, and sins of other people. We always need someone to tell us the truth, whether we like it of not. We need prophets, but we don’t like them. Nor do we like being a prophet, but God calls some to that role. Is he calling you to be a prophet in some way?

The second reading from the 1st letter of Paul to the Corinthians is a continuation of last week’s second reading. They thought that Jesus return was imminent, so it wasn’t necessary to be concerned with worldly things, such as marriage. He didn’t tell people not to get married, but that marriage could come into conflict with their faith. It can be easy to put someone or something else first in our lives, and our faith suffers. Remaining celibate removes the anxieties of marriage from our lives so we can focus on faith.

Fr. Phil