20160112 SHARING IN THE AUTHORITY OF GOD
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Green.
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First reading
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1 Samuel 1:9-20 ©
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After they had eaten
in the hall, Hannah rose and took her stand before the Lord, while Eli the
priest was sitting on his seat by the doorpost of the temple of the Lord. In
the bitterness of her soul she prayed to the Lord with many tears and made a
vow, saying, ‘O Lord of Hosts! If you will take notice of the distress of your servant,
and bear me in mind and not forget your servant and give her a man-child, I
will give him to the Lord for the whole of his life and no razor shall ever
touch his head.’
While she
prayed before the Lord which she did for some time, Eli was watching her mouth,
for she was speaking under her breath; her lips were moving but her voice could
not be heard. He therefore supposed that she was drunk and said to her, ‘How
long are you going to be in this drunken state? Rid yourself of your wine.’
‘No, my lord,’ Hannah replied ‘I am a woman in great trouble; I have taken
neither wine nor strong drink – I was pouring out my soul before the Lord.
Do not take your maidservant for a worthless woman; all this time I have been
speaking from the depth of my grief and my resentment.’ Then Eli answered her:
‘Go in peace,’ he said ‘and may the God of Israel grant what you have asked of
him.’ And she said, ‘May your maidservant find favour in your sight’; and with
that the woman went away; she returned to the hall and ate and was dejected no
longer.
They rose
early in the morning and worshipped before the Lord and then set out and
returned to their home in Ramah. Elkanah had intercourse with Hannah his wife
and the Lord was mindful of her. She conceived and gave birth to a son, and
called him Samuel ‘since’ she said ‘I asked the Lord for him.’
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Canticle
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1 Samuel 2:1,4-8
©
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My heart exults in
the Lord my Saviour.
My heart exults in
the Lord.
I find my
strength in my God;
my mouth laughs at my
enemies
as I
rejoice in your saving help.
My heart exults in
the Lord my Saviour.
The bows of the
mighty are broken,
but the
weak are clothed with strength.
Those with plenty
must labour for bread,
but the
hungry need work no more.
The childless wife
has children now
but the
fruitful wife bears no more.
My heart exults in
the Lord my Saviour.
It is the Lord who
gives life and death,
he brings
men to the grave and back;
it is the Lord who
gives poverty and riches.
He brings
men low and raises them on high.
My heart exults in
the Lord my Saviour.
He lifts up the lowly
from the dust,
from the
dungheap he raises the poor
to set him in the
company of princes
to give
him a glorious throne.
For the pillars of
the earth are the Lord’s,
on them
he has set the world.
My heart exults in
the Lord my Saviour.
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Gospel
Acclamation
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Jm1:21
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Accept and submit to
the word
which has been
planted in you
and can save your
souls.
Alleluia!
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Or
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cf.1Th2:13
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Accept God’s message
for what it really is:
God’s message, and
not some human thinking.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Mark 1:21-28 ©
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Jesus and his
followers went as far as Capernaum, and as soon as the sabbath came he went to
the synagogue and began to teach. And his teaching made a deep impression on
them because, unlike the scribes, he taught them with authority.
In
their synagogue just then there was a man possessed by an unclean spirit and it
shouted, ‘What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy
us? I know who you are: the Holy One of God.’ But Jesus said sharply, ‘Be
quiet! Come out of him!’ And the unclean spirit threw the man into convulsions
and with a loud cry went out of him. The people were so astonished that they
started asking each other what it all meant. ‘Here is a teaching that is new’
they said ‘and with authority behind it: he gives orders even to unclean
spirits and they obey him.’ And his reputation rapidly spread everywhere,
through all the surrounding Galilean countryside.
SHARING
IN THE AUTHORITY OF GOD
“As
soon as the Sabbath came he went to the synagogue and began to teach. And
his teaching made a deep impression on them because, unlike the scribes, he
taught them with authority.” What made Jesus’ teaching so different
from the religious leaders who were trained in scriptures and theology,
bearing in mind that He never went to a theological school and He was never a
rabbi?
The
authority of Jesus was an authority that originated from His person, not from
an office or acquired knowledge. He was not teaching from some knowledge that He acquired
from books or even from people. He spoke from the depths of His
being, all that He was and believed. That was why He did not need
prepared notes for His speeches or teachings. He taught from His own
experience and conviction. All that He shared with others were what He
believed in, stood for, lived and died for. When we speak from the depth
of our shared humanity, without any pretence whatsoever, without trying to put
up a show or create an impression, what we say will always find connection with
our audience. In truth, all of us have the same struggles as human beings
in life. Regardless of our status, work, role and position in life, we go
through the same struggles and emotions, albeit in different circumstances, but
the reality is the same. Hence, Jesus was able to reach out to
everyone because of His authenticity in sharing what was deepest in His heart
and not some abstract knowledge from His head.
Within
this context, we can appreciate why the Church values such infused knowledge
and personal encounter with God over theological studies, notwithstanding
the importance of the latter. It is the same for St Theresa of the Child
Jesus and other saints who have been given the honorary title of “Doctor” of
the Church when they never even attended formal school or earned any academic
degrees from the university. Such honorary degrees are still being
conferred in our universities today when they honour great men, politicians,
businessman or those who have contributed much to society. By so doing,
the Academy is implicitly admitting that knowledge does not come only from
study but from experience and practical performance and living.
Indeed,
for Jesus, He was considered an “honorary” doctor of the Laws by His
contemporaries, for they too gave Him the title of “rabbi” and “master” and
“teacher.” The basis for the people’s recognition of Jesus’ authority
came from His pointed and enlightened teaching and most of all, reflected in
the way He lived His life. He was not just a teacher by preaching, but a
teacher in the way He lived, talked and related with others. In Jesus,
His being and doing coincided, so much so, we say that the person is the
message; and the message itself is the person. Fittingly, we therefore
say that Jesus is the Word of God made flesh! This declaration is not
something that came a priori in an encounter with Jesus but a posteriori
statement. On the basis of how Jesus lived His life in accordance
with the Word of God He proclaimed, we can only say with conviction that Jesus
is the Word of God. That explains why Jesus did not need to refer to any
books or even the scriptures but to Himself, to teach
authoritatively. He did not need to cite any sources to vindicate
Himself or prove that He spoke with the authority of God.
To
further demonstrate that He had the authority of God, He performed miracles and
acts of exorcism. He
knew that His authority came from above. And because He knew the
authority of God and that this authority had been given to Him, He could
exercise that authority with power. Thus, with great authority, He
ordered the Evil Spirit to “be quiet! Come out of him!” It was not a request
but a command, an order. And we read that at this command, “the unclean
spirit threw the man into convulsions and with a loud cry went out of him.”
Such was the authority of Jesus that “the people were so astonished that they
started asking each other what it all meant. ‘Here is a teaching that is
new’ they said ‘and with authority behind it: he gives orders even to unclean
spirits and they obey him.’ And his reputation rapidly spread everywhere,
through all the surrounding Galilean countryside.”
The
problem with us is that our authority is based on our studies, office and
position. It is
an external authority based on acquired knowledge, often without much
understanding and personal conviction. Preachers and catechists often
impart the faith based on textbooks without personal conviction or
identification with the theory in life. Such knowledge is based merely on
memory, rationalism and a good intellect. Such knowledge can impress some
people but they are often hollow and shallow, although they might sound
profound and fascinating. Indeed, in professional life we know what must
be done. Whether we are doctors, lawyers or priests, our lives ironically often
contradict what we teach. Doctors do not exercise enough because they are
too busy; priests do not pray and take time off to be with the Lord as they
have too many things to attend to; and some lawyers are always thinking how to
circumvent the laws! No wonder, Jesus remarked, “So you must be careful to do
everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice
what they preach.” (Mt 23:3
)
)
How do
we find this decisive authority that Jesus had? There is no other way
except finding our authority in God alone. This same authority that Jesus
shared with God is expressed beautifully in the canticle in our responsorial
psalm. “The bows of the mighty are broken, but the weak are clothed with
strength. Those with plenty must labour for bread, but the hungry need work no
more. The childless wife has children now but the fruitful wife bears no more.
It is the Lord who gives life and death, he brings men to the grave and back;
it is the Lord who gives poverty and riches. He brings men low and
raises them on high.”
Indeed,
all authority and power comes from God. Only God has the power to decide what
is good for us and only He has the wisdom to know what can give us life.
Life and power at the end of the day are in His hands. With God,
everything is possible. The canticle expresses how God can turn the world
upside down, make possible what is impossible. So much so, those who rely
on Him can say, “My heart exults in the Lord. I find my strength in
my God; my mouth laughs at my enemies as I rejoice in your saving help.”
So
the way to be in touch with God is always through prayer. It is significant that the evangelist
in the gospel yesterday mentioned that Jesus often sought refuge in quiet
places to be in communion with His Father. That was the way Jesus
frequently recharged Himself, especially after a demanding day in the
ministry. So too if we want to be effective in our ministry, we
need to be in constant communion with God in soaking and intimate prayer.
That was how Hannah prayed in the first reading. In all sincerity, she
prayed from her heart without making a show. She simply expressed how she
felt and what she was going through, especially her humiliation and the feeling
of injustice. And we read that the Lord heard her cries. She knew
that only God could remove the curse from her. Such was her
confidence in God that after her prayer, and with the reassurance of Eli, she
went back home at peace with God and herself. We read that “she returned
to the hall and ate and was dejected no longer.”
We
too must therefore rediscover the authority that comes from God. We must
submit in obedience to Him. This is the litmus test of whether we believe that God is the
basis of authority. Jesus could command the devil and his spirits because
He knew the authority of His Father and He lived a life in obedience to Him.
So
too, Hannah having made a promise to God that she would give Samuel back to Him
for service, fulfilled the vow she made. She was a woman of integrity and faithful to
her words. She said, “Lord of hosts! If you will take notice of the
distress of your servant, and bear me in mind and not forget your servant and
give her a man-child, I will give him to the Lord for the whole of his life and
no razor shall ever touch his head.” We too, if we were to exercise
authority in all that we do, we must also submit to God’s authority in
obedience to Him. When we surrender ourselves to Him in all things, He
will demonstrate the might of His arms.
Truly,
only those who can submit to authority have a right to exercise authority. Those who cannot obey have no
authority to demand obedience from others. But when we show obedience to
authority, then those under us will imitate our good example. This
is particularly true of parents or husbands. We cannot exact obedience
from our wives or our children when we show ourselves to be lacking submission
to the authority of God! Only when we are obedient to God, can we
then exercise authority in such a way that others will respect us because they
know that whatever we do is in their favour or for their good.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore
© All Rights Reserved
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