20180109
SHARING IN THE AUTHORITY OF GOD
09 JANUARY, 2018, Tuesday, 1st Week, Ordinary Time
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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Responsorial Psalm
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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 disciples 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
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ 1 SM 1:9-20; 1 SM 2:1, 4-8; MK 1:21-28
]
“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 scripture and theology,
bearing in mind that Jesus 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. 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 in life as other
human beings. 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 was the same for St Theresa of the Child
Jesus and other saints who were given the honorary title of “Doctor” of the
Church when they never even attended formal school or earned any academic degrees
from university. Such honorary degrees are still being conferred by our
universities today to honour great men, politicians, businessman or those who
have contributed much to society. By doing so, the Institutions are
implicitly admitting that knowledge does not only come 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 peoples’ 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 to 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, they could only say with conviction that Jesus is the Word of
God. That explains why Jesus did not need to refer to any books, even the
scriptures but 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 worked 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 made the people “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
catechisms often impart the faith based on textbooks without personal
conviction or identification with the theories 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,
whether we are doctors, lawyers or priests, we know what must be done, but our
lives 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 to found 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 we
are told Jesus often sought refuge in quiet places to be in communion with His
Father. That was the way He 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
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 whole
of his life and no razor shall ever touch his head.” If we are 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 then
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
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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