20170128
TEACHING WITH AUTHORITY REQUIRES RIGHT MOTIVES
28 JANUARY, 2018, Sunday, 4th Week, O Readings
at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Green.
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First reading
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Deuteronomy 18:15-20 ©
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Moses said to the people: ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you
a prophet like myself, from among yourselves, from your own brothers; to him
you must listen. This is what you yourselves asked of the Lord your God at
Horeb on the day of the Assembly. “Do not let me hear again” you said “the
voice of the Lord my God, nor look any longer on this great fire, or I shall
die”; and the Lord said to me, “All they have spoken is well said. I will raise
up a prophet like yourself for them from their own brothers; I will put my
words into his mouth and he shall tell them all I command him. The man who does
not listen to my words that he speaks in my name, shall be held answerable to me
for it. But the prophet who presumes to say in my name a thing I have not
commanded him to say, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet
shall die.”’
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 94(95):1-2,6-9 ©
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O that today you would listen to his voice!
‘Harden not your hearts.’
Come, ring out our joy to the Lord;
hail the rock who saves us.
Let us come before him, giving thanks,
with songs let us hail the Lord.
O that today you would listen to his voice!
‘Harden not your hearts.’
Come in; let us bow and bend low;
let us kneel before the God who made us:
for he is our God and we
the people who belong to his pasture,
the flock that is led by his hand.
O that today you would listen to his voice!
‘Harden not your hearts.’
O that today you would listen to his voice!
‘Harden not your hearts as at Meribah,
as on that day at Massah in the desert
when your fathers put me to the test;
when they tried me, though they saw my work.’
O that today you would listen to his voice!
‘Harden not your hearts.’
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Second reading
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1 Corinthians 7:32-35 ©
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I would like to see you free from all worry. An unmarried man can
devote himself to the Lord’s affairs, all he need worry about is pleasing the
Lord; but a married man has to bother about the world’s affairs and devote
himself to pleasing his wife: he is torn two ways. In the same way an unmarried
woman, like a young girl, can devote herself to the Lord’s affairs; all she
need worry about is being holy in body and spirit. The married woman, on the
other hand, has to worry about the world’s affairs and devote herself to
pleasing her husband. I say this only to help you, not to put a halter round
your necks, but simply to make sure that everything is as it should be, and
that you give your undivided attention to the Lord.
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Gospel Acclamation
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Mt11:25
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Blessed are you, Father,
Lord of heaven and earth,
for revealing the mysteries of the kingdom
to mere children.
Alleluia!
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Or
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Mt4:16
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Alleluia, alleluia!
The people that lived in darkness
has seen a great light;
on those who dwell in the land and shadow of death
a light has dawned.
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.
rdinary Time
TEACHING WITH AUTHORITY REQUIRES RIGHT MOTIVES
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ DT 18:15-20; PS 95:1-2, 6-9; 1 COR 7:32-35; MARK 1:21-28 ]
Today, we
look for witnesses rather than teachers. Words are hardly trusted,
especially from politicians and even religious leaders! Children are distrustful
even of their parents. This is because many no longer believe in what
they say. In truth, many of us have lost our authority to teach.
Our words are no longer taken seriously by our hearers. In fact,
the credibility of leaders is at stake in today’s world.
This was
equally true in the Old Testament during the time of the prophets. There
were many false prophets. As Moses warned the people, “But the prophet who presumes
to say in my name a thing I have not commanded him to say, or who speaks in the
name of other gods, that prophet shall die.” Indeed, there were many
false prophets in the history of Israel. The prophet Elijah sought to
clean Israel of the false prophets of Baal. (cf 1 Kg 18:20-40)
These false prophets often operated from selfish motives. Their
motivation was not to speak the Word of God but to gain favour from kings and
countrymen. They were prompted to say nice things and to say bad things
in politically correct language so that no one got hurt or offended.
This was the
case during time of Jesus. The religious leaders, scribes and Pharisees
lacked authority in teaching. They taught for the wrong reasons. But
the people until then had no other option but to listen to them because there
were no credible teachers around. Jesus said, “The scribes and the
Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat; so practice and observe whatever they tell you,
but not what they do; for they preach, but do not practice. They bind heavy
burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves
will not move them with their finger. They do all their deeds to be seen
by men; for they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long, and they
love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues, and
salutations in the market places, and being called rabbi by men.” (Mt 23:2-7)
However,
Jesus showed us what it takes to be a true prophet or teacher. It is
having the right motive in what we do and what we say. In the gospel, Jesus taught
with authority and “his teaching made a deep impression on them because, unlike
the scribes, he taught with authority.” What was the reason? Simply
because Jesus taught from the depth of His heart. He spoke what He
believed in and what He was utterly convinced of. He did not speak from
His head but from His heart. It was an inner conviction that came from
the depth of His being. Unlike Him, the religious leaders quoted from
their forefathers, but Jesus would preface His teaching by saying, “You have
heard it was said but now I say to you.” Jesus as the Word of God did not
need any reference for His teaching because He spoke the Word of the Father.
“For I have not spoken on my own authority; the Father who sent me
has himself given me commandment what to say and what to speak.” (Jn 12:49)
Secondly,
Jesus performed the works of God for the right motive. He did not
perform miracles in order to draw attention to Himself. He did it purely
out of compassion and empathy for those who were suffering either from the
bondage of the Evil One or from illnesses or from the oppression of the
laws. His motive for healing and deliverance were selfless.
In fact, when asked to demonstrate His power and majesty by working miracles,
He would not, as in the case of King Herod who wanted to be entertained or the
crowd who challenged Him to come down from the cross to prove His divinity.
In fact, whenever a miracle of healing was done, He would tell the one who was
healed to tell no one about it. “And he charged them to tell no one; but
the more he charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it.” (Mk 7:36)
This was also
the case of the exorcism story in today’s gospel. When the unclean
spirit revealed Jesus’ identity, saying, “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”, Jesus sharply said, “Be quiet! Come out of him!” Jesus wanted the people
to discover for themselves who He was, rather than from a secondary source; and
to learn the power of God in human lowliness, not in spectacular demonstrations.
Jesus came to reveal the Father’s love and mercy, not to put up a show.
This was the
same motivation for St Paul when he encouraged celibacy. It is not a question
of whether celibacy is of a higher state than marriage. In fact,
God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a
helper fit for him.” (Gn 2:18) “And God blessed them, and God said to them,
‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion
over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living
thing that moves upon the earth.’” (Gn 1:28)
Whether we live a married state or a celibate life, it is a question of having
the right motivation in wanting to devote ourselves in serving the Lord
totally. He said, “An unmarried man can devote himself to the
Lord’s affairs, all he need worry about is pleasing the Lord; but a married man
has to bother about the world’s affairs and devote himself to pleasing his
wife: he is torn two ways.” One can be a celibate but live the life of a
bachelor, caring for himself, seeking freedom for himself and not for the
service of love of fellowmen and of undivided attention to the Lord.
Thirdly,
because Jesus spoke from an inner conviction and without ulterior motive, the
devil feared Himbecause he knew that Jesus could not be manipulated or be tempted
to do God’s work for the wrong motive of gaining honour and praise.
Only when leaders do things out of pure motives and inner
conviction can they command respect and obedience from the people they
lead. When leaders feed themselves or are concerned about their own image
and interests, they will be exposed eventually.
This was the
example that Moses showed as well. That is why Jesus is portrayed in the
New Testament as the New Moses by the evangelist. In the first reading,
he assured the people, “Your God will raise up for you a prophet like myself,
from among yourselves, from your own brothers; to him you must
listen.” The Lord said to Moses, “All they have spoken is well
said. I will raise up a prophet like yourself for them from their own brothers;
I will put my words into his mouth and he shall tell all I command him. The man
who does not listen to my words that he speaks in my name, shall be held
answerable to me for it.” Moses became the measure of what a true prophet
is. Moses did not mince his words when he had to confront Pharaoh to let
his people leave Egypt. He did not keep quiet when the people apostasied,
unlike Aaron who gave in to their wishes by making a golden calf for
them. (cf Ex 32) Finally, when he was told that he would not be
able to enter the Promised Land but see it from afar, he did not insist on
crossing the river Jordan even though he had hoped to enter the Promised Land.
Thus it was
said of Moses at the end of his life, “And there has not arisen a prophet since
in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face” (Dt 34:10)
until the coming of Christ. Jesus fulfilled the role preeminently of the
prophet whom Moses spoke about. No one dared to claim this role, not
even John the Baptist, for when he was asked by the Jewish leaders if he were
“the prophet” the one that Moses announced, his reply was firmly negative.
(cf Jn 1:22) But later on St Peter and St Stephen confirmed
that Jesus was the one whom Moses prophesied. St Peter quoted Moses
saying, “The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet from your brethren as he
raised me up. You shall listen to him in whatever he tells you.” (Acts 3:22;
cf 7:37)
The secret of
Jesus’ authority came from the fact that He, like Moses, saw the Father face to
face.
It was Jesus’ intimacy with the Father that gave Him the courage to be
authentic to Himself, for the Father loved Him as He was. Jesus said, “If
I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me; but if I do them,
even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and
understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.” (Jn 10:37f)
Seeking to do the Father’s will in all things and giving glory to
His Father was the motivation for Jesus’ works. In many instances, He
spoke of His desire to serve the Father. “My food is to do the will of
him who sent me, and to accomplish his work. (Jn 4:34)
“I glorified thee on earth, having accomplished the work which thou gavest me
to do. (Jn 17:4)
“I made known to them thy name, and I will make it known, that the
love with which thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.” (Jn 17:26)
Indeed, seeking the Lord alone and giving ourselves totally to Him and for His
greater glory by serving His people with all our heart is what gives us true
joy and meaning. This is what a true prophet and teacher is, by his
witnessing and not so much by his words.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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