WITH hearts not hardened, we bow before the Lord with thanksgiving and listen to His voice with trust and joy (Psalm 95:1-2, 6-7, 7-9). In amazement, we marvel at the teaching and authority of Jesus and realize that before him evil spirits are silenced (Mark 1:21-28).
Hearing God’s voice we bow in worship
PSALM 95, the invitatory psalm that opens the Divine Office each day, invites us to join in praise and homage of the Lord and to respect God’s authority.
The invitation rings out thrice: “Come, let us sing joyfully…; let us come into his presence with thanksgiving…; come, let us bow down in worship.” As if in a liturgical setting, the community of the faithful is first summoned for praise, then invited to enter the presence of the Lord, and finally told to bow down in worship, at which God then addresses the community at prayer.
Three images express who God is to the people: “the rock of salvation” which provides shelter and protection, the creator “who made us” and the “shepherd” who guides the people as His flock. To God as our caring and reliable protector, says the psalmist in a concluding plea, we need to be open to His voice.
The people have gathered to worship God and to receive His word to comfort them and to give directions to them. Everything is rounded off with an appeal by God Himself: “Harden not your hearts….” Be not like your ancestors in the desert (Exodus 17:1-7), when they demanded for signs that prove divine power in their favour, though they have seen how God delivered them from the Egyptians.
“Meribah” (strife) and “Massah” (testing) were places in the wilderness memorializing their rebellious hardness of hearts. “Today,” God desires hearts open in faith and obedience.
Jesus teaches with authority
JESUS enters the sacred space of the synagogue during the sacred time of the Sabbath and, in that place and time, he teaches.
He is not merely claiming the customary right of an adult male member of the community to take his turn at teaching the assembly in the synagogue. Jesus is asserting the right to interpret anew the people’s covenant relationship with God. Traditionally the code of purity defines the religiosity of the people: one must remain pure before the Holy One; whatever pollutes and contaminates must be avoided at all cost; rituals of purification are vital. Exclusivism and rigorous ritualism are essential.
The official interpreters of the law, the scribes, derive their authority from the precedents set by earlier teachers. Jesus is teaching as one who has authority on his own. The people in the synagogue recognize this and marvel at it. And this “new teaching with authority” is exactly what the exorcism Jesus performs in the synagogue is in its deeper meaning.
A man in the synagogue has an unclean spirit. He is highly contagious in his uncleanness; to be in the presence of the unclean one is to be oneself defiled. The teaching of the scribes is to steer clear.
He rebukes an unclean spirit
THE man possessed of an unclean spirit should be removed from the sacred precinct.
But Jesus does not demand the man’s removal from that holy place; instead he drives the evil spirit away. The reign of God is thus proclaimed, and man’s liberation from evil demonstrated, to the astonishment and admiration of the people. It is a confrontation between the power of good and the power of evil, the advent of the power and authority of the kingdom of God that alone can end the reign of evil and darkness.
The unclean spirit calls Jesus by name, testing if it has power over him and taking the offensive in the presence of Jesus who shows no sign of fear or intention to flee from it. The evil spirit shows panic, helplessly questioning Jesus as to his intent: what do you want with us? Then answering its own question with another suggestive question: have you come to destroy us?—speaking in the name of the multitude of evil spirits. And as if to assuage its own anxiety, the devil blurts out: “I know who you are–the Holy One of God!”—You will not want to deal with us, so better just stay out of our way.
But God’s Holy One does not subscribe to the idea of avoiding the evil ones. He asserts power over them: “Shut up!”—stop sowing your confusion and lies; “Get out!”—leave the man alone, free to respond to and welcome the reign of God.
Alálaong bagá, the teaching of Jesus about the kingdom of God is accompanied with marvellous power and irresistible authority. He releases people from bondage to evil and grants them the assurance of God’s grace. Today the same good news of salvation demands of us openness to His word and joy-filled thanksgiving with hearts unhardened. So in the Eucharist we enter the presence of the Lord and bow in worship.
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Join me in meditating on the Word of God every Sunday, 5 to 6 a.m. on DWIZ 882, or by audio-streaming on www.dwiz882.com.