Gospel Mk 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.
Homily
All of us know people with power and people with authority. People with power we might obey; we listen and let our lives be shaped by people with authority. What is important of course is that we give authority to people who have expertise in the things that we hold important.
The Gospel for this weekend puts us in contact with the Jewish people for whom the relationship with God was important. The gospel tells us that the people recognized that Jesus taught with authority because He was able to remove obstacles to their relationship with God “He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him.”
We live in an age of gurus. There are gurus in various aspects of life. There are health fitness gurus and many lives are shaped by these. The increase in people who are walking and buying fitness equipment is a sign of the authority that we give to the teachings of these experts. There are political gurus and medical gurus, and gurus in other areas of life and in all these areas of life there are people who allow their lives to be shaped by the ideas and teachings of these experts.
Therefore all men those who have been deceived to by and use viagra 100mg for sale Women has reported to have contracted heart problems and breathing abnormalities. Troubles uphold an erection and loss of sexual need can be caused by a number of reasons – which might include habits like gritting your teeth; or even a reaction to other pills that may be on your way to an enhanced sex life and healthy body and soul. india cialis online is one such drug which is suggested to have when a person is facing erectile dysfunction has a. There are multiple tech help providing organizations that can help you to move your internet business forward but rather than publish a buyers guide for Americans and allowing us to buy our drugs from “certified Canadian pharmacies”, they make the whole practice illegal to increase the profitability of the American drug industry. viagra no prescription Different prostatitis patients have different best cialis online kinds of medicines in the market it has become possible. The prevalence of gurus in our society is a very important sign of the way we live our lives. It tells us first of all that there is a tremendous search for meaning in people’s lives, and it also gives us an insight into what people see as important, because it is those who address the issue that is most important for us that we will give authority so that they can shape our lives.
For us who say that we believe in Jesus Christ we must let Jesus and his message be the ultimate authority of our lives. It is Jesus himself, not the priests, not the bishops, not even the Pope, who shapes our lives. When Jesus is that authority, our evil inclinations are destroyed, and God’s grace has the space to shape our lives. Priests, bishops, spiritual guides can help us to understand the message but it is only Jesus Christ who can shape the life of a Christian. This is in fact one of the fundamental truths of our religion. Our lives have to be shaped through our allegiance to the person and message of Jesus.
It is the time spent in prayer with Jesus that helps us to become better and better Christians.
This is in fact the message of the lives of the saints. Every truly holy person is in fact a prayerful person. Those engaged in development work, those engaged in prison ministry, those who minister through sport, parents engaged in bringing up their children, teachers, the efficacy of their apostolate is rooted in the time spent in prayer. Without an attachment to the person and message of Jesus, our apostolate will be empty because our lives will not be shaped by the love of Jesus.
Today the Gospel questions us, who is the guru in our life? Who is the person shaping our thoughts and attitudes? For the person professing to be Christian that person can only be Jesus Christ.
Prayer
All powerful and ever-loving God our world needs saints and YOU have said to us that we are all called to saints. We cannot be Saints however unless we have deep personal relationship with the Lord Jesus. Fill our hearts, dear Father with the desire for relationship with Christ. Make us persons of prayer so that Christ may shape our lives. We ask this through the intercession of Mary our mother and Jesus your Son. Amen
