“Holding on to the Lord and trusting that victory will be ours, by being faithful to the Powerful and Awe-Inspiring Lord, Who always assures His Presence with us!”
(Based on Deut 18:15-20, 1 Cor 7:32-35 and Mk 1:21-28 – 4th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B)
One of the very beautiful descriptions of a “Prophet” goes thus:
A prophet is someone…
… who comforts the disturbed
… and disturbs the comforted!
This description finds its expression in the lives of Prophets in the Bible
They were people…
… who offered great comfort and consolation to those in difficulty and distress
… who reached out to the ones who needed a word of hope and happiness
At the same time, they were people…
… who out rightly condemned those who led a comfortable life – away from God and His Commandments
… who vehemently opposed the ways of those who oppressed the poor and constantly disrupted the lethargic lives of people.
Jesus is the “Prophet of all prophets!”
The perfection and the fullness of all prophets!
As God spoke in the book of Deuteronomy, through Prophet Moses: “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people…
… you shall heed such a prophet.” (Deut 18:15)
And so, undoubtedly, Jesus, by His Prophetic Ministry also greatly upheld the principle of being the One…
… who comforts the disturbed
… and disturbs the comforted!
The Gospel of the Day presents such an action of encounter…
On one side a group of people, who listen to Jesus, and are comforted
… while on the other side, some who are extremely disturbed by the Prophetic Presence of Jesus!Between the Kingdom of Satan and the Kingdom of God
… between the shackles of captivity and bondage and the power of release and liberation
Jesus is in the synagogue on the Sabbath Day and addressing the people. (Mk 1:21)
His prophetic teaching is full of power and conviction…
His prophetic teaching is filled with passion and fervour…
When one is deeply convinced of one’s beliefs, it overflows into one’s words and actions
When one is highly passionate about one’s faith, it overwhelms one’s deeds and life.
As He taught the people, Jesus encounters a man with an unclean spirit, who cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?” (Mk 1: 24)
Where there is light, darkness cannot stand too long…
Where there is immense holiness, filth cannot remain for long…
When there is the Word of God being proclaimed, the powers of Satan begin to tremble…
Imagine this situation…
Jesus had been preaching for a while in the synagogue.
All people were in rapt attention & awe, listening to His gracious words.
But in the midst of them…
… was this man, with an unclean spirit.
He also was patiently hearing…
But as the bold words flowed from Jesus, the spirit within this man began to disturb.
The Lord’s Voice…
… began to reverberate his heart and mind…
… began to pierce into the depths of his soul…
He began to get agitated.
He began to get restless.
He began to get frantic.
And finally, he could no longer tolerate and with a massive and shrieking voice, he cried, “What have you got to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?!”
The cry of the man is not something in isolation….
The cry of the man is not something which is unique….
This cry is often repeated by all of us too…
“What have you got to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?”
When we are living a life of coziness and comforts…
And we are encountered with situations of misery and helpless of other people..
We hear the words of the Lord to reach out to them in compassion and love.
But, often we cry out, “What have you got to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?”
When we are living a life in sin, bad habits and without even a sense of guilt…
And we are encountered by caring people who remind us of our need to give up such things…
We hear the words of the Lord to renew and mend our lives in purity and holiness.
But, often we cry out, “What have you got to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?”
When we are going through our life without proper sacraments and religious practices…
And we are encountered by constant exhortations to deepen our spiritual life…
We hear the words of the Lord to return to Him in humility and repentance.
But, often we cry out, “What have you got to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?”
Often, we are happy to remain with the spirit of luxury, the spirit of casualness, the spirit of indifference, the spirit of lukewarmness, the spirit of pleasures etc…
We don’t like being disturbed.
We don’t like being questioned.
We don’t like being shaken up.
If we are, we get agitated and irritated… we resist and we get wild.
We even shout out: “What have you got to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?”
But, in all such situations, the Lord wants to empower us with His powerful & bold words, “QUIET! Come out of him” (Mk 1: 25)
Yes, Jesus the Prophet, mightily challenges all of us!
He is the Great Prophet
… who comforts the disturbed
… and disturbs the comforted!
Our life is a constant warfare with the forces of the evil and the spirit of darkness.
It’s a battle that rages strongly…
It’s a combat that is highly engrossing.
But let us not be afraid…
The Powerful and Awe-Inspiring Lord is on our side!
Let us hold on to Him… and victory will be ours!
God Bless! Live Jesus!
Discovering the beauty of the Catholic Church through the Catechism:
IN CHRIST, DIVINE REVELATION IS COMPLETE
The Christian economy – the new and definitive Covenant – will never pass away…
… and no new public revelation is to be expected before the glorious manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Yet even if Revelation is already complete, it has not been made completely explicit; it remains for Christian faith gradually to grasp its full significance over the course of the centuries.
Throughout the ages, there have been so-called “private” revelations, some of which have been recognized by the authority of the Church.
They do not belong, however, to the deposit of faith.
… it is not their role to improve or complete Christ’s definitive Revelation, but to help live more fully by it in a certain period of history.
Guided by the Magisterium of the Church, the ‘sensus fidelium’ knows how to discern and welcome in these revelations…
… whatever constitutes an authentic Call of Christ or His saints to the Church.
Christian faith cannot accept “revelations” that claim to surpass or correct the Revelation of which Christ is the fulfilment…
Reflection Capsules 