Homily 4B: Does the new teaching of Jesus still carry authority with us?

Homily for 4th Sunday of Ordinary Time Year B 2018 

Deuteronomy 18:15-20; 1 Corinthians 7:32-35; Mark 1:21-28

Introduction 

Why were the people at the synagogue astonished that Jesus "taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes?"  Why did they describe his preaching as “A new teaching with authority”? 

People find authority in various things.  For some, it can be one's status such as being a celebrity, or a politician, or a professor, for others it can be riches.  But the people of Capernaum looked for authority not in the status of their official teachers the scribes, but in what this simple carpenter's son, Jesus said, how he said it, and what he did.  In other words, what gave authority to Jesus' teaching was his style, his message and his actions. 

Scripture and Theology 

To understand how impressive the style of Jesus was, let us examine the context in which Jesus was teaching.  Like any faithful Jew, Jesus went to the synagogue every Sabbath.  The synagogue was run by lay people, unlike the temple which was run by priests.  And so the synagogue service on Sabbath did not consist of offering sacrifice, but rather of reading from the Bible and preaching, much like our first part of the Mass, the Liturgy of the Word or like those mission churches without priests that have a service of the Word.  And so anybody from the community could be chosen to read and to preach.  On this particular Sabbath, perhaps because he was already getting famous as a teacher, Jesus was chosen to read and teach.  And when he taught, he taught them as one having authority, not as their scribes. 

When the scribes taught, they did so by quoting other authorities, like past rabbis and authors known for their wisdom.  They would say things like: “As Rabbi Shammai taught . . . or as the Prophet Isaiah prophesied.” They taught the way priests like me teach.  Whenever I preach, I make reference to what Jesus said, what the apostles said, what the Popes said.  Essentially I teach by name-dropping, relying on people with more knowledge and expertise than I have.  The scribes taught the way students write essays.  If you are writing an essay about American history, for example, you will try to bolster your argument with quotes from authorities like George Washington, Abraham Lincoln or Martin Luther King.  For these people add weight, add authority to your teaching. 

But Jesus does not teach like that; he does not rely on any other authority. He is his own authority.  Take today's passage, when he drives out the demon; he simply says: “Quiet! Come out of him!”  He does not drive the demon out by invoking the authority of another person, like today’s priests would do, saying something like: “in the name of Jesus I command you to leave this man.”  That this simple carpenter taught on his own authority, impressed the people. 

But style is not enough.  Jesus also taught with authority because what he taught had substance.  The gospel does not tell us what he said in his homily on that Sabbath, but we can assume that it was a powerful message.  For elsewhere, he teaches God's truth, and there is a freshness in the message that he teaches.  We heard God promise Moses in the first reading: “I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their kin, and will put my words into his mouth; he shall tell them all that I command him.”  Jesus is that new prophet, who tells it as it is, who fulfils the promises God made in the Old Testament.  In fact in Matthew chapter 5 Jesus sees his teaching as fulfilling the Old Testament: “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’  But I say to you offer no resistance to one who is evil.”  Throughout the gospels, Jesus teaches the message of salvation, for he is the Way, the Truth and the Life. 

Besides style and substance, there is one more reason that the teaching of Jesus had authority; it was accompanied by powerful acts.  For example, on that day, after he had taught, Jesus healed a man possessed by an unclean spirit.  And when they saw that miracle, they said: "What is this?  A new teaching with authority. He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him."   

Throughout the gospels, Jesus performs miracles and wonders, not only to make people better, but also to convince them of his message.  In John's gospel, for example, he says: "even if you do not believe me, believe the works, so that you may realize [and understand] that the Father is in me and I am in the Father" (Jn. 10:38).  The healing of this man had the same effect on the people.  If Jesus' style and message did not convince them that he was the Christ, that he had authority, now with this miracle they had no choice but to believe. 

And so, typical of Mark’s gospel, in this story, it is not the disciples, it is not the Jewish religious leaders, but it is the ordinary people who come off in a good light.  They see something different and special, not just in the style of Jesus’ teaching, but in message and in his works. 

Christian Life 

Does Jesus still command any authority over us today?  A recent survey revealed that on many moral issues, American Catholics are not that different in their beliefs from their non-Catholic brethren. 

• Catholics are as likely as non-Catholics to choose against the life of the unborn, the sanctity of life from natural conception to natural death. 
• Catholics are as likely as non-Catholics to support the death penalty. 
• Catholics are as likely as non-Catholics to support policies that adversely affect the poor and most vulnerable, refugees and immigrants. 

In other words, does the teaching of Jesus on these things affect us at all? 

Now to be fair, most Catholics don't reject everything that Jesus teaches, in his own words or in the words of his Church.  Because the teaching of Jesus is demanding and different people will find different aspects of his teaching more difficult to believe and carry out than others, like cafeteria service, we pick and choose which bits of his teaching to accept.  But when Jesus invites us to follow him and we choose to do so, he does not accept a half-hearted decision; he asks us to submit to his authority fully, taking up our crosses daily and following him. He says to the potential disciple who wanted to return home for some family business: “No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God.”  When we choose Jesus, we must listen to him. 

Besides our lack of belief in his teaching, every time we sin, we reject the teaching of Jesus.  Fortunately, we can make things right, by returning to him in confession, recognizing his authority to forgive us.  It is like the daughter, who disobeys her parents, but later sees the light, returns and asks for pardon, because she recognizes their authority over her.  And so for us too, conversion and confession are another way we can recognize the authority of Jesus, especially when we have rejected that authority previously. 

Conclusion 

Why should we listen to Jesus?  Why should we obey him?  When a mother has reached the end of her tether, she will tell the naughty child: “Do so, because I am the Mom and I say so.”  Jesus could wield his authority in that way, being the Son of God and all.  Instead he does not impose, but only proposes a way of life, that brings us profound happiness and fulfilment, both here and in the afterlife. 

In John's gospel he says: “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.  . . . whoever believes has eternal life" (Jn. 6:35, 37).  Shall we listen to his life-giving authority or shall we listen to that of today's scribes?  Whose marching orders shall we follow?