Recharging the batteries with prayer

Homily for 5^th Sunday of Ordinary Time Year B 2015

Job 7:1-4, 6-7; 1 Corinthians 9:16-19,22-23; Mark 1:29-39

Introduction

Has someone ever asked you why you spend in prayer rather than using that time to do good works, like feeding the poor?

If you have been asked such a question then you are in good company.  The same thing happened to Jesus.  We heard that this is how he began his day. “Rising very early before dawn, he left and went off to a deserted place, where he prayed.”

Scripture and Theology

What did a typical day in the life of Jesus look like?

·        Last Sunday we heard how Jesus went to the synagogue of Capernaum on the Sabbath to pray like any faithful Jewish person did.

·        We then heard how he made a great impression not only by his teaching which had a unique air of authority, but he also cured a man who had been possessed by a demon.

·        After the Sabbath service, and this is where today’s Gospel begins, Jesus and his disciples went to Simon’s house; they probably were looking for a free meal – as sons often do.  But Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever.  Jesus again came to rescue and healed her.  On getting better, she returned the favour by waiting on them and providing dinner.

·        Later that evening, after the Sabbath was over and people could once again begin to go about their business, we heard that “they brought to him all who were ill or possessed by demons.  The whole town was gathered at the door.  He cured many who were sick with various diseases, and he drove out many demons. . . .”

·        Finally, Jesus must have gone to bed really late and probably very tired.  That was a typical day in the life of Jesus.

But then, how does he begin the next day?  He had every reason to sleep in, given how busy the previous day had been.  But instead, “Rising very early before dawn, he left and went off to a deserted place, where he prayed.”

But the disciples could not leave him alone.  Probably they thought he wasting precious time, during which he might have cured a few more people.  That is why when he finds Jesus at prayer, Simon Peter scolds him, saying: “Everyone is looking for you.”  They want you to continue healing people like you did yesterday.  But the response of Jesus is: “Let us go on to the nearby villages that I may preach there also.  For this purpose have I come.”  Instead of going back to Capernaum, to enjoy the status a superstar, a celebrity, Jesus chooses to go and pray and after prayer, to continue his ministry in another place.

For Jesus, prayer was essential.  That is elsewhere in the gospels we see him often withdrawing to deserted places, sometimes alone, sometimes with his disciples, so that he can pray, so that he can talk with God his Father.  Especially when he is preparing to do something really important, like at the beginning of his ministry, like before he choose the Twelve Apostles and like before he gave his life on the cross, Jesus always first went off to pray.

For Jesus prayer must come first and then the good works of his ministry will follow.  His work is strengthened and made fruitful only because of the profound relationship that Jesus has with God, a relationship strengthened by prayer.

Christian Life

If praying was necessary for Jesus, it is even more essential for us his followers.  There are many ways in which we pray:

·        We pray as a community when we come to Mass on Sundays like we are doing today.

·        We pray as a small group through various devotions like the rosary, the chaplet of divine mercy, charismatic prayer meetings and adoration.

·        We pray privately when we say the traditional prayers, the Our Father, the Hail Mary and when we spend time with God in Church or elsewhere.

But why do we do all these things?  Would this time not be better spent doing good works, doing practical things that help people in a concrete way?

·        You could spend this time tutoring a child struggling in school or baby-sitting so that the mother might go to work.

·        You could spend this time doing an extra job, to earn extra money that you could donate to the poor.

·        You could spend this time volunteering with some organization that helps needy people.

But like Jesus, you choose to use this time for prayer; so that after the priest dismisses you, saying: “Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life,” you are well armed, recharged and ready to do these things and to do them even better.

And yet, we who do pray must be careful that our prayer is real prayer.  Our prayer must be a genuine conversation with God, much like a conversations between friends.  There are three ways we could turn prayer into something else.

First, we should not pray simply out of obligation.  We don’t talk with a friend simply out of obligation.  We talk to each other because we love each other.  In the same we talk to God in prayer, because we love him and we know he loves us.  I remember that when I was a kid, sometimes prayer felt like checking off a get-out-of-hell card.  Jesus prayed, not because he had to, but because he loved the Father and wanted to keep in touch.

Secondly, we should not pray simply because we want to get something from God.  If the only time you speak to a friend is when you want a favour from them, that friendship will probably not last that long.  During the football season, some people often ask me, why I don’t say anything about the New Orleans Saints at Mass and why I don’t pray for them to win!  After mustering all the politeness I can spare, I usually remind them that perhaps my prayers might better be used for more urgent problems of the world today, like wars, hunger, Ebola.  We pray to God, not only to ask him for things, but also to thank him, praise and even moan to him like Job does in today’s first reading.  Prayer should not be demanding that God do our bidding; we propose and we wait for his answer.

Finally, prayer is not therapy or entertainment.  Sometimes prayer is joyful, especially when we are praise and thank God.  Sometimes prayer is sorrowful, especially when we bring to God our difficulties.  Sometimes prayer is neither joyful nor sorrowful, but is simply a serious conversation between us and God.

Conclusion

After Jesus, Mother Theresa of Calcutta is perhaps the best example of a woman who understood that prayer preceded good works, and that prayer was true conversation with God.  Mother Theresa was known throughout the world for her great works of charity.  What most people do not know about her is that before she and her sisters went out into the streets to help the needy, they always started their day in prayer.  And at the end of their day, they brought all their experiences to God in prayer.

May our days always begin and always end with prayer, so that we can be sure, that our good works are indeed the works of God.

A new teaching with authority: truth with conviction

Homily for 4^th Sunday of Ordinary Time Year B 2015

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

Introduction

“A new teaching with authority;” that’s how the crowds describe the teaching of Jesus.

For us, though, teaching with authority, might remind us of experiences we had in school that we would rather forget.

·        Perhaps for you, the ladies, teaching with authority reminds you of Sr. Mary Michael, who made you un-hem your short skirt!

·        Perhaps for you, the guys, teaching with authority reminds you of Coach Smith, who made you do 50 push-ups when you were late for practice.

·        Perhaps for all of us, teaching with authority reminds us of our mothers.  Mom tried to convince you to do something, but despite her best arguments, you still kept asking: “Why?  Why should I do this?” Finally your mother had to deploy the only argument left in her bag: “Because I am the Mom and I say so.”

Scripture and Theology

For Jesus, however, the people actually like the fact that he was teaching with authority.  In fact because he taught with authority we heard that “His fame spread everywhere throughout the whole region of Galilee.”  And so, why was his teaching with authority, so different from ours?

Before we answer that question, let us understand the context in which Jesus was teaching.  He was teaching at the synagogue.  Like any faithful Jew, Jesus went to the synagogue every Sabbath.  The synagogue service consisted of readings from the Bible and preaching.  And anybody from the community could be chosen to read and to preach.  And so on this occasion, perhaps because he was already getting famous as a teacher, Jesus was picked to do the reading and preaching.  And when he taught, the people were pleasantly surprised that he taught with authority.

Two unique qualities give the teaching of Jesus authority.

The first quality has to do with style.  When Jesus teaches, he is the source of his own teaching.  Last Sunday for example, we heard him say: “This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.” 

The scribes on the other hand taught by quoting past rabbis and authors known for their wisdom.  They would say things like: “As Rabbi Shammai taught . . . or as the Prophet Isaiah prophesied.” You could say that the scribes taught by name-dropping.  They taught the way students write essays.  If you are writing an essay about American history, for example, you might want to back up your arguments with quotes from George Washington, Abraham Lincoln or Martin Luther King.

But Jesus does not rely on any other authority. He is his own authority.  Even when he drives out the demon in today’s passage 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 and ministers would do, saying something like: “in the name of Jesus I command you to leave this man.”

The second reason Jesus teaches with authority is because what he teaches has substance.  He teaches the truth, and there is a freshness about the truth that he is teaching.  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 . . . .”  Jesus is teaching some new things, some really solid stuff; and that is why he can be said to teach with authority.

Typical of Mark’s gospel, it is not the disciples, it is not the Jewish religious leaders, but it is the ordinary people who come off with any credit in this passage.  They see something different and special not just in the style of Jesus’ teaching, but especially in the substance of what he says.

Christian Life

All of us baptized Christians and especially we who are also confirmed, have been given a mandate to teach the gospel to others.  We must also teach with authority, as Jesus teaches.  Jesus has shown us that teaching with authority does not mean using one’s power to force things down people’s throats or making them do what we want.  Rather, teaching with authority means passing on the whole truth of the gospel with conviction, so that people are moved to listen and act on it.

How do we teach with authority?  Of course we cannot like Jesus go around saying, “You have that it was said, but I say this.”  People will think we are pompous.  Nor can we claim to be the source of what we teach.  That is called plagiarism.  But there is a way our teaching can have its own authority, even as we have to quote from Jesus and from what other teachers, must smarter and perhaps much holier than us have taught.  We must appropriate the gospel message and make it a part of us; only then will have authenticity and authority.  There is a saying in Africa that religion should not be like the shirt or cloth we put on and take off; it should be like our very skin, which is with us wherever we are.  When what we teach is second nature to us, stems from personal conviction, we teach with authority.

I once heard an old bishop being interviewed about what is wrong with the youth of today.  The interviewer asked: “Your eminence, why do you think that today’s young people are so rebellious and don’t come to Church.”  Of course he was expecting the bishop to say, like we adults often say, “we miss the good old days, when things were different.”

But the wise bishop said, “There is nothing really different with today’s young generation.  From Adam’s time, young people have always been rebellious.  As they grow bigger in body and sharper in mind in their teenage years, they need to establish their own identity and so tend to disobey their parents.  The difference today is not the children, it is us the adults.  Because we are uncertain about the truth and about how to teach it, we have failed to guide and teach our children, as past generations of adults have done to their misguided youth.”

There is wisdom in the bishop’s comments.  More than ever before, today we need adult Christians who will guide the young, by teaching truth in love.

In my own life, the teachers who I still remember and respect are not those who let me off easy all the time.  I remember those who taught me the truth by their word and by their example, and if truth be told, by their disciplinary actions.  Whether it was religion class or science class, they set high standards and held us to them.  Whether it was football or drama, they showed us that practice makes perfect.  Whether it was the debate club or the Legion of Mary club, they taught us to put our hearts in what we did.

Conclusion

May we ask God to give us the grace to teach with authority!  May our teaching have such conviction and truth that it will convict people and move them to action on its merit, without the need for further arguments.  And may we never have to turn to the argument of last resort: “Because I am the mom.”  For our authority as mom, as dad, as teacher, will be so obvious as not to need saying.