A New Teaching with Authority!
A new day dawns, and the sun rises, the time has come. St. Mark the evangelist calls it “the time of fulfillment,” for, “the Kingdom of God is at hand” Mark 1:15. Yes, the time for our redemption is now, repent and believe in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Surprised by this new teaching that ushers in a new life in Jesus Christ, a life of complete conversion shaped by this new teaching with authority over the earthly powers, a teaching that is one with the teacher, and is inseparable from the teacher, for, His office is inseparable from His name – He is, always and everywhere, confessed to be Jesus Christ, for, Jesus is Salvation. – we must search the Sacred Scriptures in order to lay hold of this One who teaches with authority.
It comes to light that the arrival of One who teaches with authority is, in fact, the fulfilment of a promise that was foretold long ago; “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” Deut.18:18.
In this promise, we can see the foundation of this teaching with authority; “I will put my words into his mouth; he shall tell them all that I command.” Jesus’ teaching is not a product of human learning or invention, rather it comes from God Himself. The Holy Trinity is a communion of Three Divine Persons, and each one, sounds through the other, because to be a person is to sound through the other. Therefore, the Father sounds through the Son. Incidentally, here lies the true meaning and demonstration of the word person and the reason we are social beings. The point is that God the Father speaks through the Son. Thus, this preacher in the Synagogue of Capernaum who is said to teach with authority is, first of all, in the presence of God, and is in communion with God. “Consubstantial with the Father,” as we say in the Creed. His mind and heart, His entire being is grounded in God. And this is the foundation of His authority and His teaching.
The true mark of a prophet is that he lives in daily communion with God. Only then, can he speak God’s word with authority even over evils spirits. The people of God could not endure gazing at the flaming eyes and the thundering voice of God, so they begged, “let us not again hear the voice of the Lord, our God, nor see this great fire anymore, lest we die.” And here is the reason we have the priests and the deacons, and the theologians to preach to us the word of God. As part of their vocation, their essential character is to live in the presence of God. They must train their eyes and purify their minds before the divine fires, through constant prayer and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. They must listen very deeply to God, who speaks to them through the Scriptures. Only then can they ignite divine fire from the pulpit, and only then, can they speak God’s word to the people of God.
But there is something for us, too, we the people of God. We must prayerfully discern and determine whether a particular preacher actually speaks God’s word or not. And whether the preacher has proper authority which is granted only by God. One mark of a false prophet is that his conduct is incoherent with his teaching. Hence, there is no substance and no convincing power to that teaching, it is thoroughly lifeless, it seeks its own interests and exploitation of God’s people. Those who are not grounded in Jesus Christ, are not preaching Christ but themselves.
Once our lives are properly ordered according to God’s plan and authority structure, even the demons will flee from our lives and stop bothering us. The demons know who has power over them. They will not answer to a false prophet. When we re-establish, in our society, and remain within the proper structure of authority as ordained by God, and our lives are properly ordered, there will be abundant flow of grace and divine protection. And here I would like to remind Parents that you do have proper authority over your children. You are the primary teachers of your children. You can implore God’s blessing over your children. You can do minor exorcisms with holy water, blessed salt and with the proper prayers. But you must be grounded in prayer.
This week we celebrate Catholic Schools week. The beauty of Catholic education. The goal of Catholic education is to give all our Children a complete human formation that helps the person to be properly ordered and well-grounded in God’s love and love of neighbor. This formation is handled by both the church and the parents together. When children remain within the boundaries of authority, that is, of their parents and the church, they are protected by divine grace. If they become disobedient and rebellious to their parents, they are easy prey to the devil. If we are not obedient to God, then we obedient to something else. We either give consent to God or to the devil.
Let us pray that this astonishment at the new teaching with authority may arouse in us a desire to follow Jesus Christ who reveals to us the Face of God and in so doing, He reveals us to ourselves. Let us embrace His teaching and heed His instruction to find true freedom, joy and peace.
Homily given by Fr Wasswa - January 29, 2024
Amen
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